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

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
readRomans 6:4

Pray that those who need to surrender their lives to Christ will confess their sins and trust in Him, being united with Him in His death and resurrection, walking in newness of life.

And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region.
readActs 13:48-49

Pray that the gospel will spread throughout this whole region and that many will believe and embrace the gift of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ.

But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.
readTitus 3:4-5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and might struggle with temptation to trust in their own works, they will remember that it is only because of God's mercy that they have been saved.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
readJohn 1:5

Pray that when discouraging days come, those who cross cultures for the sake of the gospel will be comforted as they remember that the light of Christ is stronger than the darkness that surrounds them.

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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