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The Buyi of Congo, Democratic Republic of the

The Buyi of Congo, Democratic Republic of the, numbering approximately 21,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Bantu people of the Lualaba River and Lake Tanganyika borderlands in DRC's Maniema province, part of the Luba cultural complex, whose clans carved ancestor figures honoring the chiefs who led their founding migrations. They mostly adhere to Roman Catholicism and Buyu is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Congo, Democratic Republic of the
People Cluster: Bantu, Central-South
Primary Language(s): Buyu (byi)
Primary Religion(s): Roman Catholicism
Population: 21,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG014530
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Pray for the Buyi 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

55%
%
Roman Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Buyu
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Buyu Speakers

Media Resources in Buyu:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Buyu:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Buyu bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

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

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
readRomans 3:23

Pray that those who live in fear, guilt and discontentment because of sin will see their need for change, hear, and receive the good news of freedom from sin through Christ.

Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward.
readPsalm 127:3

Pray that God will bless this generation of children, that they will come to know Jesus early in life and follow Him always.

And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.
readDeuteronomy 6:6-7

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will hide God's Word in their hearts, let it shape their conversations and daily lives, and pass on their faith to the next generation.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
readJohn 1:5

Pray that when discouraging days come, those who cross cultures for the sake of the gospel will be comforted as they remember that the light of Christ is stronger than the darkness that surrounds them.

Buyi Across Countries (ROP3 - 101817) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
BuyiPG014530BuyiCongo, Democratic Republic of the21,000No Longer UnreachedBuyuRoman 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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