The Ilongot of Philippines

The Ilongot of Philippines, numbering approximately 103,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Bugkalot (Ilongot) people of the Sierra Madre and Caraballo Mountains in northern Luzon, Philippines, whose traditional headhunting rite of avenging grief through raids persisted until the 1970s. They mostly adhere to Animism and Ilongot is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Philippines
People Cluster: Filipino Tribal
Primary Language(s): Ilongot (ilk)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 103,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG007687
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Ilongot of Philippines

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: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

77%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Ilongot
Language Family: Austronesian

69%
%
Bogkalot Speakers

Media Resources in Ilongot:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Ilongot:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Ilongot bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Ilongot 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 Ilongot:
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 Ilongot of Philippines

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
readPsalm 51:1

Give thanks to God that He is able to forgive all the sins people might commit, and pray that many who don't yet know this will hear the good news and turn to Him for mercy.

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
read1 John 1:5

As mobile phones, radio, and satellite television, and other technologies become more available worldwide, pray for people who are developing digital gospel resources so that others can easily access the gospel.

And many nations shall join themselves to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people. And I will dwell in your midst, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.
readZechariah 2:11

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have a heart that longs to see all people from all parts of the world worshiping Jesus as He deserves.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
readJohn 1:5

Pray that when discouraging days come, those who cross cultures for the sake of the gospel will be comforted as they remember that the light of Christ is stronger than the darkness that surrounds them.

Ilongot Across Countries (ROP3 - 103999) 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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