Download the People Group List (16 languages .csv)

Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
Hindi - हिन्दी | Indonesian - Bahasa Indonesia
Korean - 한국어 | Nepali - नेपाली
Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
Be sure to use the data import function in your favorite app for working with data.
If you'd like to help improve these translations, Contact Us.

The Swaka of Zambia

The Swaka of Zambia, numbering approximately 131,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a small ethnic group living today in eastern Zambia. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Lala-Bisa is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2025). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Swaka

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Zambia
People Cluster: Bantu, Central-South
Primary Language(s): Lala-Bisa (leb)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 131,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG015635
View on Joshua Project

Print Profile
Submit Updates

Pray for the Swaka of Zambia

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!
Download Prayer Guide

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

—
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Lala-Bisa
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Lala-Bisa Speakers

Media Resources in Lala-Bisa:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Lala-Bisa:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Lala-Bisa bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Swaka 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 Swaka:
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 Swaka of Zambia

Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
readPsalm 67:3

Pray that those who are lost and unaware of God's blessings will come to know Him as the one true God, put their trust in Him, and join in praising Him among the nations.

He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.
readIsaiah 40:11

Pray that the lost will come to know the tender care of the Good Shepherd, who gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart.

Praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
readActs 2:47

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, God will use their faith and their church community as a testimony to the watching world and grow His Church.

Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
readMatthew 6:9b-10

Pray that God will raise up Christians who are driven by a desire to see God's name worshiped, His kingdom come, and His will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Ask Him to send them to the lost in this people group and sustain them.

Swaka Across Countries (ROP3 - 109646) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguage ▼Religion
SwakaPG015635SwakaZambia131,000Engaged yet UnreachedLala-BisaEthnoreligion

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.

Scroll to Top