The Ibanag of Philippines

The Ibanag of Philippines, numbering approximately 619,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of the Philippines. They are an Indigenous people in the Filipino Tribal people cluster of the Malay Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary language is Ibanag and their primary religion is Ethnoreligion.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Philippines
People Cluster: Filipino Tribal
Primary Language(s): Ibanag (ibg)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 619,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG007680
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Ibanag of Philippines

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: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Ibanag
Language Family: Austronesian

80%
%
Ibanag Speakers

Media Resources in Ibanag:

Films:

Bible Resources in Ibanag:

Or check out the Ibanag bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 1), which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Expanding Unreached People Group, (LPI: 2), 0.5% to 2% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Ibanag:
Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Ibanag 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 Ibanag:
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

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Ibanag 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 Ibanag:
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 Ibanag of Philippines

"For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." Those who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?" But he said "What is impossible with man is possible with God."
readLuke 18:25-27

Pray that the lost who think they have everything they need will recognize their spiritual poverty apart from Jesus and turn to Him in faith.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
readMatthew 13: 45-46

Pray that they will recognize the treasure of knowing Christ Jesus and be willing to give up everything else to gain Him.

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.
readColossians 4:2

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving, as they bring needs before the Lord.

But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.
read2 Corinthians 3:16

Give thanks to God for believers around the world who are willing to cross cultures to share the gospel with those who are perishing. Pray that He will work through their witness to draw many to turn to Him.

Ibanag Across Countries (ROP3 - 103934) reported in the following countries:

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 Definitions page.

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