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People group profile · PG015157

The Dhimba of Angola

The Dhimba of Angola, numbering about 29,500 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are a semi-nomadic pastoralist people who migrated along the Kunene River in the 1500s-1600s to settle southwestern Angola and Namibia, impoverished by Nama cattle raiders in the mid-1800s and targeted alongside the Herero in Germany's 1904-1908 genocide.

They are an indigenous people in the Bantu, Central-Southwest people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion, and they primarily speak Zemba.

Pray for the DhimbaPrint profile

AI-generated illustration representing the Dhimba people
AI-generated illustration, not a photograph. Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Dhimba

Fast facts

Country
Angola
Population
29,500
Affinity group
Sub-Saharan African Peoples
People cluster
Bantu, Central-Southwest
Primary language
Zemba (dhm)
Primary religion
Ethnoreligion
Strategic Progress Index
Unengaged and Unreached
Evangelical
Less than 2%
GSEC
Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
Lostness priority
Pioneer Unreached People Group
Region
Middle Africa, Africa
Location
Cunene and Huíla provinces: near Namibia border

Where they live

Gospel status

The Dhimba are Unengaged and Unreached, which means fewer than 2% are evangelical Christians, and there has been no reported church planting activity in the past two years. In GSEC terms, this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years.

  • Congregations exist Yes
  • Church planting in the last two years No Churches Planted

Next steps for the Dhimba

  • Pray that God would send workers to this people group
  • Begin sowing the gospel and seek out people of peace
  • Plant the first churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice

Primary religion

Ethnoreligion

Primary language

Zemba · Atlantic-Congo family

100% speak Zemba

Gospel resources in Zemba

  • Bible available, published 2013
  • JESUS Film not available
  • Radio programs not available
  • Gospel recordings available
  • Audio resources available
  • Bible stories not available

Find more at the JESUS Film Project, Bible.com and Faith Comes by Hearing.

Pray for the Dhimba

  1. Romans 12:4–5. Pray that believers from many cultures will work together as one body so that the church is built up.
  2. Revelation 7:9. Pray for the day when people from this group stand before the throne with every nation, tribe, people and language.
  3. John 17:3. Pray that many will come to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent.
  4. Psalm 27:1. Pray that new believers will be strengthened in the face of persecution, with the Lord as their stronghold.

Download a prayer guide

Dhimba in other countries

The same people (ROP3 102579) is reported in 1 other country.

People groupCountryPopulationStatus
DhimbaNamibia8,400Unengaged and Unreached

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