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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Nama of South Africa

The Nama of South Africa, numbering approximately 99,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an African ethnic group of Namibia, South Africa and Botswana. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Khoekhoe is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: South Africa
People Cluster: Khoisan
Primary Language(s): Khoekhoe (naq)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 99,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG015519
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Pray for the Nama 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: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

—
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Khoekhoe
Language Family: Khoe-Kwadi

100%
%
Khoekhoe Speakers

Media Resources in Khoekhoe:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Khoekhoe:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Khoekhoe bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Nama 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 Nama:
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 Nama 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.

After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” And leaving everything, he rose and followed him.
readLuke 5:27-28

Prat that God will prepare many hearts to meet Him when He says, “Follow Me!” and that they will respond in faith, leaving everything behind to follow Him.

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
readRomans 8:15

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember the God who has given them freedom from fear so that they will trust Him completely as their good Father who meets all their needs.

And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
readIsaiah 51:11

Pray that, as God sends people to cross cultures and share the good news of Jesus, many will turn to the Lord in repentance and faith and start a personal relationship with Him that will bring them everlasting joy.

Nama Across Countries (ROP3 - 107050) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

3 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
NamaPG047814NamaNamibia146,000Unengaged and UnreachedKhoekhoeEthnoreligion
NamaPG015519NamaSouth Africa99,500Engaged yet UnreachedKhoekhoeEthnoreligion
NamaPG015245NamaBotswana275Engaged yet UnreachedKhoekhoeEthnoreligion

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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