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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Northern Sotho of South Africa

The Northern Sotho of South Africa, numbering approximately 4,290,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are described as a Sotho-Tswana ethnic group indigenous to South Africa They are an Indigenous people, with Pedi as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Bantu, Sotho-Tswana people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples. Their primary religion is Protestantism. They primarily speak Sotho, Northern.

Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Lara Burchett

Fast Facts*:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: South Africa
People Cluster: Bantu, Sotho-Tswana
Primary Language(s): Sotho, Northern (nso)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 4,290,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG033365
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Pray for the Northern Sotho of South Africa

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.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

82%
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Sotho, Northern
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Sotho, Northern Speakers

Media Resources in Sotho, Northern:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Sotho, Northern:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Sotho, Northern bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Northern Sotho are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Next steps for the Northern Sotho:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Northern Sotho of South Africa

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
readRomans 1:20

As God's creation declares His glory, pray that multitudes who don't know Him will see the works of His hands and desire to know more about the Creator.

He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.
readIsaiah 40:11

Pray that the lost will come to know the tender care of the Good Shepherd, who gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart.

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
read1 Peter 2:24

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember every day that Jesus' death on the cross brings real healing and restoration to their souls and joyfully share this good news with others.

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
readPsalm 139:14

Praise God for His creativity and power, and pray that He will raise up men and women from among them who are in awe of all He has done and want to go share the hope of Christ with others.

Pedi Across Countries (ROP3 - 107413) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Northern SothoPG033365Northern SothoSouth Africa4,290,000No Longer UnreachedSotho, NorthernProtestantism
PediPG015670PediZimbabwe182,000Engaged yet UnreachedSotho, NorthernProtestantism

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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