The Lukolwe of Zambia

The Lukolwe of Zambia, numbering approximately 65,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Bantu-speaking subgroup of the Nkoya people of western Zambia who share a common Nkoya heritage while maintaining a distinct Lukolwe dialect identity within the wider Nkoya cultural tradition. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Nkoya is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Zambia
People Cluster: Bantu, Central-South
Primary Language(s): Nkoya (nka)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 65,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG015597

Pray for the Lukolwe of Zambia

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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

—
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Nkoya
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Nkoya Speakers

Media Resources in Nkoya:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Nkoya:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Nkoya bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Lukolwe 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 Lukolwe:
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 Lukolwe of Zambia

Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the LORD has comforted his people and will have compassion on his afflicted.
readIsaiah 49:13

Thank the Lord for the people here and ask that His gospel will flow through this land to bring hope to those who are afflicted by the guilt of sin.

The mountains rose, the valleys sank down to the place that you appointed for them.
readPsalm 104:8

Pray that they will see the hand of God in the beauty and order of the natural world, and that they will worship Him as the Creator and Sustainer of all things.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
readPhilippians 2:5-7

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will imitate His humility in all they do.

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
readJames 5:16

Pray that believers whom God sends will confess their sins, pray for one another, and live in unity. Ask that they will model healthy Christian relationships for this people group.

Lukolwe Across Countries (ROP3 - 105919) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

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