Download the People Group List (16 languages .csv)

Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
Hindi - हिन्दी | Indonesian - Bahasa Indonesia
Korean - 한국어 | Nepali - नेपाली
Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
Be sure to use the data import function in your favorite app for working with data.
If you'd like to help improve these translations, Contact Us.

PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Wayana of French Guiana

The Wayana of French Guiana, numbering approximately 2,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Carib-speaking Amazonian people of the upper Maroni River basin descended from the merger of smaller groups including the Upului, Opagwana, and Kukuyana, never formally colonized due to the region's dense rainforest. They mostly adhere to Animism and Wayana is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Wayana

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Latin American and Caribbean Peoples
Country: French Guiana
People Cluster: South American Indigenous
Primary Language(s): Wayana (way)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 2,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG016344
View on Joshua Project

Print Profile
Submit Updates

Pray for the Wayana of French Guiana

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!
Download Prayer Guide

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

91%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Wayana
Language Family: Cariban

100%
%
Wayana Speakers

Media Resources in Wayana:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Wayana:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1979 World Team✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Wayana bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Wayana 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 Wayana:
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 Wayana of French Guiana

For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.
readIsaiah 48:11

Pray that those who have been living for their own glory will turn to the One who is worthy of all praise and find their true identity in Him.

The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.
readActs 17:24-25

Pray that the good news will reach everyone in this people group and that many will come to know and serve the one true God who made the world and everything in it and lives today.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
read1 Peter 2:9

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will embrace their identity as God's chosen people, royal priests, and holy nation, living out their faith with purity and devotion.

Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father sends me, even so I am sending you."
readJohn 20:21

Ask God to raise up and send out believers cross-culturally who will go out in His authority and be sustained by His peace as they share the gospel with the lost.

Wayana Across Countries (ROP3 - 110731) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

3 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion ▼
WayanaPG016441WayanaSuriname650No Longer UnreachedWayanaProtestantism
WayanaPG017184WayanaBrazil300No Longer UnreachedWayanaFolk Catholicism
WayanaPG016344WayanaFrench Guiana2,000Engaged yet UnreachedWayanaAnimism

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.

Scroll to Top