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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Tzeltal of Mexico

The Tzeltal of Mexico, numbering approximately 860,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Maya people indigenous to the highlands of chiapas in Mexico. They mostly adhere to Folk Catholicism and Tzeltal is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Latin American and Caribbean Peoples
Country: Mexico
People Cluster: Maya
Primary Language(s): Tzeltal (tzh)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Catholicism
Population: 860,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG039165
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Pray for the Tzeltal of Mexico

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!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Folk Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

51%
%
Folk Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Tzeltal
Language Family: Mayan

91%
%
Tzeltal Speakers

Media Resources in Tzeltal:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

3 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Tzeltal:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2006 Bible Society of Mexico✓
2001 Bible Society of Mexico✓

2 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Tzeltal bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Tzeltal 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 Tzeltal:
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 Tzeltal of Mexico

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
readJohn 3:17

Pray for those who are living under the burdens of man-made religion to learn about the freedom Jesus offers them and turn to Him in faith.

...I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
readPsalm 13:5

Ask God to bring many to trust in His unfailing love and cause their hearts to rejoice in His salvation.

Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.
readPsalm 127:1

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will build their homes in the Lord and raise their children to know and honor Him.

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
read2 Peter 3:9

Pray that those God sends to cross cultures will patiently endure hardships as they share the gospel, knowing that the Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise.

Tzeltal Across Countries (ROP3 - 103775) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group ID ▲NameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
TzeltalPG039165TzeltalMexico860,000No Longer UnreachedTzeltalFolk Catholicism
TzeltalPG049313TzeltalUnited States86,000No Longer UnreachedTzeltalRoman 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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