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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.

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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

Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life"
readJohn 4:13-14

Pray that those who don't know Jesus will drink of the living water that only Christ can provide and never thirst again.

Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day.
readPsalm 119:97

Pray that the lost will have access to God's Word in their language and treasure it deeply, meditating on God's promises and precepts.

Not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
readHebrews 10:25

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will not neglect meeting together but encourage one another as they see the Day approaching.

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
readRevelation 7:9-10

Pray that the promise in Revelation 7:9-10 will encourage believers from among them or from nearby people groups to share the gospel with people who have never learned it.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group ID ▼NameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
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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