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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Luvale of Zambia

The Luvale of Zambia, numbering approximately 488,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Bantu people of northwestern Zambia whose traditions link them to migrations through the Congo Basin and to historical connections with the Lunda and Ndembu, while maintaining a distinct Luvale identity centered in the upper Zambezi region. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Luvale is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Luvale

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Zambia
People Cluster: Bantu, Central-South
Primary Language(s): Luvale (lue)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 488,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG015603
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Pray for the Luvale of Zambia

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

—
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Luvale
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Luvale Speakers

Media Resources in Luvale:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Luvale:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Luvale bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Luvale are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Next steps for the Luvale:
Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Pray specifically for the Luvale of Zambia

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming.
readColossians 3:5-6

Pray for God to have mercy and give those who don't yet know Him the gift of Jesus and His salvation for all who call upon His name.

Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
readPsalm 2:10-11

Pray for the rulers and authorities here to seek the Lord and serve Him only. Pray that the people they lead will be amazed by the work of God in their lives.

Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.
readMatthew 18:19

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they find other believers to pray with, and that they will trust God to answer their requests according to His will.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
read2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Pray that as people hear and believe the gospel, they will serve others in Jesus' name, and the lost will have an opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel.

Lwena Across Countries (ROP3 - 105947) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

3 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
LwenaPG015185LwenaAngola1,035,000Engaged yet UnreachedLuvaleEthnoreligion
LuvalePG015603LuvaleZambia488,000Engaged yet UnreachedLuvaleEthnoreligion
LwenaPG014639LwenaCongo, Democratic Republic of the277,000Engaged yet UnreachedLuvaleRoman Catholicism

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Data Standards section.

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