People group profile · PG033544
The Bembe of Tanzania
The Bembe of Tanzania, numbering about 1,200 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Bantu people whose oral tradition traces descent from the ancestor Mbondo, who split from his brother Leka in the Itombwe Mountains before migrating toward Lake Tanganyika, absorbing earlier fishing peoples decimated by 19th-century Arab slave raids.
They are an indigenous people in the Bantu, Central-South people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion, and they primarily speak Bembe.

Fast facts
- Country
- Tanzania
- Population
- 1,200
- Affinity group
- Sub-Saharan African Peoples
- People cluster
- Bantu, Central-South
- Primary language
- Bembe (bmb)
- Primary religion
- Ethnoreligion
- Strategic Progress Index ?
- No Longer Unreached
- Evangelical
- 15% or Greater but Less than 20%
- GSEC ?
- 10% or Greater Evangelical
- Lostness priority ?
- Moderately Reached People Group
- Region
- Eastern Africa, Africa
Where they live
Gospel status
The Bembe are No Longer Unreached, which means 2% or more are evangelical Christians. In GSEC terms, this people group is greater than or equal to 10% evangelical.
- Congregations exist Yes
- Church planting in the last two years No Churches Planted
Next steps for the Bembe
- 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
Primary language
Bembe · Atlantic-Congo family
100% speak Bembe
Gospel resources in Bembe
- Bible available
- 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 Bembe
- Ephesians 5:8. Pray that those walking in darkness will turn to the light and live as children of light.
- Romans 10:14–15. Ask God to send messengers, so that people can hear, believe and call on the name of the Lord.
- Matthew 9:37–38. Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest field.
- 2 Timothy 2:2. Pray for faithful local leaders who will teach others, so that the church multiplies.
Bembe in other countries
The same people is also reported in 1 other country.
| People group | Country | Population | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bembe | Congo, Democratic Republic of the | 750,000 | No Longer Unreached |
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