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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

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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.

Pray Now!
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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

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Kinyarwanda:

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

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Kinyarwanda bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

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

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.

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

Pray that God will be working in people's hearts, give them opportunities to receive the gospel, and bring many to faith in Himself.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures.
readPsalm 23:1

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember that the Lord is their shepherd, providing for their every need.

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

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress Index ▼LanguageReligion
RwandansPG047447RwandansCanada4,000No Longer UnreachedKinyarwandaRoman Catholicism
RwandansPG047295RwandansUnited States2,400No Longer UnreachedKinyarwandaRoman Catholicism
RwandansPG039283RwandansRwanda13,960,000No Longer UnreachedKinyarwandaRoman Catholicism
RwandansPG000430RwandansNetherlands1,700No Longer UnreachedFrenchRoman Catholicism
RwandansPG014528RwandansCongo, Democratic Republic of the216,000Engaged yet UnreachedKinyarwandaEthnoreligion
RwandansPG014470RwandansBurundi236,000Engaged yet UnreachedKinyarwandaRoman Catholicism

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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