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The Betsileo of Madagascar

The Betsileo of Madagascar, numbering approximately 5,420,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a highland people of Madagascar's Fianarantsoa province whose name, meaning the many invincible ones, honors King Besilau's 1670s victory over a Sakalava-Menabe invasion, later conquered by the expanding Merina kingdom. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Plateau Malagasy is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Madagascar
People Cluster: Malagasy
Primary Language(s): Plateau Malagasy (plt)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 5,420,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG015294
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Pray for the Betsileo of Madagascar

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: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

—
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Plateau Malagasy
Language Family: Austronesian

100%
%
Malagasy, Merina Speakers

Media Resources in Plateau Malagasy:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Plateau Malagasy:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Dikanteny Iombonana Eto Madagasikara✓
Interconfessional Version✓✓
Protestant version 1985 based on Malagasy Protestant Bible 1965✓✓
Revised Protestant Version✓
Roman Catholic Version 2010 based on text Malagasy Catholic Bible 2003✓✓

5 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Plateau Malagasy bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Betsileo 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 Betsileo:
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 Betsileo of Madagascar

But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven"
readMatthew 9:14

Pray that those who are spiritually dead will recognize their need for spiritual nourishment and turn to the One who offers true fulfillment.

For I will proclaim the name of the LORD; ascribe greatness to our God!
readDeuteronomy 32:3

Pray that believers will proclaim the Lord’s name and declare the greatness of our God so that others might believe in Him.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
readJames 1:2-3

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will consider it pure joy when they face trials of many kinds, trusting in God's promise that the testing of their faith produces perseverance.

For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.
read2 Corinthians 1:5

When any who might believe suffer for the sake of the gospel, ask God to deepen their understanding of His grace so that they may share it freely with those who have not received it.

Betsileo Across Countries (ROP3 - 101301) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDName ▼CountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
BetsileoPG015294BetsileoMadagascar5,420,000No Longer UnreachedPlateau MalagasyEthnoreligion

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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