The Portuguese of Portugal

The Portuguese of Portugal, numbering approximately 9,525,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Southwestern European people native to Portugal whose culture has been shaped by Atlantic maritime traditions, the Iberian environment, Roman and medieval influences, Roman Catholic heritage, and centuries of overseas exploration and global exchange. They mostly adhere to Roman Catholicism and Portuguese is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Eurasian Peoples
Country: Portugal
People Cluster: Portuguese, European
Primary Language(s): Portuguese (por)
Primary Religion(s): Roman Catholicism
Population: 9,525,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG000494
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Pray for the Portuguese of Portugal

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: Roman Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

85%
%
Roman Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Portuguese
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Portuguese Speakers

Media Resources in Portuguese:

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

5 films

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Portuguese 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 Portuguese:
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 Portuguese of Portugal

And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
readActs 4:12

Pray that those walking in darkness among them will come to know the name by which they must be saved, and call upon Him in faith.

And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.
read2 Timothy 2:2

Pray that the lost will come to faith in Christ and be discipled in the truth of the gospel, becoming faithful followers of Jesus who, in turn, make disciples themselves.

And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.
read2 Corinthians 12:28

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will grow in the spiritual gifts God has given them and use these gifts to glorify Him and build up the Church.

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
readEphesians 6:11

Pray that those God sends to cross cultures will put on the full armor of God so that they will be able to stand against the schemes of the enemy.

Portuguese Across Countries (ROP3 - 108129) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

20 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
PortuguesePortuguesePortugal9,525,000Engaged yet UnreachedPortugueseRoman Catholicism
PortuguesePortugueseSouth Africa1,090,000Engaged yet UnreachedPortugueseRoman Catholicism
PortuguesePortugueseFrance984,000No Longer UnreachedPortugueseRoman Catholicism
PortuguesePortugueseUnited States863,000No Longer UnreachedPortugueseRoman Catholicism
PortuguesePortugueseCanada309,000No Longer UnreachedPortugueseRoman Catholicism
PortuguesePortugueseSwitzerland269,000Engaged yet UnreachedPortugueseRoman Catholicism
PortuguesePortugueseVenezuela240,000No Longer UnreachedPortugueseRoman Catholicism
PortuguesePortugueseUnited Kingdom177,000Engaged yet UnreachedPortugueseRoman Catholicism
PortuguesePortugueseGermany143,000Engaged yet UnreachedPortugueseRoman Catholicism
PortuguesePortugueseLuxembourg103,000Engaged yet UnreachedPortugueseRoman Catholicism
PortuguesePortugueseSpain93,500Engaged yet UnreachedPortugueseRoman Catholicism
PortuguesePortugueseBelgium56,500Engaged yet UnreachedPortugueseRoman Catholicism
PortuguesePortugueseMozambique28,500Engaged yet UnreachedPortugueseRoman Catholicism
PortuguesePortugueseMalawi21,500Engaged yet UnreachedPortugueseRoman Catholicism
PortuguesePortugueseArgentina18,000No Longer UnreachedPortugueseRoman Catholicism
PortuguesePortugueseZimbabwe16,000Engaged yet UnreachedPortugueseRoman Catholicism
PortuguesePortugueseAndorra11,500Unengaged and UnreachedPortugueseRoman Catholicism
PortuguesePortugueseMacao10,500No Longer UnreachedPortugueseRoman Catholicism
PortuguesePortugueseGuinea-Bissau6,600Unengaged and UnreachedPortugueseRoman Catholicism
PortuguesePortugueseZambia3,900Engaged yet UnreachedPortugueseRoman 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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