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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

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
readPsalm 19:1

Pray that those who are lost will look to the heavens and see the glory of God displayed, leading them to seek Him and know Him as their Creator and Savior.

Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know, and a nation that did not know you shall run to you, because of the LORD your God, and of the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you.
readIsaiah 55:5

Pray that those who do not know God will access the gospel, run to Him, and discover that He is the one their souls have been longing for.

This God - his way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.
readPsalm 18:30

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have access to His Word and the ability to understand it, so that they can grow in their faith and find refuge in Him.

He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.
readJohn 1:7

Pray that God will raise up witnesses to testify about Jesus so that all might believe, knowing that He is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress Index ▼LanguageReligion
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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