The Subia of Botswana

The Subia of Botswana, numbering approximately 7,600 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as a Bantu‑speaking ethnic group of southern Africa. They are a river‑oriented people historically settled along the Zambezi, Chobe, and Linyanti river systems, with significant populations today in Namibia, Botswana, and Zambia Basubiya They are an Indigenous people, with Subia as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Bantu, Central-South people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples. Their primary religion is Animism. They primarily speak Subiya.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Botswana
People Cluster: Bantu, Central-South
Primary Language(s): Subiya (sbs)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 7,600
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG015262
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Subia of Botswana

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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

69%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Subiya
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Kuhane Speakers

Media Resources in Subiya:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Subiya:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Subiya bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Subia 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 Subia:
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 Subia of Botswana

I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.
readIsaiah 42:8

Pray that lost people will turn from worthless idols to worship the one true God, recognizing that He alone is worthy of all glory and praise.

And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
read1 John 4:21

Pray that the good news of God's love will reach everyone in this people group, and that His love will compel them to love others as Christ has loved us.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
readPsalm 23:4

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will trust in the Lord's presence, even in the darkest valleys.

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
read2 Corinthians 5:20

Pray that those God sends to cross cultures will be His ambassadors, faithfully imploring people on Christ's behalf to be reconciled to God through Jesus.

Subia Across Countries (ROP3 - 109569) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

3 people groups

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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