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The Mapuche of Chile

The Mapuche of Chile, numbering approximately 1,390,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an indigenous group native to central and southern Chile and the adjacent parts of southwestern Argentina. They mostly adhere to Folk Catholicism and Mapudungun is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Latin American and Caribbean Peoples
Country: Chile
People Cluster: South American Indigenous
Primary Language(s): Mapudungun (arn)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Catholicism
Population: 1,390,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG017450
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Pray for the Mapuche of Chile

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: Folk Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

65%
%
Folk Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Mapudungun
Language Family: Araucanian

52%
%
Mapudungun Speakers

Media Resources in Mapudungun:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Mapudungun:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Chilean Bible Society✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Mapudungun bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Mapuche 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 Mapuche:
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 Mapuche of Chile

But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.
read1 Timothy 6:9

Pray for those, rich and poor, who have put their trust in worldly things, and ask that they will be honest with themselves, acknowledge their need for God and turn to Him.

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
readMatthew 11:28-29

Please pray for them to lift their eyes to Jesus and find rest for their souls, lasting peace, and hope in Him.

Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.
readColossians 4:5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be wise in the way they walk with the lost and manage their time and other resources in a way that honors God.

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
readEphesians 6:13

Pray that God will send believers to the lost of this people group and that, as they share the gospel, they will take up the whole armor of God so that they can stand firm when trials come.

Mapuche Across Countries (ROP3 - 106296) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
MapuchePG017450MapucheChile1,390,000No Longer UnreachedMapudungunFolk Catholicism
MapuchePG017350MapucheArgentina126,000No Longer UnreachedMapudungunEthnoreligion

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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