Prototype rebuild by the IMB Innovation Team. The official site is peoplegroups.org.

People group profile · PG046609

The Butuanon of the Philippines

The Butuanon of the Philippines, numbering about 263,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of the Philippines.

They are an indigenous people in the Filipino Tribal people cluster of the Malay Peoples. Their primary religion is Roman Catholicism, and they primarily speak Butuanon.

Pray for the ButuanonPrint profile

AI-generated illustration representing the Butuanon people
AI-generated illustration, not a photograph. Photo by Google. (2025). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Butuanon

Fast facts

Country
Philippines
Population
263,000
Affinity group
Asian Pacific Rim Peoples
People cluster
Filipino Tribal
Primary language
Butuanon (btw)
Primary religion
Roman Catholicism
Strategic Progress Index
No Longer Unreached
Evangelical
2% or Greater but Less than 5%
GSEC
2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
Lostness priority
Minimally Reached People Group
Region
South-Eastern Asia, Asia

Where they live

Gospel status

The Butuanon are No Longer Unreached, which means 2% or more are evangelical Christians. In GSEC terms, this people group is greater than or equal to 2% evangelical.

  • Congregations exist Yes
  • Church planting in the last two years No Churches Planted

Next steps for the Butuanon

  • Pray for the churches among this group to grow in faithfulness and maturity
  • Equip believers to reach the unreached peoples around them
  • Send out laborers from this people to the nations

Primary religion

Roman Catholicism · Christianity

70% adherents

Primary language

Butuanon · Austronesian family

69% speak Butuanon

Gospel resources in Butuanon

  • Bible not available
  • JESUS Film not available
  • Radio programs not available
  • Gospel recordings not available
  • Audio resources not available
  • Bible stories not available

Find more at the JESUS Film Project, Bible.com and Faith Comes by Hearing.

Pray for the Butuanon

  1. John 17:3. Pray that many will come to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent.
  2. Psalm 27:1. Pray that new believers will be strengthened in the face of persecution, with the Lord as their stronghold.
  3. Romans 12:4–5. Pray that believers from many cultures will work together as one body so that the church is built up.
  4. Revelation 7:9. Pray for the day when people from this group stand before the throne with every nation, tribe, people and language.

Download a prayer guide

Know something we don't? Submit updates to IMB Global Research.