Mount Kilimanjaro rising above the Tanzanian plain

The Bible Around the World

The Bible in TanzaniaFlag of Tanzania

About 63% of Tanzanians are Christian — a deeply faithful nation, and the birthplace of Swahili — and a fresh translation now reveals God as a Father near to the orphan and the weary. Free online, with audio.

Yes — you can read the Bible free online in Tanzania right now. About 63% of Tanzanians are Christian — roughly 42 million believers, Catholic and Protestant — and the Bible is fully legal to own and read across this religiously peaceful nation. The Father’s Heart Bible™ is free to read and hear on any phone, with no app and no account. English is an official language of Tanzania, so it’s available today — and the Father’s Heart Bible™ reveals what this faithful nation longs for: God known as a near and loving Father. Swahili and more heart languages are on our roadmap.

Last updated June 2026

Key takeawayTanzania gave the world Swahili — and the Father's Heart Bible™ reveals, in that very tongue, a Father near to the orphan and the weary.

Tanzania at a glance

Tanzania is the roof of Africa and the cradle of a language — home to Mount Kilimanjaro, the Serengeti, Zanzibar, and the standard form of Swahili that now unites East Africa. It is a peaceful, deeply faithful nation where Christians and Muslims have long lived side by side.

People
67 million
Christian
~63% of Tanzania
Christians
~42 million
Swahili
its birthplace

What Tanzania is known for

Few lands hold more wonder or warmer hospitality than Tanzania — karibu, “you are welcome.”

The roof of Africa

Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest peak on the continent, crowns Tanzania with snow on the equator.

The Serengeti

The great migration of the Serengeti is one of the wonders of the natural world.

The home of Swahili

Standard Swahili was shaped in Tanzania and Zanzibar — now the lingua franca of all East Africa.

Zanzibar

The Spice Islands and Stone Town carry centuries of trade, culture, and history.

Cradle of humankind

Olduvai Gorge holds some of the oldest evidence of human origins on earth.

A peaceful nation

Tanzania is known for unity and calm — a land where many peoples and faiths live together.

Two smiling Tanzanian women in a village in ArushaA Tanzanian woman in traditional dressTwo Maasai women in traditional attire, TanzaniaA Maasai family gathered in a village, Tanzania

Photos via Pexels & Wikimedia Commons.

Faith and the Bible in Tanzania

Tanzania is a deeply faithful nation. About 63% of Tanzanians are Christian — roughly 42 million believers, Catholic and Protestant — while around a third are Muslim, a majority on Zanzibar. The two faiths have long lived side by side in peace.

The Bible is at home here in Swahili. Most Tanzanian Christians read the Swahili Union Version or the Habari Njema (Good News) translation — and Swahili itself, shaped in this land, now carries the Scriptures across all of East Africa.

And yet, amid poverty and loss, many know God more as a distant power than as a near Father. The need is not a first faith. It is to know, in the Bible Tanzania already treasures, the Father who draws near to the suffering.

Sources: Religion in Tanzania (Wikipedia)Tanzania — Encyclopaedia Britannica

What pains Tanzania

Behind Tanzania’s beauty and peace, families carry heavy burdens — and it is into these exact wounds that the Father’s heart speaks.

~3 million
orphaned and vulnerable children, many from HIV/AIDS
nearly half
of Tanzanians live below the poverty line
millions
of children work instead of attending school
rural distance
leaves many far from schools, clinics, and Scripture in print
one of the youngest
populations on earth — a generation longing for hope
the vulnerable
including children with albinism, who face fear and danger

A generation of children has been orphaned by HIV/AIDS; nearly half the nation lives in poverty; and many children must work rather than learn. Across Tanzania, the wound of the orphan and the fatherless runs deep.

These are not statistics to a Father. They are children He longs to gather. Tanzania does not need more distance — it needs to know it is held by a Father to the fatherless.

Sources: Orphans and vulnerable children — UNICEF TanzaniaPoverty in Tanzania — World Bank

What “our Father” offers Tanzania

Tanzania already believes. The Father’s Heart Bible™ does not bring a new religion — it answers the deepest cry of a nation that knows loss: to be held by a Father who never abandons His children. For the first time in a fresh translation, Scripture reveals God not as a distant power, but as a Father near to the suffering.

