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The Luhya of Uganda

The Luhya of Uganda, numbering approximately 165,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Uganda. They mostly adhere to Neo-Pentecostalism and Saamia is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Uganda
People Cluster: Bantu, Central-Lakes
Primary Language(s): Saamia (lsm)
Primary Religion(s): Neo-Pentecostalism
Population: 165,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG015113
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Pray for the Luhya of Uganda

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: Neo-Pentecostalism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

97%
%
Neo-Pentecostalism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Saamia
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

67%
%
Saamya-Gwe Speakers

Media Resources in Saamia:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Saamia:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2010 Bible Society of Uganda✓✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Saamia bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Luhya 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 Luhya:
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 Luhya of Uganda

Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
readProverbs 30:5

Pray that those who don't yet know God will trust the flawless Word of God and seek refuge in Him, finding hope and salvation instead of remaining in spiritual darkness.

Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
readRomans 2:4

Pray that, in God's kindness and according to His nature, He will lead many to repentance.

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.
readHebrews 10:24

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will love and encourage one another, spurring each other on to live lives that honor God.

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations.
readPsalm 67:1-2

Pray that as God blesses believers from among this people group or from nearby cultures, He will raise them up to share His saving power among the nations.

Saamia Across Countries (ROP3 - 108478) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
LuhyaPG015113LuhyaUganda165,000No Longer UnreachedSaamiaNeo-Pentecostalism

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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