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

But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.
readPsalm 130:4

Pray that God will bring those who have hard hearts to repentance and trust in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins.

Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
readPsalm 67:3

Pray that God will be working in people's hearts, give them opportunities to receive the gospel, and bring many to faith in Himself.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
readPsalm 23:4

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will trust in the Lord's presence, even in the darkest valleys.

Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!
readPsalm 34:3

Pray that God will raise up believers who will go to those in this people group who do not yet follow Jesus, and that they will invite many to magnify the Lord with them so that His fame will spread to the ends of the earth.

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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