The French of Madagascar

The French of Madagascar, numbering approximately 191,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Western European people whose culture has been shaped by the interaction of Celtic, Roman, Germanic, and Mediterranean influences, a long history of state formation, and a strong tradition of language, civic identity, and cultural expression. They mostly adhere to Roman Catholicism and French is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Eurasian Peoples
Country: Madagascar
People Cluster: French
Primary Language(s): French (fra)
Primary Religion(s): Roman Catholicism
Population: 191,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG015299
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the French 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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Roman Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

75%
%
Roman Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: French
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
French Speakers

Media Resources in French:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
The SaviorView Film

3 films

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The French 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 French:
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 French of Madagascar

For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the LORD made the heavens.
readPsalm 96:5

Pray that those who are seeking after worthless idols will not be satisfied until they seek the truth and find it in Christ.

Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized.
readActs 18:8

Pray that rulers and leaders will access the gospel, respond in faith, and be baptized, uniting with Christ and His Church, and influence others to follow Him.

I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.
readMatthew 25:36

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will honor Jesus and find joy as they take care of those in need.

Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.”
readActs 17:32

Ask God to give those He sends to cross cultures wisdom and discernment as they engage in spiritual conversations with those who are curious about the gospel.

French Across Countries (ROP3 - 103059) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

21 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion ▼
FrenchFrenchFrance49,460,000Engaged yet UnreachedFrenchUnaffiliated
FrenchFrenchReunion66,500Engaged yet UnreachedFrenchUnaffiliated
FrenchFrenchAndorra4,700Unengaged and UnreachedFrenchUnaffiliated
FrenchFrenchSaint Pierre and Miquelon5,100Unengaged and UnreachedFrenchRoman Catholicism
FrenchFrenchAustria16,000Unengaged and UnreachedFrenchRoman Catholicism
St. BarthiansSt. BarthiansSaint Barthelemy11,500Unengaged and UnreachedFrenchRoman Catholicism
FrenchFrenchUnited States2,140,000Engaged yet UnreachedFrenchRoman Catholicism
FrenchFrenchDjibouti19,000Unengaged and UnreachedFrenchRoman Catholicism
FrenchFrenchChad20,000Unengaged and UnreachedFrenchRoman Catholicism
FrenchFrenchFrench Guiana27,000Engaged yet UnreachedFrenchRoman Catholicism
FrenchFrenchAustralia41,500Engaged yet UnreachedFrenchRoman Catholicism
FrenchFrenchNew Caledonia93,500No Longer UnreachedFrenchRoman Catholicism
FrenchFrenchMartinique8,400Engaged yet UnreachedFrenchRoman Catholicism
FrenchFrenchSeychelles1,900Engaged yet UnreachedFrenchRoman Catholicism
FrenchFrenchMayotte1,200Engaged yet UnreachedFrenchRoman Catholicism
FrenchFrenchMadagascar191,000Engaged yet UnreachedFrenchRoman Catholicism
FrenchFrenchComoros1,800Engaged yet UnreachedFrenchRoman Catholicism
FrenchFrenchUnited Kingdom164,000Unengaged and UnreachedFrenchRoman Catholicism
FrenchFrenchPortugal17,500Unengaged and UnreachedFrenchRoman Catholicism
FrenchFrenchMonaco30,000Engaged yet UnreachedFrenchRoman Catholicism
FrenchFrenchLuxembourg93,000Unengaged and UnreachedFrenchRoman Catholicism

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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