The Canari Highland Quichua of Ecuador

The Canari Highland Quichua of Ecuador, numbering approximately 173,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Ecuador. They are an Indigenous people, in the Quechua people cluster of the Latin American and Caribbean Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Christianity - Folk Catholicism. They primarily speak Quichua, Cañar Highland.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Quichua, Canari Highland

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: American Peoples
Country: Ecuador
People Cluster: Quechua
Primary Language(s): Quichua, Cañar Highland (qxr)
Primary Religion(s): Christianity - Folk Catholicism
Population: 173,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG017461
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Pray for the Canari Highland Quichua of Ecuador

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Christianity - Folk Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

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Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Quichua, Cañar Highland
Language Family: Quechuan

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Media Resources in Quichua, Cañar Highland:

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Bible Resources in Quichua, Cañar Highland:

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Or check out the Quichua, Cañar Highland bible resources at Bible.com

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Next steps for the Canari Highland Quichua

The Canari Highland Quichua 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 Canari Highland Quichua

The Canari Highland Quichua 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 Canari Highland Quichua

The Canari Highland Quichua 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 Canari Highland Quichua of Ecuador

O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.
readPsalm 10:17-18

Pray that God, in accordance with His good character, will give justice to those who are oppressed by sin and that they will know that His offer of salvation is for everyone.

Moses said, "Please show me your glory." And he said, "I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name 'The LORD.' And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy."
readExodus 33:18-19

Pray that many will come to know the glory of God, which is revealed in Jesus Christ, and that they will rejoice in the mercy He offers them.

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.

For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.
read2 Corinthians 1:8-9

Pray that as people hear and believe the gospel, they will be faithful as they walk through trials and will have an opportunity to be a witness to others in this people group of the goodness of God.

Quichua, Canar Highland (ROP3 - 101871) reported in the following countries:

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

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