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The Otavalo Highland Quichua of Ecuador

The Otavalo Highland Quichua of Ecuador, numbering approximately 727,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Ecuador. They mostly adhere to Folk Catholicism and Imbabura Highland Quichua is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Latin American and Caribbean Peoples
Country: Ecuador
People Cluster: Quechua
Primary Language(s): Imbabura Highland Quichua (qvi)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Catholicism
Population: 727,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG017472
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Pray for the Otavalo Highland Quichua of Ecuador

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Folk Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

94%
%
Folk Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Imbabura Highland Quichua
Language Family: Quechuan

100%
%
Quichua, Imbabura Highland Speakers

Media Resources in Imbabura Highland Quichua:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Imbabura Highland Quichua:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Imbabura Highland Quichua bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Otavalo 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.

Next steps for the Otavalo Highland Quichua:
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 Otavalo Highland Quichua of Ecuador

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
readPsalm 51:1

Give thanks to God that He is able to forgive all the sins people might commit, and pray that many who don't yet know this will hear the good news and turn to Him for mercy.

Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts!
readPsalm 96:8

Pray for people here to humbly give God the glory due His name.

And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
readRomans 10:15

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be eager to proclaim the good news of peace, knowing that the Lord has called them to this task.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!
readPsalm 51:2

Pray that God will raise up believers to go and share the gospel with those in this people group who need to be washed of their iniquity and cleansed from their sins.

Quichua, Imbabura Highland Across Countries (ROP3 - 107703) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress Index ▼LanguageReligion
Otavalo Highland QuichuaPG017472Otavalo Highland QuichuaEcuador727,000Engaged yet UnreachedImbabura Highland QuichuaFolk Catholicism

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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