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The Mopan Maya of Belize

The Mopan Maya of Belize, numbering approximately 16,500 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an Indigenous Maya people whose homeland spans Belize and Guatemala; after displacement into Petén, some families returned to Belize in the late nineteenth century, establishing communities including San Antonio in Toledo District. They mostly adhere to Folk Catholicism and Mopán Maya is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Latin American and Caribbean Peoples
Country: Belize
People Cluster: Maya
Primary Language(s): Mopán Maya (mop)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Catholicism
Population: 16,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG016206
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Pray for the Mopan Maya of Belize

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!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Folk Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

74%
%
Folk Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Mopán Maya
Language Family: Mayan

100%
%
Maya, Mopán Speakers

Media Resources in Mopán Maya:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Mopán Maya:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2004 Wycliffe Bible Translators Inc.✓✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Mopán Maya bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Mopan Maya 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 Mopan Maya:
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 Mopan Maya of Belize

Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
readProverbs 30:5

Pray that those who don't yet know God will trust the flawless Word of God and seek refuge in Him, finding hope and salvation instead of remaining in spiritual darkness.

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
readHebrews 4:12

Pray for God's Word to be accessible to everyone in this people group in a way they will resonate with so that many will engage with it, receive it, and share it with others.

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
readJohn 10:28

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have assurance of eternal life, knowing that no one can snatch them out of the loving hand of Jesus.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
readRomans 1:16

Pray that God will raise up sons and daughters who, like Paul, will be bold to share the gospel across cultural barriers so that many might receive salvation.

Maya, Mopan Across Countries (ROP3 - 106783) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

3 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Mopan MayaPG016206Mopan MayaBelize16,500No Longer UnreachedMopán MayaFolk Catholicism
Mopan MayaPG024732Mopan MayaGuatemala8,000No Longer UnreachedMopán MayaEthnoreligion
Mopan MayaPG050487Mopan MayaCanada3,300No Longer UnreachedMopán MayaRoman 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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