For the orphan

To a generation orphaned by AIDS and hardship, Scripture promises “a father to the fatherless” — a Father who gathers the child no one came back for.

For the weary and the poor

To families bearing poverty and labor, the Father says, “Come to me, all you who are weary… and I will give you rest.”

For the one who knows God at a distance

Where God is known as a remote power, the Father’s Heart Bible™ reveals the Father who runs to His child — near, not far.

For the one longing to belong

Across every tribe and island, the Father calls every Tanzanian His beloved son or daughter — a belonging deeper than any line that divides.

Why the Father's Heart Bible™ for Tanzania

God revealed as Father, near to the suffering

In a deeply faithful nation, the Father’s Heart Bible™ reveals God as Father wherever Scripture reveals Him that way — from Genesis 1:1 onward.

Free, with audio, on any phone

No purchase, no app, no sign-up. The whole Bible is free to read online with audio on every chapter — built for the basic smartphones most Tanzanians use.

Swahili leads the way

English is available today, and Swahili — born in this land, now spoken by some 80 million across East Africa — leads a roadmap that includes Sukuma and more. See the translation opportunity.

The translation opportunity in Tanzania

English reaches some Tanzanians, but the nation’s heart — and a whole region’s — beats in Swahili, with Sukuma and dozens more still waiting for a Bible in the Father’s voice.

  • English available now speakers
    Available
  • Swahili (Kiswahili) 80 million speakers
    On the roadmap
  • Sukuma 9 million speakers
    Translation needed
  • Chagga 2 million speakers
    Translation needed

Every language is a door. If you feel called to help open one, you can sponsor a translation — or simply start reading the editions available today.

A preview in the Father’s voice

Read the opening of Scripture side by side — the English Father’s Heart Bible on the left, Swahili on the right.

Register: Standard (Union) Swahili, reverent
Genesis 1 · Mwanzo 1 31 verses

1 In the beginning, our Heavenly Father created the heavens and the earth.

1 Hapo mwanzo, Baba yetu wa Mbinguni aliumba mbingu na nchi.

2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of our Father was hovering over the surface of the waters.

2 Nayo nchi ilikuwa haina umbo, tena ilikuwa tupu; giza lilikuwa juu ya uso wa vilindi, na Roho wa Baba yetu alikuwa akitulia juu ya uso wa maji.

3 Then our Father said, "Let there be light," and there was light.

3 Ndipo Baba yetu akasema, "Iwepo nuru," na nuru ikawepo.

4 He saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.

4 Akaona ya kuwa nuru ni njema, naye akaitenga nuru na giza.

5 He called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

5 Akaiita nuru "mchana," na giza akaliita "usiku." Ikawa jioni, ikawa asubuhi—siku ya kwanza.

6 And our Father said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water."

6 Kisha Baba yetu akasema, "Iwepo nafasi kati ya maji ili kuyatenganisha maji na maji."

7 So he made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so.

7 Basi akaifanya nafasi, akayatenga maji yaliyo chini ya nafasi na maji yaliyo juu yake. Ikawa hivyo.

8 He called the expanse "sky." So there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.

8 Akaiita nafasi "anga." Basi ikawa jioni, ikawa asubuhi—siku ya pili.

9 Then our Father said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so.

9 Ndipo Baba yetu akasema, "Maji yaliyo chini ya anga na yakusanyike mahali pamoja, nayo nchi kavu ionekane." Ikawa hivyo.

10 He called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters he called "seas." And he saw that it was good.

10 Akaiita nchi kavu "ardhi," na maji yaliyokusanyika akayaita "bahari." Naye akaona ya kuwa ni vyema.

11 Then he said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees that bear seed-bearing fruit, each according to its kind." And it was so.

11 Kisha akasema, "Ardhi na izae mimea: mboga zizaazo mbegu na miti izaayo matunda yenye mbegu ndani yake, kila kimoja kwa jinsi yake." Ikawa hivyo.

12 The land produced vegetation: seed-bearing plants according to their kinds and trees bearing seed-bearing fruit according to their kinds. And our Father saw that it was good.

