The Ovimbundu of Angola

The Ovimbundu of Angola, numbering approximately 14,710,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as the largest ethnic group in Angola. The Ovimbundu are a Bantu-speaking people, primarily residing on the Bié Plateau in central Angola and the surrounding highlands They are an Indigenous people, with Ovimbundu (Umbundu) as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Bantu, Central-Southwest people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples. Their primary religion is Protestantism. They primarily speak Umbundu.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Angola
People Cluster: Bantu, Central-Southwest
Primary Language(s): Umbundu (umb)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 14,710,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG015192
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Ovimbundu 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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

70%
%

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Umbundu
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%

Media Resources in Umbundu:

Films:

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Bible Resources in Umbundu:

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Or check out the Umbundu bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 1), 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): Pioneer Unreached People Group, (LPI: 1), 0.1% to 0.5% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active 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 Ovimbundu:
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 Ovimbundu 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 Ovimbundu:
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 Ovimbundu 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 Ovimbundu:
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 Ovimbundu of Angola

For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the LORD made the heavens.
readPsalm 96:5

Pray that those who are seeking after worthless idols will not be satisfied until they seek the truth and find it in Christ.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
readJohn 14:6

Pray that those who are searching for a way to God and desiring truth will encounter the good news of eternal life and accept it.

And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
readMatthew 28:18-20

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have confidence because Jesus has all authority and is with them as they make disciples and teach others about Him.

And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you.
readLuke 10:6

Pray that, as people come to faith in Christ and want to share it with others, they will be welcomed into homes and received well so that they can share message of hope with many people.

Ovimbundu (Umbundu) Across Countries (ROP3 - 110393) reported in the following countries:

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 Definitions page.

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