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The Tswa of South Africa

The Tswa of South Africa, numbering approximately 31,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a southeastern Bantu ethnolinguistic group indigenous to southern Mozambique and southern Zimbabwe. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Tswa is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: South Africa
People Cluster: Bantu, Central-Southeast
Primary Language(s): Tswa (tsc)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 31,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG015543
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Pray for the Tswa 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: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

—
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Tswa
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Tswa Speakers

Media Resources in Tswa:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Tswa:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1972 Bible Society of Mozambique✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Tswa bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Tswa 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 Tswa:
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 Tswa of South Africa

For you, O LORD, are most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.
readPsalm 97:9

Pray that those who don't yet know Him will recognize the Lord as the Most High and turn from spiritual darkness to worship Him above all else.

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
readJohn 8:12

Pray that many will come to know Jesus, the light of the world, and have the light of life instead of walking in darkness.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
readPsalm 23:4

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will trust in the Lord's presence, even in the darkest valleys.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
readEphesians 6:10

Ask God to strengthen believers with His mighty power so that as they cross cultures to share the gospel, they will stand firm against the schemes of the enemy.

Tswa Across Countries (ROP3 - 110224) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

3 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
TswaPG015425TswaMozambique1,875,000Engaged yet UnreachedTswaEthnoreligion
TswaPG015681TswaZimbabwe200,000Unengaged and UnreachedTswaAnimism
TswaPG015543TswaSouth Africa31,000Engaged yet UnreachedTswaEthnoreligion

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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