The Kgalagadi of Botswana

The Kgalagadi of Botswana, numbering approximately 57,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Botswana. and can also be known as Basarwa, Bakgalagadi. They are an Indigenous people in the Bantu, Sotho-Tswana people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary language is Kgalagadi and their primary religion is Animism.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Botswana
People Cluster: Bantu, Sotho-Tswana
Primary Language(s): Kgalagadi (xkv)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 57,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG015235
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Kgalagadi of Botswana

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: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

73%
%

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kgalagadi
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%

Media Resources in Kgalagadi:

Films:

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Bible Resources in Kgalagadi:

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Or check out the Kgalagadi 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): Expanding Unreached People Group, (LPI: 2), 0.5% or Greater but Less than 2% 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 Kgalagadi:
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 Kgalagadi 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 Kgalagadi:
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 Kgalagadi 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 Kgalagadi:
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 Kgalagadi of Botswana

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
readMatthew 9:36

Pray that those who have no hope and are in need of a Savior will be comforted by the Good Shepherd, who seeks to gather the lost and weary into His care.

I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
readDaniel 7:13-14

Pray that the gospel will advance so that all peoples will come to know the Son of Man, who has been given dominion and glory and a kingdom, and that they will bow before Him and serve Him forever.

For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain.
read2 Thessalonians 3:5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will persevere according to God's command, walk in faith, and be strong so that they can resist the evil one’s deception.

To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law.
read1 Corinthians 9:20

Pray that believers from similar cultures will be compelled by Christ's love to reach people who don't know the gospel, and that those people will receive the good news with joy.

Kgalagadi Across Countries (ROP3 - 104870) 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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