The Southern Saami of Sweden

The Southern Saami of Sweden, numbering approximately 600 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are an Indigenous Sámi subgroup from central Norway and Sweden, known for reindeer herding traditions and a critically endangered language that they are actively trying to preserve. They are an Indigenous people in the Finno-Ugric, Saami people cluster of the Eurasian Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary language is Saami, South and their primary religion is Protestantism.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Southern Saami

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Eurasian Peoples
Country: Sweden
People Cluster: Finno-Ugric, Saami
Primary Language(s): Saami, South (sma)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 600
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG000570
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Southern Saami of Sweden

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: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

50%
%

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Saami, South
Language Family: Uralic

50%
%

Media Resources in Saami, South:

Films:

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Bible Resources in Saami, South:

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Or check out the Saami, South bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 0), which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Frontier Unreached People Group, (LPI: 0), < 0.1% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Southern Saami:
Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Southern Saami 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 Southern Saami:
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

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Southern Saami 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 Southern Saami:
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 Southern Saami of Sweden

I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.
readIsaiah 42:8

Pray that lost people will turn from worthless idols to worship the one true God, recognizing that He alone is worthy of all glory and praise.

"Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool."
readIsaiah 1:18

Pray that God will make a way for the gospel to reach many through means they can understand and access, that they will receive the good news with joy, and that they will experience complete forgiveness and cleansing from their sin that Jesus offers through His sacrifice.

How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.
readPsalm 119:9

Pray that as young men place their faith in Jesus, they will walk in purity and live according to God's Word.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
readRomans 1:16

Pray that God will raise up sons and daughters who, like Paul, will be bold to share the gospel across cultural barriers so that many might receive salvation.

Saami, Southern Across Countries (ROP3 - 109514) reported in the following countries:

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

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