The Deaf Swiss of Switzerland

The Deaf Swiss of Switzerland, numbering approximately 93,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as a community of individuals who are culturally Deaf and actively participate in Deaf culture, often using sign language as their primary means of communication They are an Indigenous people, with Deaf as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Deaf people cluster of the Deaf Peoples. They mostly adhere to Roman Catholicism and Swiss-German Sign Language is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Deaf Swiss

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Deaf Peoples
Country: Switzerland
People Cluster: Deaf
Primary Language(s): Swiss-German Sign Language (sgg)
Primary Religion(s): Roman Catholicism
Population: 93,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG000604
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Deaf Swiss of Switzerland

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

—
%
Roman Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Swiss-German Sign Language
Language Family: Sign Language

6%
%
Swiss-German Sign Language Speakers

Media Resources in Swiss-German Sign Language:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Swiss-German Sign Language:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Swiss-German Sign Language bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Deaf Swiss 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 Deaf Swiss:
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 Deaf Swiss of Switzerland

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
readRom 6:23

Pray that those who haven't heard yet will hear and believe that the wages of their sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

“I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’ to a nation that was not called by my name."
readIsaiah 65:1

Pray that the lost will be found by God, even when they are not seeking Him. Pray that He will reveal Himself to them in a way they cannot ignore and that they will respond in faith.

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
readRomans 8:15

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember the God who has given them freedom from fear so that they will trust Him completely as their good Father who meets all their needs.

The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.
readJohn 1:9-10

Pray for those God might send to share the gospel here. Ask that they will grow closer to Jesus and be compelled to share His good news with people who don't know it.

Deaf Swiss Across Countries (ROP3 - 116602) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

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

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