12 Ardhi ikazaa mimea: mboga zizaazo mbegu kwa jinsi zake na miti izaayo matunda yenye mbegu kwa jinsi zake. Naye Baba yetu akaona ya kuwa ni vyema.

13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.

13 Ikawa jioni, ikawa asubuhi—siku ya tatu.

14 And our Father said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark the seasons, the days, and the years,"

14 Kisha Baba yetu akasema, "Iwepo mianga katika anga la mbingu ili kutenga mchana na usiku, nayo iwe kwa ajili ya ishara za kuonyesha nyakati, na siku, na miaka,"

15 "and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so.

15 "nayo iwe mianga katika anga la mbingu kuangaza juu ya nchi." Ikawa hivyo.

16 Our Father made two great lights: the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars.

16 Baba yetu akafanya mianga miwili mikuu: mwanga mkubwa zaidi kuutawala mchana na mwanga mdogo kuutawala usiku. Akazifanya pia nyota.

17 He set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth,

17 Akaiweka katika anga la mbingu ili kuangaza juu ya nchi,

18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And he saw that it was good.

18 kuutawala mchana na usiku, na kuitenga nuru na giza. Naye akaona ya kuwa ni vyema.

19 So there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.

19 Basi ikawa jioni, ikawa asubuhi—siku ya nne.

20 Then our Father said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky."

20 Ndipo Baba yetu akasema, "Maji na yajae viumbe hai vingi, na ndege waruke juu ya nchi katika anga la mbingu."

21 So he created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves and teems in the water, each according to its kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And he saw that it was good.

21 Basi akaumba viumbe wakubwa wa baharini na kila kiumbe hai chenye kuogelea na kujaa majini, kila kimoja kwa jinsi yake, na kila ndege mwenye mabawa kwa jinsi yake. Naye akaona ya kuwa ni vyema.

22 Our Father blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth."

22 Baba yetu akavibariki, akasema, "Zaeni, mkaongezeke, mkayajaze maji ya baharini, nao ndege waongezeke duniani."

23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.

23 Ikawa jioni, ikawa asubuhi—siku ya tano.

24 And our Father said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so.

24 Kisha Baba yetu akasema, "Ardhi na izae viumbe hai kwa jinsi zao: wanyama wa kufugwa, viumbe vitambaavyo juu ya nchi, na wanyama wa porini, kila kimoja kwa jinsi yake." Ikawa hivyo.

25 He made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And he saw that it was good.

25 Akawafanya wanyama wa porini kwa jinsi zao, na wanyama wa kufugwa kwa jinsi zao, na vitu vyote vitambaavyo juu ya nchi kwa jinsi zao. Naye akaona ya kuwa ni vyema.

26 Then our Father said, "Let us make humanity in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over every creature that moves along the ground."

26 Ndipo Baba yetu akasema, "Na tufanye mwanadamu kwa mfano wetu, kwa sura yetu, ili watawale samaki wa baharini na ndege wa angani, na wanyama wa kufugwa, na nchi yote, na kila kiumbe kitambaacho juu ya nchi."

27 So our Father created humanity in their own image; in the image of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit he created them; male and female he created them.

27 Basi Baba yetu akamwumba mwanadamu kwa mfano wao; kwa mfano wa Baba, na Mwana, na Roho Mtakatifu aliwaumba; mwanamume na mwanamke aliwaumba.

28 Our Father blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, and over every living creature that moves on the ground."

28 Baba yetu akawabariki, akawaambia, "Zaeni, mkaongezeke; jazeni nchi na kuitiisha. Tawaleni samaki wa baharini na ndege wa angani, na kila kiumbe hai kitambaacho juu ya nchi."

29 Then he said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that bears seed-bearing fruit. They will be yours for food.

29 Kisha akasema, "Nimewapa kila mche utoao mbegu juu ya uso wa nchi yote, na kila mti uzaao matunda yenye mbegu. Vitakuwa chakula chenu.

30 "And to all the animals of the earth, all the birds in the sky, and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food." And it was so.

30 "Na kwa wanyama wote wa nchi, na ndege wote wa angani, na vitu vyote vitambaavyo juu ya nchi—kila kilicho na pumzi ya uhai ndani yake—nimevipa kila mche wa kijani uwe chakula." Ikawa hivyo.

