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The Lingala of Congo, Democratic Republic of the

The Lingala of Congo, Democratic Republic of the, numbering approximately 4,315,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Congolese ethnolinguistic community associated with the Lingala language, which emerged from Congo River trade networks and the historical Bangala riverine peoples. They mostly adhere to Roman Catholicism and Lingala is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Lingala

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Congo, Democratic Republic of the
People Cluster: Bantu, Central-Congo
Primary Language(s): Lingala (lin)
Primary Religion(s): Roman Catholicism
Population: 4,315,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG050322
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Pray for the Lingala of Congo, Democratic Republic of the

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

29%
%
Roman Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Lingala
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Lingala Speakers

Media Resources in Lingala:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Lingala:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1982 Boyokant Ya Sika✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Lingala bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Lingala 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 Lingala:
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 Lingala of Congo, Democratic Republic of the

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.
readRevelation 3:20

Pray that those who have not opened their hearts to Jesus will hear His knock and invite Him in as their Savior and Lord.

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
readRomans 1:19-20

Pray that God will use His creation – the “things that have been made” – to spark a fresh and passionate curiosity among them to draw near to the Maker and that, as they seek Him, He will make a way for them to hear the gospel and receive it with joy.

What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?
readJames 4:1

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will turn from worldly passions and live in unity with one another.

To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel.
readEphesians 6:18b-19

Ask God to give believers He sends to the lost of this people group the boldness and clarity to proclaim the mystery of the gospel in a way that people can understand.

Lingala Across Countries (ROP3 - 105785) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

9 people groups

PhotoPeople Group ID ▼NameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
LingalaPG050322LingalaCongo, Democratic Republic of the4,315,000No Longer UnreachedLingalaRoman Catholicism
LingalaPG047445LingalaCanada3,500No Longer UnreachedLingalaProtestantism
CongolesePG047246CongoleseUnited States38,000No Longer UnreachedLingalaNeo-Pentecostalism
LingalaPG015177LingalaAngola200,000Engaged yet UnreachedLingalaEthnoreligion
CongolesePG015104CongoleseUganda28,000No Longer UnreachedLingalaNeo-Pentecostalism
LingalaPG012981LingalaCongo189,000Engaged yet UnreachedLingalaProtestantism
LingalaPG012888LingalaCentral African Republic19,000Engaged yet UnreachedLingalaProtestantism
LingalaPG012081LingalaSouth Sudan49,500Unengaged and UnreachedLingalaSunni Islam
CongolesePG000063CongoleseBelgium15,500No Longer UnreachedLingalaRoman 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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