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

I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.
readProverbs 8:17

As many search for hope, pray they will discover materials that will lead them to Jesus and explain the gospel in a way they will resonate with.

And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
read1 John 4:21

Pray that the good news of God's love will reach everyone in this people group, and that His love will compel them to love others as Christ has loved us.

Jesus said, ‘Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.
readMark 10:29-30

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will know that when they make sacrifices to follow Jesus, He is there with them and will bless them abundantly in this life and in the life to come.

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations.
readPsalm 67:1-2

Pray that as God blesses believers from among this people group or from nearby cultures, He will raise them up to share His saving power among the nations.

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.

Scroll to Top