31 Our Father saw all that he had made, and it was very good. So there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

31 Baba yetu akaona kila kitu alichokifanya, na tazama, kilikuwa chema sana. Basi ikawa jioni, ikawa asubuhi—siku ya sita.

John 3 · Yohana 3 36 verses

1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.

1 Basi palikuwa na mtu mmoja miongoni mwa Mafarisayo, jina lake Nikodemo, mkuu wa Wayahudi.

2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from our Father, for no one can do these signs that you do unless our Father is with him."

2 Huyu alimjia Yesu usiku, akamwambia, "Rabi, twajua ya kuwa wewe ni mwalimu uliyetoka kwa Baba yetu, kwa maana hakuna mtu awezaye kufanya ishara hizi uzifanyazo wewe, isipokuwa Baba yetu yu pamoja naye."

3 Jesus replied to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of our Father."

3 Yesu akamjibu, akamwambia, "Amin, amin, nakuambia, mtu asipozaliwa mara ya pili hawezi kuuona ufalme wa Baba yetu."

4 Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"

4 Nikodemo akamwambia, "Awezaje mtu kuzaliwa akiwa mzee? Aweza kuingia tena mara ya pili tumboni mwa mama yake akazaliwa?"

5 Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of our Father."

5 Yesu akajibu, "Amin, amin, nakuambia, mtu asipozaliwa kwa maji na kwa Roho Mtakatifu, hawezi kuingia katika ufalme wa Baba yetu."

6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Holy Spirit is spirit.

6 Kilichozaliwa kwa mwili ni mwili, na kilichozaliwa kwa Roho Mtakatifu ni roho.

7 Don't be amazed that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'

7 Usistaajabu kwa kuwa nilikuambia, 'Hamna budi kuzaliwa mara ya pili.'

8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Holy Spirit.

8 Upepo huvuma upendako, nawe waisikia sauti yake, lakini hujui utokako wala uendako. Ndivyo alivyo kila mtu aliyezaliwa kwa Roho Mtakatifu.

9 Nicodemus said to him, "How can these things be?"

9 Nikodemo akamwambia, "Yawezaje kuwa mambo haya?"

10 Jesus answered him, "Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?"

10 Yesu akajibu, akamwambia, "Wewe u mwalimu wa Israeli, nawe huyafahamu haya?"

11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony.

11 Amin, amin, nakuambia, tunena tuyajuayo, na kuyashuhudia tuliyoyaona, lakini ninyi hamukubali ushuhuda wetu.

12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?

12 Ikiwa nimewaambia mambo ya duniani, wala hamsadiki, mtasadikije nikiwaambia mambo ya mbinguni?

13 No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.

13 Wala hakuna mtu aliyepaa mbinguni isipokuwa yeye aliyeshuka kutoka mbinguni, yaani, Mwana wa Adamu.

14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,

14 Na kama vile Musa alivyomwinua yule nyoka jangwani, vivyo hivyo Mwana wa Adamu hana budi kuinuliwa,

15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

15 ili kila mtu amwaminiye apate uzima wa milele.

16 For our Father so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

16 Kwa maana Baba yetu aliupenda ulimwengu hivi, hata akamtoa Mwanawe wa pekee, ili kila mtu amwaminiye asipotee, bali awe na uzima wa milele.

17 For our Father did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but so that the world might be saved through him.

17 Kwa maana Baba yetu hakumtuma Mwanawe ulimwenguni ili auhukumu ulimwengu, bali ili ulimwengu uokolewe kwa yeye.

18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of our Father.

18 Amwaminiye yeye hahukumiwi; asiyeamini amekwisha kuhukumiwa, kwa sababu hakuliamini jina la Mwana wa pekee wa Baba yetu.

19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.

19 Na hii ndiyo hukumu: ya kuwa nuru imekuja ulimwenguni, nao watu wakapenda giza kuliko nuru, kwa sababu matendo yao yalikuwa maovu.

20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, for fear that his works will be exposed.

20 Maana kila mtu atendaye maovu huichukia nuru, wala haji kwenye nuru, matendo yake yasije yakakemewa.

21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in our Father.

