Bible Center
The Bible in South Africa
12 languages spoken in South Africa are still waiting for a complete Bible.
Where the country's languages stand
Languages without the Bible
29%
29 Complete Bible
3 New Testament complete
4 Portions translated
5 Nothing translated yet
41Languages in the country
29With complete Bible
12Without complete Bible
3With no translation at all
Bible translation by language
These are the country's languages that do not yet have the complete Bible, plus the official language. Languages brought from other countries that already have the complete Bible are not on this list.
| Language | Status | Speakers |
|---|---|---|
| Zulu Official | Complete Bible | 14.883.000 |
| Afrikaans Official | Complete Bible | 10.532.800 |
| Xhosa Official | Complete Bible | 10.337.000 |
| Northern Sotho Official | Complete Bible | 6.492.000 |
| Southern Sotho Official | Complete Bible | 4.855.000 |
| Setswana Official | Complete Bible | 4.634.000 |
| Tsonga Official | Complete Bible | 2.851.000 |
| English Official | Complete Bible | 2.742.600 |
| Swati Official | Complete Bible | 1.631.000 |
| Venda Official | Complete Bible | 1.513.000 |
| Ndebele (South Africa) Official | Complete Bible | 1.363.000 |
| South African Sign Language | Portions translated | 238.000 |
| Bhojpuri | New Testament complete | 63.000 |
| Morisyen | New Testament complete | 46.000 |
| Oorlams | Translation needed | 44.000 |
| Birwa | Translation needed | 13.000 |
| Angloromani | Portions translated | 11.000 |
| Levantine Arabic | New Testament complete | 6.200 |
| Kung-Ekoka | Portions translated | 4.600 |
| Northwestern Kung | Translation started | 4.100 |
| Khwedam | Portions translated | 1.600 |
| Taa | Translation needed | 500 |
Source: Joshua Project. Numbers updated periodically.