The Yucatec of Belize

The Yucatec of Belize, numbering approximately 5,700 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic group indigenous to the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. They mostly adhere to Folk Catholicism and Yucateco is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Latin American and Caribbean Peoples
Country: Belize
People Cluster: Maya
Primary Language(s): Yucateco (yua)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Catholicism
Population: 5,700
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG016209
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Yucatec of Belize

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: Folk Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

81%
%
Folk Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Yucateco
Language Family: Mayan

100%
%
Maya, Yucatec Speakers

Media Resources in Yucateco:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Bible Resources in Yucateco:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1992 Bible Society of Mexico✓

1 entry

Or check out the Yucateco bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Yucatec 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 Yucatec:
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 Yucatec of Belize

And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.
readJohn 3:19

Pray that God will have mercy on those who love the darkness they are walking in and turn from their sin to faith in Christ.

For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the LORD of hosts.
readMalachi 1:11

Pray that they will worship God in spirit and truth, offering Him the sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving that He desires.

Not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
readHebrews 10:25

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will not neglect meeting together but encourage one another as they see the Day approaching.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
readMatthew 28:19-20

Ask God to bring people among this group to faith in Jesus who will be obedient to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to obey all that Christ has commanded.

Maya, Yucatan Across Countries (ROP3 - 111105) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

3 people groups

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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