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The Buyi of Congo, Democratic Republic of the

The Buyi of Congo, Democratic Republic of the, numbering approximately 21,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Bantu people of the Lualaba River and Lake Tanganyika borderlands in DRC's Maniema province, part of the Luba cultural complex, whose clans carved ancestor figures honoring the chiefs who led their founding migrations. They mostly adhere to Roman Catholicism and Buyu is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Congo, Democratic Republic of the
People Cluster: Bantu, Central-South
Primary Language(s): Buyu (byi)
Primary Religion(s): Roman Catholicism
Population: 21,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG014530
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Pray for the Buyi of Congo, Democratic Republic of the

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: Roman Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

55%
%
Roman Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Buyu
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Buyu Speakers

Media Resources in Buyu:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Buyu:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Buyu bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Buyi are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Next steps for the Buyi:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Buyi of Congo, Democratic Republic of the

But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
readMatthew 5:44-45

Pray for those who don't know Jesus to encounter believers who are kind and compassionate and that their imitation of Christ will serve as a testimony that attracts lost people to Jesus.

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
readMatthew 6:10

Pray that God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven, and that people will seek His kingdom and righteousness above all else, trusting in His provision.

My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
readJohn 10:29

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will rejoice as they remember that they can never lose their salvation

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
readEphesians 6:13

Pray that God will send believers to the lost of this people group and that, as they share the gospel, they will take up the whole armor of God so that they can stand firm when trials come.

Buyi Across Countries (ROP3 - 101817) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
BuyiPG014530BuyiCongo, Democratic Republic of the21,000No Longer UnreachedBuyuRoman Catholicism

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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