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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Mapuche of Chile

The Mapuche of Chile, numbering approximately 1,385,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an indigenous group native to central and southern Chile and the adjacent parts of southwestern Argentina. They are an Indigenous people, in the South American Indigenous people cluster of the Latin American and Caribbean Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Christianity - Folk Catholicism. They primarily speak Mapudungun.

Mapuche in Argentina photo
Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Mapuche

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: American Peoples
Country: Chile
People Cluster: South American Indigenous
Primary Language(s): Mapudungun (arn)
Primary Religion(s): Christianity - Folk Catholicism
Population: 1,385,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG017450
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Pray for the Mapuche of Chile

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Christianity - Folk Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

%
Christianity - Folk Catho… Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Mapudungun
Language Family: Araucanian

%
Mapudungun Speakers

Media Resources in Mapudungun:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Mapudungun:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Mapudungun bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Next steps for the Mapuche

The Mapuche are Unengaged and Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Next steps for the Mapuche

The Mapuche 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.

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

Next steps for the Mapuche

The Mapuche 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.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Mapuche of Chile

"I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world."
readJohn 16:33

Pray that those who don't have peace with God will find peace in Christ, even amid the troubles of this world.

As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.
readMatthew 13:23

Pray that their hearts will have good soil that receives the Word, understands it, and bears fruit for God's kingdom.

For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.
readMatthew 18:20

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be encouraged as they remember that Jesus is with them when they gather in His name.

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
readRevelation 7:9-10

Pray that the promise in Revelation 7:9-10 will encourage believers from among them or from nearby people groups to share the gospel with people who have never learned it.

Mapuche (ROP3 - 106296) reported in the following countries:

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 Definitions page.

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