The Paresi of Brazil

The Paresi of Brazil, numbering approximately 2,100 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an Arawakan people of Mato Grosso's Serra dos Parecis whose population, estimated as high as 20,000 before 18th-century gold prospectors began enslaving them for the mines, was driven to near extinction before survivors retreated into the Serra highlands. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Parecís is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Latin American and Caribbean Peoples
Country: Brazil
People Cluster: South American Indigenous
Primary Language(s): Parecís (pab)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 2,100
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG017063
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Paresi of Brazil

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: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

—
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Parecís
Language Family: Arawakan

100%
%
Parecís Speakers

Media Resources in Parecís:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Parecís:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Bible League International✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Parecís bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Paresi 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 Paresi:
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 Paresi of Brazil

Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
read1 John 3:8

Pray for those living in darkness to recognize the destructive power of sin and the victory Christ has won over it.

Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day.
readPsalm 119:97

Pray that the lost will have access to God's Word in their language and treasure it deeply, meditating on God's promises and precepts.

And they all ate and were satisfied. And what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.
readLuke 9:17

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will meditate on the stories of Jesus' miracles, be in awe of Him, and trust Him for everything they need.

And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you.
readLuke 10:6

Pray that, as people come to faith in Christ and want to share it with others, they will be welcomed into homes and received well so that they can share message of hope with many people.

Paresi Across Countries (ROP3 - 107893) 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.

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