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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Bayaka of Congo

The Bayaka of Congo, numbering approximately 47,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as one of at least eleven Pygmy groups in Central Africa They are an Indigenous people, with Bayaka as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Pygmy people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples. Their primary religion is Protestantism. They primarily speak Yaka (Central African Republic).

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Congo
People Cluster: Pygmy
Primary Language(s): Yaka (Central African Republic) (axk)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 47,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG012956
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Pray for the Bayaka of Congo

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: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

—
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Yaka (Central African Republic)
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Yaka (Central African Republic) Speakers

Media Resources in Yaka (Central African Republic):

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Yaka (Central African Republic):

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Yaka (Central African Republic) bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 1), which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Pioneer Unreached People Group, (LPI: 1), 0.1% to 0.5% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Bayaka:
Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Bayaka 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 Bayaka:
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

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Bayaka 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 Bayaka:
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 Bayaka of Congo

For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.
readEphesians 5:8

Pray that those who are lost will turn from the darkness they are walking in and embrace the light, becoming children of light who bear fruit in every good work.

Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth!
readPsalm 96:9

Pray that many who do not yet know Jesus will come to know Him and worship Him in the splendor of His holiness.

The LORD bless you and keep you.
readNumbers 6:24

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be blessed with God's grace, trusting that He will never abandon them.

And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.”
readLuke 18:29-30

Pray that God will raise up people to go and share the gospel and help them trust His promise that anyone who has left those they treasure for the sake of the kingdom of God will receive many times more in this life and in the life to come.

Bayaka (Yaka) Across Countries (ROP3 - 101463) reported in the following countries:

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 Definitions page.

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