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The Bwa of Congo, Democratic Republic of the

The Bwa of Congo, Democratic Republic of the, numbering approximately 507,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Ubangian-speaking farming and hunting people of the Bas-Uele savanna in northern DR Congo, in close contact with the neighboring Mangbetu and Zande, known for distinctive ceremonial masks. They mostly adhere to Roman Catholicism and Bwa is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Congo, Democratic Republic of the
People Cluster: Bantu, Central-Congo
Primary Language(s): Bwa (bww)
Primary Religion(s): Roman Catholicism
Population: 507,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG014532
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Pray for the Bwa 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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Roman Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

51%
%
Roman Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Bwa
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Bwa Speakers

Media Resources in Bwa:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Bwa:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Bwa bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Bwa 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 Bwa:
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 Bwa of Congo, Democratic Republic of the

Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life"
readJohn 4:13-14

Pray that those who don't know Jesus will drink of the living water that only Christ can provide and never thirst again.

Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts!
readPsalm 96:8

Pray for people here to humbly give God the glory due His name.

But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.
readIsaiah 53:5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will find comfort and spiritual healing as they remember the wounds of Christ, who understands their suffering because He also walked through suffering on their behalf.

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.

Bwa (Bwa) Across Countries (ROP3 - 101819) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion ▼
BwaPG014532BwaCongo, Democratic Republic of the507,000Engaged yet UnreachedBwaRoman 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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