The Deaf Portuguese of Portugal

The Deaf Portuguese of Portugal, numbering approximately 103,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are 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, in the Deaf people cluster of the Deaf Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Christianity - Roman Catholicism. They primarily speak Portuguese Sign Language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Deaf Peoples
Country: Portugal
People Cluster: Deaf
Primary Language(s): Portuguese Sign Language (psr)
Primary Religion(s): Christianity - Roman Catholicism
Population: 103,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG000495
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Deaf Portuguese of Portugal

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: Christianity - Roman Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

%

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Portuguese Sign Language
Language Family: Sign Language

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Media Resources in Portuguese Sign Language:

Films:

No language code (ROL) found for this post.

Bible Resources in Portuguese Sign Language:

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Or check out the Portuguese Sign Language bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Next steps for the Deaf Portuguese

The Deaf Portuguese are Unengaged and Unreached, 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.

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

Next steps for the Deaf Portuguese

The Deaf Portuguese 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.

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

Next steps for the Deaf Portuguese

The Deaf Portuguese 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.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Deaf Portuguese of Portugal

For you, O LORD, are most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.
readPsalm 97:9

Pray that those who don't yet know Him will recognize the Lord as the Most High and turn from spiritual darkness to worship Him above all else.

Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man.
readPsalm 66:5

Pray that many here will come and see what the Creator God has done on their behalf.

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
readPsalm 27:1

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, God will strengthen them when they face persecution of any kind for Jesus' name’s sake.

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

Pray that God will bring people to faith who are excited about the eternal life they have in Christ and will want to cross cultures to share this hope with others.

Deaf Portuguese (ROP3 - 116561) reported in the following countries:

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

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