The Salasaca Highland Quichua of Ecuador

The Salasaca Highland Quichua of Ecuador, numbering approximately 21,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Ecuador. They are an Indigenous people in the Quechua people cluster of the Latin American and Caribbean Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary language is Quichua, Salasaca Highland and their primary religion is Ethnoreligion.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Quichua, Salasaca Highland

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Latin American and Caribbean Peoples
Country: Ecuador
People Cluster: Quechua
Primary Language(s): Quichua, Salasaca Highland (qxl)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 21,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG017475
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Pray for the Salasaca Highland Quichua of Ecuador

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Quichua, Salasaca Highland
Language Family: Quechuan

90%
%
Quichua, Salasaca Highland Speakers

Media Resources in Quichua, Salasaca Highland:

Films:

Bible Resources in Quichua, Salasaca Highland:

Or check out the Quichua, Salasaca Highland bible at Bible.com

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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): Expanding Unreached People Group, (LPI: 2), 0.5% to 2% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent 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 Salasaca Highland Quichua:
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 Salasaca Highland Quichua 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 Salasaca Highland Quichua:
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 Salasaca Highland Quichua 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 Salasaca Highland Quichua:
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 Salasaca Highland Quichua of Ecuador

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
readPsalm 20:7

Pray for those who trust in anything other than the Lord to be convicted of their sin and learn about what Jesus did for them so that they can choose to trust in Him.

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!

We give thanks to you, O God; we give thanks, for your name is near. We recount your wondrous deeds.
readPsalm 75:1

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will give thanks to the Lord for His wondrous works and declare His goodness to all people.

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
readJohn 12:24

Pray that God will raise up men and women who are willing to die to their own desires, bearing much fruit for the kingdom among individuals and in places where His gospel has not been proclaimed.

Quichua, Salasaca Highland Across Countries (ROP3 - 108546) reported in the following countries:

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

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