21 Bali yeye aitendaye kweli huja kwenye nuru, ili matendo yake yaonekane wazi ya kuwa yametendwa katika Baba yetu.

22 After this, Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and there he remained with them and was baptizing.

22 Baada ya hayo, Yesu na wanafunzi wake wakaenda mpaka nchi ya Uyahudi, naye akakaa huko pamoja nao, akawa akibatiza.

23 John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized,

23 Naye Yohana pia alikuwa akibatiza huko Ainoni, karibu na Salimu, kwa sababu huko kulikuwa na maji tele, nao watu wakawa wakija, wakabatizwa.

24 for John had not yet been put in prison.

24 Kwa maana Yohana alikuwa hajatiwa gerezani bado.

25 Now a discussion arose between some of John's disciples and a Jew over purification.

25 Basi palikuwa na mashindano kati ya baadhi ya wanafunzi wa Yohana na Myahudi mmoja juu ya utakaso.

26 And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him."

26 Wakamjia Yohana, wakamwambia, "Rabi, yeye aliyekuwa pamoja nawe ng'ambo ya Yordani, uliyemshuhudia—tazama, huyo anabatiza, nao watu wote wanamwendea."

27 John replied, "A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven."

27 Yohana akajibu, akasema, "Mtu hawezi kupokea hata neno moja isipokuwa amepewa kutoka mbinguni."

28 You yourselves can testify that I said, 'I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.'

28 Ninyi wenyewe mwaweza kunishuhudia ya kuwa nalisema, 'Mimi siye Kristo, bali nimetumwa mbele yake.'

29 The one who has the bride is the bridegroom — Jesus. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete.

29 Aliye na bibi arusi ndiye bwana arusi — Yesu. Rafiki yake bwana arusi, asimamaye na kumsikia, hufurahi sana kwa sababu ya sauti ya bwana arusi. Basi furaha yangu hii sasa imetimia.

30 He must increase, but I must decrease.

30 Yeye hana budi kuzidi, bali mimi kupungua.

31 The one who comes from above is above all. The one who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. The one who comes from heaven is above all.

31 Yeye ajaye kutoka juu yu juu ya yote. Yeye atokaye duniani ni wa dunia, naye hunena ya kidunia. Yeye ajaye kutoka mbinguni yu juu ya yote.

32 He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony.

32 Hushuhudia yale aliyoyaona na kuyasikia, lakini hakuna mtu aukubaliye ushuhuda wake.

33 Whoever receives his testimony confirms that our Father is true.

33 Yeye aukubaliye ushuhuda wake huthibitisha ya kuwa Baba yetu ni mwaminifu.

34 For the one whom our Father has sent speaks the words of our Father, for he gives the Holy Spirit without measure.

34 Kwa maana yeye aliyetumwa na Baba yetu huyanena maneno ya Baba yetu, kwa kuwa yeye humtoa Roho Mtakatifu pasipo kipimo.

35 Our Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand.

35 Baba yetu ampenda Mwana, naye amevitia vitu vyote mkononi mwake.

36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of our Father remains on him.

36 Amwaminiye Mwana yuna uzima wa milele; asiyemtii Mwana hataona uzima, bali ghadhabu ya Baba yetu inakaa juu yake.

A complete edition — every book, print and digital, with audio — is unlocked when this language is sponsored. Sponsor this translation →

Tanzania and the world

Tanzania gave East Africa its common tongue. To give Tanzania the Father’s heart in Swahili is to open a door to a whole region — for the language born here is heard far beyond its borders.

~80 million
Swahili speakers across East Africa a Swahili edition would reach
birthplace
of standard Swahili — the form taught across the region
5+ nations
speak Swahili — Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, DR Congo, and more

The cradle of a language

Standard Swahili was shaped in Tanzania and Zanzibar. As Tanzania receives the Father’s Heart Bible™ in Swahili, it gives that gift in the very form the whole region learns.

Swahili crosses every border

Swahili is the lingua franca of East Africa — some 80 million speakers across Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, DR Congo, and beyond. One translation reaches not one nation but a region.

A peaceful sending nation

Tanzania’s long peace and unity make it a natural place from which the Father’s heart can travel outward across the continent.

