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The Nama of South Africa

The Nama of South Africa, numbering approximately 100,000 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: 100,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: 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.

Pray Now!
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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

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
readMatthew 9:36

Pray that those who have no hope and are in need of a Savior will be comforted by the Good Shepherd, who seeks to gather the lost and weary into His care.

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.

For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God. Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.
readPsalm 86:10-11

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will trust in the Lord with all their heart, knowing that He is the one true God and will teach them His ways.

For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.
read2 Corinthians 1:5

When any who might believe suffer for the sake of the gospel, ask God to deepen their understanding of His grace so that they may share it freely with those who have not received it.

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 Africa100,000Engaged 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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