Prototype rebuild by the IMB Innovation Team. The official site is peoplegroups.org.

People group profile · PG015341

The Tonga of Malawi

The Tonga of Malawi, numbering about 576,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Malawi.

They are an indigenous people in the Bantu, Chewa-Sena people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion, and they primarily speak Tonga (Nyasa).

Pray for the TongaPrint profile

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

Fast facts

Country
Malawi
Population
576,000
Affinity group
Sub-Saharan African Peoples
People cluster
Bantu, Chewa-Sena
Primary language
Tonga (Nyasa) (tog)
Primary religion
Ethnoreligion
Strategic Progress Index
No Longer Unreached
Evangelical
2% or Greater but Less than 5%
GSEC
2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
Lostness priority
Minimally Reached People Group
Region
Eastern Africa, Africa

Where they live

Gospel status

The Tonga are No Longer Unreached, which means 2% or more are evangelical Christians. In GSEC terms, this people group is greater than or equal to 2% evangelical.

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

Next steps for the Tonga

  • Pray for the churches among this group to grow in faithfulness and maturity
  • Equip believers to reach the unreached peoples around them
  • Send out laborers from this people to the nations

Primary religion

Ethnoreligion

96% adherents

Primary language

Tonga (Nyasa) · Atlantic-Congo family

100% speak Tonga (Nyasa)

Gospel resources in Tonga (Nyasa)

  • Bible available, published 1987
  • JESUS Film available
  • Radio programs not available
  • Gospel recordings available
  • Audio resources available
  • Bible stories not available

Films

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

Pray for the Tonga

  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

Know something we don't? Submit updates to IMB Global Research.