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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Sakalava of Madagascar

The Sakalava of Madagascar, numbering approximately 2,295,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as a Malagasy people of western and northwestern Madagascar whose identity is rooted in Sakalava language and culture, cattle keeping, royal traditions, and ancestral customs linked to historic coastal kingdoms They are an Indigenous people, with Sakalava as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Malagasy people cluster of the Malay Peoples. They mostly adhere to Animism and Sakalava Malagasy is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Sakalava

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Madagascar
People Cluster: Malagasy
Primary Language(s): Sakalava Malagasy (skg)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 2,295,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG015307
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Pray for the Sakalava 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: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

57%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Sakalava Malagasy
Language Family: Austronesian

80%
%
Malagasy, Sakalava Speakers

Media Resources in Sakalava Malagasy:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film

2 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Sakalava Malagasy:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Sakalava Malagasy bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Sakalava 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 Sakalava:
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 Sakalava of Madagascar

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
readRomans 6:23

Pray that those who do know about God's free gift will hear and believe that the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord and that they will joyfully accept this gift.

Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!
readPsalm 96:3

Pray for people to hear and believe the good news of Jesus and joyfully share it with their family and friends.

For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.
readHebrews 10:34

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have compassion for those in prison, sympathize with those who are mistreated, and continue to do good and share the gospel with others.

"Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."
readJohn 7:38

Ask God to raise up believers and sustain them as they cross cultures to share hope with those who need it. Pray that many might come to know Christ and that streams of living water will flow from their hearts so they will never thirst again.

Sakalava Across Countries (ROP3 - 108531) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group ID ▲NameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
SakalavaPG015278SakalavaComoros1,000Engaged yet UnreachedBushiAnimism
SakalavaPG015307SakalavaMadagascar2,295,000Engaged yet UnreachedSakalava MalagasyAnimism

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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