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The Bwile of Zambia

The Bwile of Zambia, numbering approximately 66,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an indigenous people of northern Zambia centered on the northeastern shore of Lake Mweru in Chiengi District, with related communities across the border in the DRC. They mostly adhere to Roman Catholicism and Bwile is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2025). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Bwile

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Zambia
People Cluster: Bantu, Central-South
Primary Language(s): Bwile (bwc)
Primary Religion(s): Roman Catholicism
Population: 66,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG015572
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Pray for the Bwile of Zambia

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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Roman Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

50%
%
Roman Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Bwile
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

57%
%
Bwile Speakers

Media Resources in Bwile:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Bwile:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Bwile bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Bwile 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 Bwile:
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 Bwile of Zambia

The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.
readProverbs 4:19

Pray that lost people will accept salvation through Christ, turn from destruction, and experience joy in the way of righteousness.

Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!
readPsalm 96:3

Pray for people to hear and believe the good news of Jesus and joyfully share it with their family and friends.

"And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you"...And the King will answer them, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me."
readMatthew 25:38-40

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and serve others in faithfulness to Him, they will know that by serving others, they are serving Jesus, who is present with them.

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
read1 Corinthians 15:10–11

Pray that God's people will preach the message of Jesus' death and resurrection and that it will spread among the lost through the selfless witness of believers.

Bwile Across Countries (ROP3 - 101828) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group ID ▲NameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
BwilePG014533BwileCongo, Democratic Republic of the27,500Unengaged and UnreachedBwileRoman Catholicism
BwilePG015572BwileZambia66,000Engaged yet UnreachedBwileRoman 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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