80% of the world’s evangelical Christians live in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Over the last 50 years, God’s church has grown exponentially in these areas.

These regions have tremendous mission sending potential to help bring the gospel to unreached peoples, but they currently send only 20% of the world’s cross-cultural missionaries!

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Total Number of Evangelicals

Cultural Bridges to UPGs

Regional Access to UPGs

Religious Freedom

Prosperity

Current Sending Abroad

Mobilization Potential

Custom Mobilization Potential

Number of Evangelicals

Cultural Bridges

Strategic Access

Religious Freedoms

Current Sending

This infographic provides a visual score for seven data points ranked on a 0 to 100 scale. Faded icons show scores for other countries on the mobilization index. See below for actual scores and country-specific insights.

ADDITION

FINANCIAL DEPENDENCY

INACCESSIBLE

LIMITED MISSION FORCE

DISTANT AND FOREIGN MISSION FIELD

THE WORLD IS THE MISSION FIELD

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A Nation Sculpted By God to Carry Out the Great Commission

11 Million evangelicals with In-Country Access to Millions More

Tanzania is currently home to 11,007,680 evangelicals, making up 17% of the country's population. Near 54% of the population identifies with Christianity and are practicing Catholics. [[1]] &nbsp;The nation was introduced to Christianity at the beginning of the 16th century from the establishment of a Franciscan mission in the city of Kilwa. Soon after, other missionaries arrived and established various missionary societies in the 17th century, growing both the Catholic and Protestant populations very quickly. [[2]]&nbsp;
However, there is also a significant population of Muslims concentrated along the coastal region of the country. Christians in these areas experience social tensions and persecution. Though the nation is religiously free, and evangelicals are welcome to practice their faith as they see fit, there is still moderate danger and violence between religious groups.&nbsp;
Despite these tensions, we can praise God for over 11 million evangelicals in this country that has access to millions more in its region!

God’s Hand in Tanzania's History Has Poised it to Reach the Arab World

Tanzania has a median score of 13.2 on the Geert Hofstede Cultural Values Index, giving it many similarities with the 30 UPG nations on our list. [[3]] Its closest cultural neighbors are Ethiopia, Jordan, and Nepal, all of which are five median points of distance away in their score. Tanzania has another eight countries that are also within ten median points of cultural distance! This is great news for the Tanzanian evangelical church, as there is no denying that the nation remains culturally close to a large number of nations with UPGs. &nbsp;
Tanzania's closest cultural neighbors are either located in the Middle East or have significant to majority Muslim populations. Looking back on Tanzania's tribal history and its history with the Muslim world, which still includes language and cultural exchange, it shows us just how vital this country is and will be to the future of missions around the world. God may very well have prepared Tanzania to help lead the next great missions movement of our lifetime! Pray that this be done.

Great Access to Muslim Dominated Zanzibar

Tanzania has access to 6,040,000 unreached in-country and 76,200,000 regionally. Not only is almost 10% of the country unreached, but Tanzania is geographically close to the 10/40 window, [[4]] and has high regional access to UPGs. This high strategic access is great news and could boost mission mobilization efforts. Tanzanians get to live close to the largest population of unreached peoples in the world! Praise God for such an opportunity.&nbsp;
Tanzanian evangelicals also have access to Zanzibar, an island off its coast that is partly self-governed and functions as an extension of Tanzania. Zanzibar is 99% Muslim, meaning that Tanzanian evangelicals have access to an entirely unreached island just off their border.&nbsp;
Geographically as well as culturally, Tanzania is positioned with incredibly strategic access to UPGs. Praise God for positioning the church so strategically! Pray for laborers to be sent to Zanzibar and to every tribe tongue and nation beyond Tanzania.

Remaining Tensions between Islam and Christianity

According to Pew Research, Tanzania has moderate levels of religious restrictions and hostilities, with a score of 5.7. The constitutions of both countries of the union government between Tanzania and semiautonomous Zanzibar prohibit religious discrimination. Their laws provide for freedom of religious choice and public worship and prohibit any persecution. By tradition, Tanzania has had alternating Christian and Muslim presidents with every election year. [[5]]&nbsp;
Though there is typically peace between the Islamic and Christian populations of Tanzania, the nation passed a Prevention of terrorism act in 2002, which is believed by many Muslims to be unjustly used as a means for the government to ostracize, persecute, and kill Muslims that they deemed terrorist. [[5]]&nbsp;
Tanzania scores a 6.3 in government restrictions and a 4.5 in social hostilities, meaning that Tanzanians are more likely to experience persecution or legal restraint from the government for their religious choices than they are to experience social outcasting, familial guilt, or persecution from other citizens. &nbsp;
Praise God that mission mobilization and other Christian ministries are free to promote and carry out their work as they see fit; there are few governmental restrictions on Christianity in Tanzania. Please pray that Tanzanian church members will be able to see those that they fear through the eyes of Christ. Pray for wisdom for church leaders and ministries to cast a vision of loving those who are lost and reaching the Islamic population in the area.

