The Ayoreo of Paraguay

The Ayoreo of Paraguay, numbering approximately 1,900 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are the only uncontacted Indigenous people outside the Amazon, first met by Jesuits who founded a mission in 1726 before a 1745 uprising ended it, with roughly 100 Ayoreo still living isolated in the Gran Chaco, most recently emerging from the forest in 2004. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Ayoreo is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Latin American and Caribbean Peoples
Country: Paraguay
People Cluster: South American Indigenous
Primary Language(s): Ayoreo (ayo)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 1,900
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG017213
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Ayoreo of Paraguay

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: Ayoreo
Language Family: Zamucoan

100%
%
Ayoreo Speakers

Media Resources in Ayoreo:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Ayoreo:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1982 New Tribes Mission✓✓
2018 Ethnos 360✓✓✓

2 entries

Or check out the Ayoreo bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Ayoreo 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 Ayoreo:
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 Ayoreo of Paraguay

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.

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.

Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.
readMatthew 18:19

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they find other believers to pray with, and that they will trust God to answer their requests according to His will.

The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.
readJohn 1:9-10

Pray for those God might send to share the gospel here. Ask that they will grow closer to Jesus and be compelled to share His good news with people who don't know it.

Ayoreo Across Countries (ROP3 - 100666) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

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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