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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Kwanyama of Namibia

The Kwanyama of Namibia, numbering approximately 319,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are the largest of the Ovambo kingdoms, whose ancestors migrated southward from present-day Zambia by the fourteenth century and whose territory was split between Namibia and Angola by an 1890 colonial boundary. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Kuanyama is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Namibia
People Cluster: Bantu, Central-Southwest
Primary Language(s): Kuanyama (kua)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 319,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG015448
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Pray for the Kwanyama of Namibia

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.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

—
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kuanyama
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Oshiwambo Speakers

Media Resources in Kuanyama:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Kuanyama:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Kuanyama bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Kwanyama 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 Kwanyama:
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 Kwanyama of Namibia

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
readRomans 10:14

Pray that those who haven't heard will hear the Word of Christ and believe in Him, calling upon the name of the Lord to be saved.

And many nations shall join themselves to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people. And I will dwell in your midst, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.
readZechariah 2:11

Pray that many will take refuge in the Lord and be His people who share the good news of salvation in Jesus with others.

But my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.
readHebrews 10:38

Pray that as people trust in Christ, they will live by faith and not shrink back from their hope in Christ.

And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.”
readLuke 18:29-30

Pray that God will raise up people to go and share the gospel and help them trust His promise that anyone who has left those they treasure for the sake of the kingdom of God will receive many times more in this life and in the life to come.

Kwanyama Across Countries (ROP3 - 105527) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress Index ▼LanguageReligion
KwanyamaPG015448KwanyamaNamibia319,000Engaged yet UnreachedKuanyamaEthnoreligion

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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