The Paiwanese of Taiwan

The Paiwanese of Taiwan, numbering approximately 118,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are Taiwan's second-largest Indigenous people, settled across the southern Central Mountain Range from Damumu to the Hengchun Peninsula, practicing first-child inheritance regardless of gender alongside a distinctive five-year ritual. They mostly adhere to Protestantism and Paiwan is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: East Asian Peoples
Country: Taiwan
People Cluster: Taiwan Indigenous
Primary Language(s): Paiwan (pwn)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 118,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG007530
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Paiwanese of Taiwan

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: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

—
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Paiwan
Language Family: Austronesian

60%
%
Paiwan Speakers

Media Resources in Paiwan:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Paiwan:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Paiwan bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Paiwanese 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 Paiwanese:
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 Paiwanese of Taiwan

For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
readRomans 5:7-8

Pray for the many who don't yet understand the hope of the gospel, and pray that God will reveal to them that while they were in darkness, Christ died for them.

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
readRomans 1:19-20

Pray that God will use His creation – the “things that have been made” – to spark a fresh and passionate curiosity among them to draw near to the Maker and that, as they seek Him, He will make a way for them to hear the gospel and receive it with joy.

For the LORD takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation.
readPsalm 149:4

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be encouraged and feel immeasurably loved as they meditate on the fact that God takes pleasure in them.

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.

Paiwan Across Countries (ROP3 - 107762) 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.

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