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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Malagasy of Reunion

The Malagasy of Reunion, numbering approximately 12,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as an Austronesian-speaking ethnic group indigenous to the island country of Madagascar They are an Indigenous people, with Malagasy as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Malagasy people cluster of the Malay Peoples. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Plateau Malagasy is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Reunion
People Cluster: Malagasy
Primary Language(s): Plateau Malagasy (plt)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 12,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG015472
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Pray for the Malagasy of Reunion

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: Unreached yet Engaged

The Malagasy 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 Malagasy:
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 Malagasy of Reunion

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
readRomans 5:10

Pray that any who may be enemies of God will grasp the depth of God's love demonstrated through Christ's death for the ungodly, and be reconciled to Him.

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise).
readEphesians 6:1-2

Pray that God will bring young men and women to faith in Jesus and that the fruit of their faith will be a powerful testimony as they honor their parents.

For the LORD takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation.
readPsalm 149:4

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be encouraged and feel immeasurably loved as they meditate on the fact that God takes pleasure in them.

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

Ask God to raise up believers who will faithfully proclaim the good news and equip others to do the same.

Malagasy Across Countries (ROP3 - 106120) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

7 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion ▼
MalagasyPG047470MalagasyCanada2,400Unengaged and UnreachedPlateau MalagasySunni Islam
MalagasyPG000179MalagasyFrance66,500No Longer UnreachedPlateau MalagasyProtestantism
MalagasyPG047271MalagasyUnited States300No Longer UnreachedPlateau MalagasyProtestantism
MalagasyPG015368MalagasyMayotte2,900Engaged yet UnreachedPlateau MalagasyEthnoreligion
MalagasyPG015472MalagasyReunion12,500Engaged yet UnreachedPlateau MalagasyEthnoreligion
Malagasy MaorePG015275Malagasy MaoreComoros1,300Engaged yet UnreachedPlateau MalagasyAnimism
MalagasyPG015358MalagasyMauritius5,100Engaged yet UnreachedPlateau 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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