The Garifuna of Guatemala

The Garifuna of Guatemala, numbering approximately 21,500 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are described as an Afro-Indigenous people of Central America's Caribbean coast descended from African, Arawak, and Kalinago ancestors. They speak Garifuna, an Arawakan language, and maintain a distinct maritime cultural heritage They are an Indigenous people, with Garifuna as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Central American Indigenous people cluster of the Latin American and Caribbean Peoples. Their primary religion is Folk Catholicism. They primarily speak Garifuna.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Garifuna

Fast Facts*:

Affinity Group: Latin American and Caribbean Peoples
Country: Guatemala
People Cluster: Central American Indigenous
Primary Language(s): Garifuna (cab)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Catholicism
Population: 21,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG024711
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Pray for the Garifuna 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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Folk Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

85%
%
Folk Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Garifuna
Language Family: Arawakan

15%
%
Garifuna Speakers

Media Resources in Garifuna:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Garifuna:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2002 Bible Society of Honduras

1 entry

Or check out the Garifuna bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Garifuna 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 Garifuna:
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 Garifuna of Guatemala

For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or?rulers?or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.
readColossians 1:16

Pray for those who are lost among them, that they will come to know the One who created all things and holds all things together.

"You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet."
readMatthew 5:13

Pray that the lost will have the opportunity to hear a Christian witness of how the gospel can bring hope and that they will put their faith in Christ.

The LORD bless you and keep you.
readNumbers 6:24

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be blessed with God's grace, trusting that He will never abandon them.

And he said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."
readLuke 10:2

Ask God to send out laborers into His harvest field, raising up believers from around the world to go and proclaim the kingdom of God with those who need to hear it.

Garifuna Across Countries (ROP3 - 101510) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

6 people groups

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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