The Yaruro of Venezuela

The Yaruro of Venezuela, numbering approximately 8,100 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are described as a Llanos people of western Venezuela's Apure region, properly called Pume, speaking a language isolate along the Capanaparo, Cinaruco, and Apure rivers, resettled near the Colombian border in 1980 and displaced again by armed-group violence in 2024 They are an Indigenous people, with Yaruro as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the South American Indigenous people cluster of the Latin American and Caribbean Peoples. They mostly adhere to Animism and Pumé is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Latin American and Caribbean Peoples
Country: Venezuela
People Cluster: South American Indigenous
Primary Language(s): Pumé (yae)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 8,100
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG016509
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Yaruro of Venezuela

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: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

90%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Pumé
Language Family:

83%
%
Pumé Speakers

Media Resources in Pumé:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Pumé:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Pumé bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Yaruro 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 Yaruro:
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 Yaruro of Venezuela

And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
readMatthew 6:16

Pray that those who live to please men and not God will turn from the emptiness of seeking approval from others and find true satisfaction in the treasure of a personal relationship with God.

Sing to the LORD, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day.
readPsalm 96:2

Pray that gospel resources will reach this generation so that they will receive the good news and sing to the LORD, bless His name, and tell of His salvation each day.

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
readColossians 3:2

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will set their minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, as they look to Christ for guidance and strength.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
readActs 1:8

Pray that God will raise up believers who are willing to cross cultures and boldly share the good news of Jesus with the lost in this people group and from every nation.

Yaruro Across Countries (ROP3 - 110992) 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.

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