The Subia of Botswana

The Subia of Botswana, numbering approximately 7,600 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as a Bantu‑speaking ethnic group of southern Africa. They are a river‑oriented people historically settled along the Zambezi, Chobe, and Linyanti river systems, with significant populations today in Namibia, Botswana, and Zambia Basubiya They are an Indigenous people, with Subia as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Bantu, Central-South people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples. Their primary religion is Animism. They primarily speak Subiya.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Botswana
People Cluster: Bantu, Central-South
Primary Language(s): Subiya (sbs)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 7,600
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG015262
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Subia of Botswana

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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

69%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Subiya
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Kuhane Speakers

Media Resources in Subiya:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Subiya:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Subiya bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Subia 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 Subia:
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 Subia of Botswana

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
readRomans 1:19

Pray that God will use testimony of creation to cause those who do not yet know the gospel to long for truth and a relationship with the Author of life.

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
readPsalm 16:11

Pray that God will make a way for His path of life to be revealed to many so that they may come into His presence and experience abundant joy and eternal pleasures at His right hand.

Remember your mercy, O LORD, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.
readPsalm 25:6

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember the merciful nature and steadfast love of God as they walk with Him daily.

There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.
readMark 7:15

Pray for Christians to take any opportunity to share the hope of Jesus with lost people here, praying they will be wise like Jesus as they share the truth about what can defile people and what can make them clean.

Subia Across Countries (ROP3 - 109569) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

3 people groups

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.

Scroll to Top