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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Nama of South Africa

The Nama of South Africa, numbering approximately 99,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an African ethnic group of Namibia, South Africa and Botswana. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Khoekhoe is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: South Africa
People Cluster: Khoisan
Primary Language(s): Khoekhoe (naq)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 99,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG015519
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Pray for the Nama of South Africa

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: Khoekhoe
Language Family: Khoe-Kwadi

100%
%
Khoekhoe Speakers

Media Resources in Khoekhoe:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Khoekhoe:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Khoekhoe bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Nama 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 Nama:
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 Nama of South Africa

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
readPsalm 51:17

Pray that those who want to achieve salvation through their works will be unsettled in their pursuit and that, with a broken spirit and contrite heart, they will trust in Christ.

“I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’ to a nation that was not called by my name."
readIsaiah 65:1

Pray that the lost will be found by God, even when they are not seeking Him. Pray that He will reveal Himself to them in a way they cannot ignore and that they will respond in faith.

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
readMatthew 5:16

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be humble and give glory to God through their good deeds.

I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations.
readPsalm 57:9

Pray that God will raise up believers among them who will boldly go and share the gospel with people nearby and with those far away.

Nama Across Countries (ROP3 - 107050) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

3 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress Index ▲LanguageReligion
NamaPG047814NamaNamibia146,000Unengaged and UnreachedKhoekhoeEthnoreligion
NamaPG015245NamaBotswana275Engaged yet UnreachedKhoekhoeEthnoreligion
NamaPG015519NamaSouth Africa99,500Engaged yet UnreachedKhoekhoeEthnoreligion

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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