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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Waray-Waray of Philippines

The Waray-Waray of Philippines, numbering approximately 3,920,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of the Philippines. They mostly adhere to Folk Catholicism and Waray (Philippines) is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Philippines
People Cluster: Filipino, Central
Primary Language(s): Waray (Philippines) (war)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Catholicism
Population: 3,920,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG007806
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Pray for the Waray-Waray 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.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Folk Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

50%
%
Folk Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Waray (Philippines)
Language Family: Austronesian

100%
%
Waray-Waray Speakers

Media Resources in Waray (Philippines):

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Waray (Philippines):

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Popular Version✓✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Waray (Philippines) bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Waray-Waray 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 Waray-Waray:
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 Waray-Waray of Philippines

Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
readLuke 15:7

Pray that God will convict the lost of their sin, give them an urgency to run to Him for forgiveness, and feel His welcoming arms around them when they turn to Him.

Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.
readPsalm 25:5

Pray that the gospel will advance and that God will lead people in His truth, bringing many to salvation.

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
readIsaiah 41:10

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will not fear, for the Lord is with them, and He will strengthen, help, and uphold them with His righteous right hand.

Come, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD, who stand by night in the house of the LORD!
readPsalm 134:1

Pray that God will raise up believers among them who are in awe of Him and that, in service to Him, they will share the gospel with others so that they too may bless the Lord!

Waray-Waray Across Countries (ROP3 - 110687) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Waray-WarayPG007806Waray-WarayPhilippines3,920,000Engaged yet UnreachedWaray (Philippines)Folk 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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