The Rukai of Taiwan

The Rukai of Taiwan, numbering approximately 13,500 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an indigenous people of Taiwan, south central mountains, Ping Tung area, 11 villages; Taitung area, 2 or 3 villages; west of the Puyuma (pyu). They are an Indigenous people in the Taiwan Indigenous people cluster of the East Asian Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary language is Rukai and their primary religion is Protestantism.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: East Asian Peoples
Country: Taiwan
People Cluster: Taiwan Indigenous
Primary Language(s): Rukai (dru)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 13,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG007516
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Rukai 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

37%
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Rukai
Language Family: Austronesian

77%
%
Rukai Speakers

Media Resources in Rukai:

Films:

No entries found for: Rukai(dru). Help build some!

Bible Resources in Rukai:

Or check out the Rukai bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 2), which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Significantly Reached People Group, (LPI: 6), > 20% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical (GSEC: 6), this people group is greater than or equal to 10% evangelical

Next steps for the Rukai:
Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Rukai 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 Rukai:
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

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Rukai 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 Rukai:
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 Rukai of Taiwan

For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption.
readPsalm 130:7b

Pray for those who are unaware of God's steadfast love that is offered to them through Jesus Christ to learn the truth and experience His plentiful redemption.

And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region.
readActs 13:48-49

Pray that the gospel will spread throughout this whole region and that many will believe and embrace the gift of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ.

For the LORD, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth.
readPsalm 47:2

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will exalt the Lord, recognizing His reign over the nations and His sovereignty over all things.

There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.
readMark 7:15

Pray for Christians to take any opportunity to share the hope of Jesus with lost people here, praying they will be wise like Jesus as they share the truth about what can defile people and what can make them clean.

Rukai Across Countries (ROP3 - 102730) reported in the following countries:

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 Definitions page.

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