The Bouyei of China

The Bouyei of China, numbering approximately 3,210,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a large, officially recognized ethnic group of southern China, best known for their Tai‑speaking language, rice‑farming traditions, and long presence on the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Bouyei is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Bouyei

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: China
People Cluster: Bouyei
Primary Language(s): Bouyei (pcc)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 3,210,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG006696
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Bouyei of China

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: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

80%
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Bouyei
Language Family: Tai-Kadai

100%
%
Bouyei Speakers

Media Resources in Bouyei:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film

2 films

Bible Resources in Bouyei:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
ZXN Version✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Bouyei bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Bouyei 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 Bouyei:
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 Bouyei of China

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
readRomans 1:18

Pray that God will have mercy and open the eyes of those who don't know Jesus, so that they can turn to the One who is able to save them from their sins.

Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength!
readPsalm 96:7

Pray that entire households will come to faith in Jesus and that God will bless their families with faith in Him for generations to come.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
readJames 1:2-3

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will consider it pure joy when they face trials of many kinds, trusting in God's promise that the testing of their faith produces perseverance.

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."
readMatthew 9:37-38

Pray that the Lord of the harvest will raise up believers to send out into His harvest field, which is ripe and ready.

Bouyei Across Countries (ROP3 - 114016) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 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.

Scroll to Top