Economic Decline Could Mean Decreased Missionary Sending

Ranked 117th out of 167, Tanzania scores low on the Legatum Prosperity Index when compared to other Mobilization Index countries. The country's economic prosperity has experienced a slight decline over the last decade, dropping five ranks. The greatest challenges Tanzania faces for its prosperity are its low scores in education, living conditions, and economic infrastructure. Their highest scores are in a natural environment, government, and safety and security. Regionally, Legatum ranks the nation as moderate compared to other Sub-Saharan African countries.
 &nbsp;This low prosperity could have a significant negative impact on mobilization efforts. Though the heart of the church could be turned to the unreached, it will be physically more difficult to support and launch missionaries when living conditions, education, and the economy are stricken by poverty. If Tanzania's economy continues on this downward trend and social hostilities between religious groups continue, its missionary sending capacity and mobilization potential could be greatly hindered.&nbsp;
Pray that the Lord would be glorified through the generosity of and sending by the Tanzanian church despite prosperity barriers and economic decline.

0.1% Would Be a Mission Sending Explosion

Tanzania has around 740 missionaries, 700 serving cross-culturally in-country and 40 serving the unreached outside of Tanzania. The Mobilization Index's prayer goal is to see 0.1%, or 1 in 1,000, of a nation's evangelicals mobilized for missions to the unreached. With 40 sent abroad to the unreached, the nation currently sends .000003% of its evangelical population. If this prayer goal were to be met, the world would see an increase of 11,000 people sent out!&nbsp;
This would be a massive missions movement, and Tanzania would be leading it! Pray that the Lord would raise up a wave of goers who are burdened for the gospel to reach every tribe, tongue, and nation. With over 11,000,000 evangelical believers, there is immense potential for a missions explosion within the country!

Will Tanzania Be Part of the Next Great Missions Movement?

The Tanzanian church is home to over 11 million evangelicals that are providentially set up in myriad ways. In a nation that has religious freedom, is culturally bridged to the Arab world, and is geographically close to the 10/40 Window, God's hand is so obvious in the design of Tanzania. With current low cross-cultural sending, Tanzania has great untapped potential for mobilization. Pray that the Tanzanian church would begin to step into its role as a major sender of cross-cultural workers.&nbsp;
Tanzania ranks moderate on the World Giving Index, with a score of 42%. [[6]] This is good news when it comes to missionary sending, as Tanzanians are moderately comfortable giving to the church. There is still a need to improve the sending and supporting of missionaries within the church infrastructure, but we can praise God for this generosity score! List this concern up to the Lord and ask for wisdom and biblical guidance on how to best send and support missionaries through the Tanzanian church. &nbsp;
It is exciting that Tanzania not only has high regional access to UPGs but also has very close cultural connections to nearly a dozen different unreached nations. When we consider these cultural bridges, prosperity rankings, and religious freedom, we rank Tanzania's mobilization potential as moderate.

Obstacles:
<ul>
<li>Tanzania faces a moderate level of persecution with tensions between Islam and Christianity This may serve as a barrier to many as they begin to look towards the nations and launch missionaries.</li>
<li>Low economic prosperity is an obstacle that hinders a nation's ability to physically and practically send its members to the unreached.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
Opportunities:
<ul>
<li>Tanzania is culturally bridged to a surprising number of countries, all of which are located in the Middle East or home to significant Muslim populations. What an opportunity to join unreached cultures and spread the good news of the gospel!&nbsp;</li>
<li>The country of Tanzania is in a governmental relationship with the semi-autonomous island nation of Zanzibar which is 99% Muslim. The Tanzanian church has great access to an entire island of unreached, just off their border.</li>
</ul>

Pray:
<ul>
<li>For believers in-country to embrace their role as mobilizers and senders; that they would find the role God has prepared them for in the Great Commission.</li>
<li>For the healing of relationships between the many Muslims in Tanzania and Zanzibar, with Tanzanian Christians. Pray that those relationships could be bridges to share the gospel, and that Christians would see Muslims through the eyes of their Creator.</li>
</ul>
Praise:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Praise God that Tanzania is religiously free to practice and worship the Savior!&nbsp;</li>
<li>Praise the Lord for the incredible opportunity He has given to the Tanzanian church to reach the Island of Zanzibar and the billions of unreached in the 10/40 window!</li>
</ul>

The 10/40 window represents the highest population of the world with least access to the gospel. 97% of the world’s unreached (people with little to no access to the gospel) is housed within the 10/40 window, an imaginary area called such because of its position between 10° N Latitude and 40° N Latitude. This area stretches from North Africa to East Asia, creating a rectangle, or a window. In a sentence: 97% of the world’s unreached population is housed within the 10/40 Window.

Official Country Name:United Republic of Tanzania

Population:58,005,000

Region:East and Southern Africa

Government:Unitary Presidential Democratic Republic

Official Languages:Swahili

Religious Demographics:Christian ±54%, Evangelical ±17%, Muslim ±29%, Ethnoreligious ±17%

Tanzania