The Salasaca Highland Quichua of Ecuador

The Salasaca Highland Quichua of Ecuador, numbering approximately 21,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an indigenous Kichwa people of Ecuador's central Andes, centered in Salasaka in Tungurahua Province, known for a distinct Kichwa variety and a strong tradition of handwoven textiles. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Salasaca Highland Quichua is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Latin American and Caribbean Peoples
Country: Ecuador
People Cluster: Quechua
Primary Language(s): Salasaca Highland Quichua (qxl)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 21,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG017475
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Pray for the Salasaca Highland Quichua of Ecuador

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

—
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Salasaca Highland Quichua
Language Family: Quechuan

90%
%
Quichua, Salasaca Highland Speakers

Media Resources in Salasaca Highland Quichua:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Salasaca Highland Quichua:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc✓

1 entry

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

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Salasaca 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 Salasaca 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 Salasaca Highland Quichua of Ecuador

For the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost.
readLuke 19:10

Pray that those who are lost will respond to the One who came to seek and save the lost, and experience the joy of being found.

Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!
readPsalm 96:3

Pray for people to hear and believe the good news of Jesus and joyfully share it with their family and friends.

Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!
readPsalm 100:3-4

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be in awe of the Lord God, their Creator, and will give Him thanksgiving and praise.

And thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else's foundation, but as it is written, "Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand."
readRomans 15:20-21

Pray that God will send believers to cross cultures and proclaim the gospel where Christ has not been named, so that the nations might glorify God for His mercy.

Quichua, Salasaca Highland Across Countries (ROP3 - 108546) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

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

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