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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Unga of Zambia

The Unga of Zambia, numbering approximately 75,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Bantu-speaking people of the Bangweulu wetlands of northern Zambia whose identity is closely linked to the floodplain environment and who are affiliated with the broader Bemba cultural and linguistic sphere. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Bemba (Zambia) is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Zambia
People Cluster: Bantu, Central-South
Primary Language(s): Bemba (Zambia) (bem)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 75,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG015641
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Pray for the Unga 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.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

—
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Bemba (Zambia)
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Bemba Speakers

Media Resources in Bemba (Zambia):

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Bemba (Zambia):

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1956 Icipingo Cipya✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Bemba (Zambia) bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Unga 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 Unga:
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 Unga of Zambia

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
readRomans 10:14

Pray that those who haven't heard will hear the Word of Christ and believe in Him, calling upon the name of the Lord to be saved.

Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man.
readPsalm 66:5

Pray that many here will come and see what the Creator God has done on their behalf.

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
readRomans 12:1

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will offer their bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, knowing that this is their spiritual worship.

Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns! Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.”
readPsalm 96:10

Pray for God to put in the hearts of believers to go to the lost and testify about the Lord who reigns.

Unga Across Countries (ROP3 - 110405) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
UngaPG015641UngaZambia75,000Engaged yet UnreachedBemba (Zambia)Ethnoreligion

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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