The Vili of Gabon

The Vili of Gabon, numbering approximately 7,500 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Kongo subgroup called Bavili who founded the Kingdom of Loango before 1485, a major ivory, copper, and cloth trading power that thrived from the 1500s to the 1800s until French occupation ended the kingdom in 1883 amid European colonial rivalry. They mostly adhere to Protestantism and Vili is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Gabon
People Cluster: Bantu, Kongo
Primary Language(s): Vili (vif)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 7,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG013217
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Vili of Gabon

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: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

—
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Vili
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Vili Speakers

Media Resources in Vili:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Vili:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Bible Society of Congo Edition✓✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Vili bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Vili 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 Vili:
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 Vili of Gabon

Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
readPsalm 67:3

Pray that those who are lost and unaware of God's blessings will come to know Him as the one true God, put their trust in Him, and join in praising Him among the nations.

But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.
readMark 4:20

Pray that those who have never encountered the gospel will have the opportunity to receive it, and that it will fall on good soil and bear much fruit.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
readJames 1:5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will ask God for wisdom when they lack it, trusting that He will generously give it to them.

Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!
readPsalm 149:3

Pray that God will send His people across cultures to share the gospel so that those who don't yet know the truth about Him might praise His name and share the hope of Christ with others.

Bavili Across Countries (ROP3 - 110565) 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.

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