Western Kanjobal of Guatemala (PGID: PG024701)

PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Western Kanjobal of Guatemala

The Western Kanjobal of Guatemala, numbering approximately 72,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Mayan people of Guatemala's Huehuetenango Department centered on San Miguel Acatan, whose Akateko language split from the Qanjobalan language group between 1400 and 1500 AD, later disrupted by displacement during the Guatemalan Civil War. They mostly adhere to Folk Catholicism and Western Kanjobal is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Acateco

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Latin American and Caribbean Peoples
Country: Guatemala
People Cluster: Maya
Primary Language(s): Western Kanjobal (knj)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Catholicism
Population: 72,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG024701
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Pray for the Western Kanjobal of Guatemala

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.

Pray Now!

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Folk Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

70%

Folk Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Western Kanjobal
Language Family: Mayan

84%

Akateko Speakers

Media Resources in Western Kanjobal:

Films:

Title	Link
JESUS	View Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Western Kanjobal:

Bible Name (Translation)	Video	Audio	Text
2001 Wycliffe Bible Translators Inc.		✓	✓
2016 Asociación Educativa y Cultural Maya		✓	✓

2 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Western Kanjobal bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Western Kanjobal 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 Western Kanjobal:

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 Western Kanjobal of Guatemala

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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.”
Matthew 28:16-20

Pray that those who don't yet know Him will encounter the risen Savior and be transformed by the power of His resurrection, becoming disciples who make disciples.

Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
Psalm 47:6

Pray that believers will have a heart to invite others to trust in Christ alone so that they might sing praises to His name.

For the LORD, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth.
Psalm 47:2

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will exalt the Lord, recognizing His reign over the nations and His sovereignty over all things.

For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods.
Psalm 96:4

Pray that God will raise up believers to declare His glory among the lost, so that they may know that He is great and greatly to be praised, that He is exalted above all gods.

Kanjobal, Western Across Countries (ROP3 - 110785) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index

All

Engaged yet Unreached UUPG No Longer Unreached

CountryReligion

2 people groups

Photo	People Group ID	Name	Country	Population	Strategic Progress Index ▼	Language	Religion
	PG039087	Kanjobal	Mexico	10,500	No Longer Unreached	Spanish	Folk Catholicism
	PG024701	Western Kanjobal	Guatemala	72,000	No Longer Unreached	Western Kanjobal	Folk Catholicism

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