The Tanzanian diaspora

Tanzanians abroad — in the Gulf, the US, the UK, and across Africa — carry their faith and their language into the world.

His Word will not return void

When our Father said, “Let there be light,” there was light. His Word accomplishes what He sends it to do. From Kilimanjaro’s heights to every home touched by loss, His Word will not return empty — it will find the orphan and the weary, and it will not fail.

“My word… will not return to me empty, but will accomplish that which I purpose.” — Isaiah 55:11

Know God as a Father near to you

Tanzania knows God. Now read Him in His own voice as Father — free, with audio, on any phone.

Read FHB free

Keep reading

Begin with the whole Bible free online with audio, learn why the Father’s Heart Bible™ exists, or get oriented with our Bible reading guides — including where to start and what the gospel is. Browse Scripture by theme on our Bible verses by topic pages.

Learn more about Tanzania

Trusted sources for the facts on this page — and for going deeper into Tanzania’s people, faith, and story.

Frequently asked questions

How many Christians are there in Tanzania?

About 63% of Tanzanians are Christian — roughly 42 million people, Catholic and Protestant — while around a third are Muslim, a majority on Zanzibar, and the two faiths have long lived side by side in peace. You can read and hear the Scriptures Tanzanian believers treasure free in the Father's Heart Bible™ at fathersheartbible.com/read.

What is the main religion in Tanzania?

Christianity is the largest religion in Tanzania at about 63% of the population, with Islam at roughly a third and a majority on Zanzibar. The Bible is fully legal to own and read, and faith is woven into daily life. Read the Father's Heart Bible™ free online with audio at fathersheartbible.com/read.

Can I read the Bible online free in Tanzania?

Yes. The Father's Heart Bible™ is free to read online with audio — no account, no purchase, no app. It is in English today, which is an official language taught in Tanzanian schools, so it is available now. A Swahili (Kiswahili) edition is among our highest priorities.

Is there an audio Bible I can listen to in Tanzania?

Yes. Every chapter of the Father's Heart Bible™ comes with free audio, so you can listen on any phone — a natural fit for Tanzania's strong oral and storytelling culture.

What is the most popular Bible translation in Tanzania?

Most Tanzanian Christians read the Swahili Union Version (Biblia, Maandiko Matakatifu) or the Swahili Habari Njema (Good News) translation, alongside English versions like the NIV. Nearly all Bible reading in Tanzania is in Swahili.

Is the Father's Heart Bible available in Swahili?

Not yet — it is currently in English. Swahili, which was shaped in Tanzania and Zanzibar and is now spoken by some 80 million people across East Africa, is on our roadmap, alongside Sukuma and other Tanzanian languages.

Portrait of Kevin White

About the author

Kevin White

Founder, Spirit Media Publishing · Father's Heart Bible™

Kevin White is founder of Spirit Media Publishing the publisher of Father's Heart Bible™, a fresh translation centered on revealing God's heart as Father through every passage. He pastors readers toward the love of our Father — in plain English — and writes here about Scripture, sonship, and the modern Father-heart movement.

Wildlife on the Serengeti plains, TanzaniaA white-sand beach in Zanzibar, TanzaniaThe Ngorongoro Crater, TanzaniaMount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

Photos via Pexels & Wikimedia Commons.

Read the Father’s Heart Bible™ free

From Genesis to Revelation, free online with audio — a fresh translation that reveals God as a loving Father to every beloved son and daughter, in Tanzania and across East Africa.

Start reading

Believe in the mission? Help take it to the nations →

Sponsor a translation

Open the door for Tanzania’s languages

A one-time $50,000 opens the door for an entire language — full translation, print, digital, and audio.

Swahili (Kiswahili)

80 million

$50,000 one-time · 0.06¢ per reader

Also available for sponsorship

  • Sukuma → $50,000 · 9 million · 0.56¢ per reader
  • Chagga → $50,000 · 2 million · 2.5¢ per reader

There is no greater purpose, destiny, or legacy than to reveal the Father’s heart to the Swahili (Kiswahili)-speaking peoples of the world.

Sponsor a language

The Father’s Heart Bible™ around the world — read free online, country by country. Browse all nations →