The Atacama of Argentina

The Atacama of Argentina, numbering approximately 15,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an altiplano people of Argentina's Antofagasta borderlands also known as Likan-Antai or Kunza speakers, whose ancestors developed advanced irrigation and terracing before conquest by the Inca and later the Spanish. They mostly adhere to Folk Catholicism and Spanish is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Latin American and Caribbean Peoples
Country: Argentina
People Cluster: South American Indigenous
Primary Language(s): Spanish (spa)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Catholicism
Population: 15,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG050146
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Pray for the Atacama of Argentina

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

55%
%
Folk Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Spanish
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Spanish Speakers

Media Resources in Spanish:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
MagdalenaView Film
The SaviorView Film

5 films

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Atacama 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 Atacama:
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 Atacama of Argentina

The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.
readPsalm 9:9-10

Pray that God will help those who are oppressed and without hope to hear the good news of Jesus and trust in Him, for He has never forsaken those who seek Him.

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
readLamentations 3:23-23

Pray that they will have hope in the Lord, knowing that His compassions never fails and that His mercies are new every morning.

And he brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be.”
readGenesis 15:5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will trust God to keep His promises.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
read2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Pray that as people hear and believe the gospel, they will serve others in Jesus' name, and the lost will have an opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel.

Atacameno Across Countries (ROP3 - 105433) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 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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