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The Tswana of South Africa

The Tswana of South Africa, numbering approximately 4,240,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Sotho-Tswana people of southern Africa descended from Bantu-speaking communities that established chiefdoms across the interior grasslands of present-day South Africa and Botswana. They mostly adhere to Independent Christianity and Tswana is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Tswana

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: South Africa
People Cluster: Bantu, Sotho-Tswana
Primary Language(s): Tswana (tsn)
Primary Religion(s): Independent Christianity
Population: 4,240,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, Concentrated CP Activity
People Group ID: PG015544
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Pray for the Tswana 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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Independent Christianity
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

85%
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Tswana
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

95%
%
Setswana Speakers

Media Resources in Tswana:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Tswana:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Tswana bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Tswana 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 Tswana:
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 Tswana of South Africa

For you, O LORD, are most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.
readPsalm 97:9

Pray that those who don't yet know Him will recognize the Lord as the Most High and turn from spiritual darkness to worship Him above all else.

No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.
readLuke 13:3

Pray that the lost will repent and believe the gospel, for without it, they will perish.

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 as people place their faith in Christ, they will have a heart that longs to see all people from all parts of the world worshiping Jesus as He deserves.

But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.
readJeremiah 29:7

Pray that God will lead the lost among them to followers of Jesus who will share the gospel with them so that they may believe and take the message of hope to their families and friends.

Tswana Across Countries (ROP3 - 110225) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

4 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountry ▲PopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
TswanaPG015264TswanaBotswana2,115,000Engaged yet UnreachedTswanaEthnoreligion
TswanaPG015463TswanaNamibia6,600Engaged yet UnreachedTswanaEthnoreligion
TswanaPG015544TswanaSouth Africa4,240,000Engaged yet UnreachedTswanaIndependent Christianity
TswanaPG015682TswanaZimbabwe95,000Engaged yet UnreachedTswanaEthnoreligion

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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