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The Venda of South Africa

The Venda of South Africa, numbering approximately 1,255,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a composite Bantu people of northeastern South Africa descended from several groups that migrated through Zimbabwe and united in the Soutpansberg region under a shared Venda identity. They mostly adhere to Protestantism and Venda is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Venda

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: South Africa
People Cluster: Bantu, Southeastern
Primary Language(s): Venda (ven)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 1,255,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG015546
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Pray for the Venda 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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

60%
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Venda
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Venda Speakers

Media Resources in Venda:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Venda:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Venda bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Venda 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 Venda:
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 Venda of South Africa

I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me, that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other.
readIsaiah 45:5-6

Pray that the lost among them will be delivered from the confusion of false beliefs and come to know the one true God who alone brings light and purpose to their lives.

And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.
readIsaiah 30:21

As the lost in this people group seek to know the truth of who God is, pray that the Spirit of God will draw them to Himself and guide them in the way they should go.

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
readJames 1:12

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be encouraged when they persevere under trial, knowing that when they have stood the test, they will receive the crown of life.

O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill? He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart.
readPsalm 15:1-2

Ask God to send believers who will go and, with integrity, walk blamelessly and do what is right, speaking truth about the Lord with those who need to learn about His redemption plan.

Venda Across Countries (ROP3 - 110546) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDName ▼CountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
VendaPG015546VendaSouth Africa1,255,000No Longer UnreachedVendaProtestantism
VendaPG015684VendaZimbabwe120,000No Longer UnreachedVendaAnimism

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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