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The Saotomense of Sao Tome and Principe

The Saotomense of Sao Tome and Principe, numbering approximately 215,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnic community of mixed Indigenous and European ancestry originating in São Tomé and Príncipe. They mostly adhere to Protestantism and Sãotomense is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Sao Tome and Principe
People Cluster: Other Sub-Saharan African
Primary Language(s): Sãotomense (cri)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 215,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG014215
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Pray for the Saotomense of Sao Tome and Principe

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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

—
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Sãotomense
Language Family: Indo-European

60%
%
Sãotomense Speakers

Media Resources in Sãotomense:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Sãotomense:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Sãotomense bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Saotomense 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 Saotomense:
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 Saotomense of Sao Tome and Principe

O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.
readPsalm 10:17-18

Pray that God, in accordance with His good character, will give justice to those who are oppressed by sin and that they will know that His offer of salvation is for everyone.

But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.
readMark 4:20

Pray that those who have never encountered the gospel will have the opportunity to receive it, and that it will fall on good soil and bear much fruit.

And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.
read2 Corinthians 12:28

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will grow in the spiritual gifts God has given them and use these gifts to glorify Him and build up the Church.

Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!
readPsalm 34:3

Pray that God will raise up believers who will go to those in this people group who do not yet follow Jesus, and that they will invite many to magnify the Lord with them so that His fame will spread to the ends of the earth.

Saotomense, Mestizo Across Countries (ROP3 - 108693) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

3 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress Index ▼LanguageReligion
Sao TomeansPG000499Sao TomeansPortugal8,500No Longer UnreachedPortugueseRoman Catholicism
SaotomensePG014215SaotomenseSao Tome and Principe215,000Engaged yet UnreachedSãotomenseProtestantism
SaotomensePG013160SaotomenseEquatorial Guinea13,500Engaged yet UnreachedSãotomenseProtestantism

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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