The Southern Saami of Norway

The Southern Saami of Norway, numbering approximately 800 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an indigenous people residing primarily in the central regions of Norway and Sweden. They are an Indigenous people, in the Finno-Ugric, Saami people cluster of the Eurasian Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Christianity - Protestantism. They primarily speak Saami, South.

Photo by Google. (2025). Image generated by Gemini 3 Flash: Southern Saami

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: European Peoples
Country: Norway
People Cluster: Finno-Ugric, Saami
Primary Language(s): Saami, South (sma)
Primary Religion(s): Christianity - Protestantism
Population: 800
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG000457
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Pray for the Southern Saami of Norway

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Christianity - Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

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Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Saami, South
Language Family: Uralic

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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 resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Next steps for the Southern Saami

The Southern Saami are Unengaged and Unreached, 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.

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

Next steps for the Southern Saami

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.

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

Next steps for the Southern Saami

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.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Southern Saami of Norway

Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?
readJames 2:5

Pray for those living in despair to experience the riches of God's love and the hope of eternal life through faith in Christ.

After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” And leaving everything, he rose and followed him.
readLuke 5:27-28

Prat that God will prepare many hearts to meet Him when He says, “Follow Me!” and that they will respond in faith, leaving everything behind to follow Him.

But you said, "I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude."
readGenesis 32:12

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will experience God's presence and protection even in difficult circumstances, knowing that He will make them fruitful.

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
read2 Peter 3:9

Pray that those God sends to cross cultures will patiently endure hardships as they share the gospel, knowing that the Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise.

Saami, Southern (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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