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The Lwena of Angola

The Lwena of Angola, numbering approximately 1,035,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Bantu ethnic group living mainly in southeastern Angola and northwestern Zambia, with smaller communities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Luvale is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Angola
People Cluster: Bantu, Central-South
Primary Language(s): Luvale (lue)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 1,035,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG015185
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Pray for the Lwena of Angola

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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

—
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Luvale
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Luvale Speakers

Media Resources in Luvale:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Luvale:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Luvale bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Lwena 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 Lwena:
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 Lwena of Angola

For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.
readTitus 3:3

Pray for those who seek worldly pleasures instead of God to flee from sin and choose God’s goodness and lovingkindness by placing their faith in Jesus.

And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
readMatthew 24:14

Pray that the gospel of God's kingdom will reach more people and that they will respond in faith, becoming disciples of Jesus Christ.

It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
readIsaiah 25:9

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will proclaim and rejoice in His salvation.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
readJohn 1:5

Pray that when discouraging days come, those who cross cultures for the sake of the gospel will be comforted as they remember that the light of Christ is stronger than the darkness that surrounds them.

Lwena Across Countries (ROP3 - 105947) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

3 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress Index ▼LanguageReligion
LuvalePG015603LuvaleZambia489,000Engaged yet UnreachedLuvaleEthnoreligion
LwenaPG015185LwenaAngola1,035,000Engaged yet UnreachedLuvaleEthnoreligion
LwenaPG014639LwenaCongo, Democratic Republic of the278,000Engaged yet UnreachedLuvaleRoman Catholicism

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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