The Central Bontoc of Philippines

The Central Bontoc of Philippines, numbering approximately 707,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an indigenous Bontoc people of Mountain Province in northern Luzon, centered in Bontoc municipality and its surrounding villages. They mostly adhere to Roman Catholicism and Central Bontok is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Philippines
People Cluster: Filipino Tribal
Primary Language(s): Central Bontok (lbk)
Primary Religion(s): Roman Catholicism
Population: 707,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG046616
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Central Bontoc 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: Roman Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

73%
%
Roman Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Central Bontok
Language Family: Austronesian

100%
%
Bontok, Central Speakers

Media Resources in Central Bontok:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Central Bontok:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Central Bontok bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Central Bontoc 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 Central Bontoc:
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 Central Bontoc of Philippines

For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm!
readPsalm 47:7

Pray for those who live for idols that will never satisfy their hearts, asking that someone will tell them that God is the King of all the earth so that they will turn to Him in repentance and praise.

So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.
readRomans 9:16

Pray that the merciful God who is at work in people's hearts will advance His gospel among them.

And many nations shall join themselves to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people. And I will dwell in your midst, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.
readZechariah 2:11

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have a heart that longs to see all people from all parts of the world worshiping Jesus as He deserves.

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
readJames 5:16

Pray that believers whom God sends will confess their sins, pray for one another, and live in unity. Ask that they will model healthy Christian relationships for this people group.

Bontoc, Central Across Countries (ROP3 - 103969) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

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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