Unreached peoples of Réunion
An overview of the country's people groups, focusing on those who still have little or no access to the gospel in their own language and culture.
Réunion has 15 catalogued ethnic groups, shaped by centuries of forced and voluntary migration: descendants of enslaved Africans and Malagasy, Tamil and Gujarati Indians, Chinese, and French. Five of these groups, about a third of the total, are still considered unreached by the gospel, most of Muslim tradition and linked to more closed communities of Comorian, Gujarati, and Swahili origin. Together they total about 55,000 people, a small fraction of the island's population, but still without their own Christian community able to reach them without outside help.
- 6.4% Unreached (55K)
- 0.4% Minimally reached (3K)
- 7.4% Superficially reached (64K)
- 85.8% Partially reached (738K)
- 0% Significantly reached (0)
- 33.3% Unreached (5)
- 6.7% Minimally reached (1)
- 26.7% Superficially reached (4)
- 33.3% Partially reached (5)
- 0% Significantly reached (0)
Source of people group data: Joshua Project (joshuaproject.net). Estimates, may vary.
Source: Joshua Project. Estimates, may vary.
| People | Population | Language | Evang. | Chr. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gujarati Frontier | 2.9M | Gujarati | 0.3% | 1.4% |
| Ngazidja Comorian | 439K | Ngazidja Comorian | 0.2% | 0.6% |
| Mwali Comorian Frontier | 47K | Mwali Comorian | < 0.1% | 0.1% |
| Ndzwani Comorian | 386K | Ndzwani Comorian | 0.2% | 0.6% |
| Swahili Frontier | 1.2M | Swahili | 0.9% | 1.8% |
| Punjabi | 2.1M | Eastern Punjabi | 0.3% | 1% |
| Bantu | 4K | Reunion Creole French | 1% | 55% |
| Malagasy | 86K | Merina Malagasy | 1% | 69% |
| French | 52M | French | 1.1% | 66.7% |
| Christian Tamil | 50K | Tamil | 1.5% | 89.4% |
| Cantonese | 80.1M | Yue Chinese | 7.6% | 9.7% |
| Hakka Han Chinese | 43.9M | Hakka Chinese | 7.1% | 8.9% |
| Réunion Creole | 659K | Reunion Creole French | 7.6% | 95% |
| Mandarin-speaking Han Chinese | 925.1M | Mandarin Chinese | 8.3% | 9.9% |
| French-speaking Reunionese | 186K | French | 8.1% | 96% |
Intercede for Réunion and its peoples
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