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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
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Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
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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

"I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world."
readJohn 16:33

Pray that those who don't have peace with God will find peace in Christ, even amid the troubles of this world.

Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
readPsalm 2:10-11

Pray for the rulers and authorities here to seek the Lord and serve Him only. Pray that the people they lead will be amazed by the work of God in their lives.

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
readJames 1:12

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be encouraged when they persevere under trial, knowing that when they have stood the test, they will receive the crown of life.

Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns! Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.”
readPsalm 96:10

Pray for God to put in the hearts of believers to go to the lost and testify about the Lord who reigns.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group ID ▲NameCountryPopulationStrategic 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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