The Uspantec of Guatemala

The Uspantec of Guatemala, numbering approximately 5,400 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Maya people whose ancestors have continuously inhabited the highland trade capital of Uspantan in Guatemala's Quiche department since roughly 500 AD, speaking the severely endangered tonal language Uspanteko. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Uspanteco is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Latin American and Caribbean Peoples
Country: Guatemala
People Cluster: Central American Indigenous
Primary Language(s): Uspanteco (usp)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 5,400
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG024751
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Uspantec of Guatemala

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: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

—
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Uspanteco
Language Family: Mayan

100%
%
Uspanteko Speakers

Media Resources in Uspanteco:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Uspanteco:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1999 Wycliffe Bible Translators Inc.✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Uspanteco bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Uspantec 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 Uspantec:
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 Uspantec of Guatemala

The LORD has heard my plea; the LORD accepts my prayer.
readPsalm 6:9

Pray that lost people will hear the gospel and place their faith in Christ, knowing that He hears their plea and accepts their prayer.

For my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples.
readLuke 2:30

Pray that the lost will see the salvation of God, and that they will trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
read1 Peter 2:24

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember every day that Jesus' death on the cross brings real healing and restoration to their souls and joyfully share this good news with others.

Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns! Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.”
readPsalm 96:10

Pray for God to put in the hearts of believers to go to the lost and testify about the Lord who reigns.

Uspantec Across Countries (ROP3 - 110456) 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.

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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