Download the People Group List (16 languages .csv)

Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
Hindi - हिन्दी | Indonesian - Bahasa Indonesia
Korean - 한국어 | Nepali - नेपाली
Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
Be sure to use the data import function in your favorite app for working with data.
If you'd like to help improve these translations, Contact Us.

PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Tzotzils of Mexico

The Tzotzils of Mexico, numbering approximately 777,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Mayan ethnolinguistic community indigenous to the central highlands of Chiapas, Mexico. They mostly adhere to Folk Catholicism and Tzotzil is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Latin American and Caribbean Peoples
Country: Mexico
People Cluster: Maya
Primary Language(s): Tzotzil (tzo)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Catholicism
Population: 777,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG039169

Print Profile
Submit Updates

Pray for the Tzotzils of Mexico

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!
Download Prayer Guide

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Folk Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

63%
%
Folk Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Tzotzil
Language Family: Mayan

88%
%
Tzotzil Speakers

Media Resources in Tzotzil:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Tzotzil:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2000 Bible Society of Mexico✓
1997 Bible Society of Mexico✓

2 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Tzotzil bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Tzotzils 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 Tzotzils:
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 Tzotzils of Mexico

For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the LORD made the heavens.
readPsalm 96:5

Pray that those who are seeking after worthless idols will not be satisfied until they seek the truth and find it in Christ.

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth.
readPsalm 67:4

Pray that God will use ways from in-person witnesses to digital gospel resources to bring the joy of His salvation to everyone so that they can be glad in Him and sing for joy.

But my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.
readHebrews 10:38

Pray that as people trust in Christ, they will live by faith and not shrink back from their hope in Christ.

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 25:40

Ask God to raise up and send believers who will serve "the least of these" with compassion and energy because they know that in serving those in need, they are serving Christ.

Tzotzil Across Countries (ROP3 - 117158) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
TzotzilsPG039169TzotzilsMexico777,000No Longer UnreachedTzotzilFolk Catholicism
TzotzilsPG049309TzotzilsUnited States77,500No Longer UnreachedTzotzilRoman 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.

Scroll to Top