The French of Madagascar

The French of Madagascar, numbering approximately 191,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Western European people whose culture has been shaped by the interaction of Celtic, Roman, Germanic, and Mediterranean influences, a long history of state formation, and a strong tradition of language, civic identity, and cultural expression. They mostly adhere to Roman Catholicism and French is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Eurasian Peoples
Country: Madagascar
People Cluster: French
Primary Language(s): French (fra)
Primary Religion(s): Roman Catholicism
Population: 191,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG015299
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the French of Madagascar

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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Roman Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

75%
%
Roman Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: French
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
French Speakers

Media Resources in French:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
The SaviorView Film

3 films

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The French 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 French:
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 French of Madagascar

He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him
readLuke 10:34

Pray that the lost among them will experience the kind of compassion Jesus taught His followers to show others, and that they will trust in Him because He is the one who brings healing to the broken and lost.

And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.
readLuke 2:17

Pray that the lost will receive the good news of salvation in God's Son, have hearts eager to share it with others, and that all who hear will respond with wonder and faith!

Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.
readMatthew 18:19

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they find other believers to pray with, and that they will trust God to answer their requests according to His will.

And thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else's foundation, but as it is written, "Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand."
readRomans 15:20-21

Pray that God will send believers to cross cultures and proclaim the gospel where Christ has not been named, so that the nations might glorify God for His mercy.

French Across Countries (ROP3 - 103059) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

21 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
FrenchFrenchFrance49,460,000Engaged yet UnreachedFrenchUnaffiliated
FrenchFrenchUnited States2,140,000Engaged yet UnreachedFrenchRoman Catholicism
FrenchFrenchMadagascar191,000Engaged yet UnreachedFrenchRoman Catholicism
FrenchFrenchUnited Kingdom164,000Unengaged and UnreachedFrenchRoman Catholicism
FrenchFrenchNew Caledonia93,500No Longer UnreachedFrenchRoman Catholicism
FrenchFrenchLuxembourg93,000Unengaged and UnreachedFrenchRoman Catholicism
FrenchFrenchReunion66,500Engaged yet UnreachedFrenchUnaffiliated
FrenchFrenchAustralia41,500Engaged yet UnreachedFrenchRoman Catholicism
FrenchFrenchMonaco30,000Engaged yet UnreachedFrenchRoman Catholicism
FrenchFrenchFrench Guiana27,000Engaged yet UnreachedFrenchRoman Catholicism
FrenchFrenchChad20,000Unengaged and UnreachedFrenchRoman Catholicism
FrenchFrenchDjibouti19,000Unengaged and UnreachedFrenchRoman Catholicism
FrenchFrenchPortugal17,500Unengaged and UnreachedFrenchRoman Catholicism
FrenchFrenchAustria16,000Unengaged and UnreachedFrenchRoman Catholicism
St. BarthiansSt. BarthiansSaint Barthelemy11,500Unengaged and UnreachedFrenchRoman Catholicism
FrenchFrenchMartinique8,400Engaged yet UnreachedFrenchRoman Catholicism
FrenchFrenchSaint Pierre and Miquelon5,100Unengaged and UnreachedFrenchRoman Catholicism
FrenchFrenchAndorra4,700Unengaged and UnreachedFrenchUnaffiliated
FrenchFrenchSeychelles1,900Engaged yet UnreachedFrenchRoman Catholicism
FrenchFrenchComoros1,800Engaged yet UnreachedFrenchRoman Catholicism
FrenchFrenchMayotte1,200Engaged yet UnreachedFrenchRoman 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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