The Rwandans of Burundi

The Rwandans of Burundi, numbering approximately 236,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a community in Burundi descended from refugees and migrants from Rwanda who have retained a distinct Rwandan identity and heritage. They mostly adhere to Roman Catholicism and Kinyarwanda is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Burundi
People Cluster: Bantu, Central-Lakes
Primary Language(s): Kinyarwanda (kin)
Primary Religion(s): Roman Catholicism
Population: 236,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG014470

Pray for the Rwandans of Burundi

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: Roman Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

64%
%
Roman Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kinyarwanda
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Kinyarwanda Speakers

Media Resources in Kinyarwanda:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

3 films

Bible Resources in Kinyarwanda:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Ikinyarwanda Cy'iki Gihe (Common) Interconfessional✓

1 entry

Or check out the Kinyarwanda bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Rwandans 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 Rwandans:
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 Rwandans of Burundi

O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.
readPsalm 10:17-18

Pray that God, in accordance with His good character, will give justice to those who are oppressed by sin and that they will know that His offer of salvation is for everyone.

O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.
readPsalm 104:24

Pray that they will see the wisdom and power of God in His creation and praise Him for His mighty works.

But my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.
readHebrews 10:38

Pray that as people trust in Christ, they will live by faith and not shrink back from their hope in Christ.

Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
readMatthew 6:9b-10

Pray that God will raise up Christians who are driven by a desire to see God's name worshiped, His kingdom come, and His will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Ask Him to send them to the lost in this people group and sustain them.

Rwandan Across Countries (ROP3 - 108463) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

6 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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