The Waorani of Ecuador

The Waorani of Ecuador, numbering approximately 2,100 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an indigenous community of Ecuador They are an Indigenous people, in the South American Indigenous people cluster of the Latin American and Caribbean Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Christianity - Folk Catholicism. They primarily speak Waorani.

Waorani in Ecuador photo
Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Waorani

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: American Peoples
Country: Ecuador
People Cluster: South American Indigenous
Primary Language(s): Waorani (auc)
Primary Religion(s): Christianity - Folk Catholicism
Population: 2,100
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG017484
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Waorani of Ecuador

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: Christianity - Folk Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

%
Christianity - Folk Catho… Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Waorani
Language Family:

%
Waorani Speakers

Media Resources in Waorani:

Films:

Bible Resources in Waorani:

Or check out the Waorani bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Next steps for the Waorani

The Waorani are Unengaged and Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Next steps for the Waorani

The Waorani 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.

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

Next steps for the Waorani

The Waorani 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.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Waorani of Ecuador

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
readRomans 1:20

As God's creation declares His glory, pray that multitudes who don't know Him will see the works of His hands and desire to know more about the Creator.

Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
readIsaiah 43:19

Pray that the lost will see the new thing God can do in their lives and trust in His plan and purpose for them.

Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
readColossians 4:6

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, their speech will always be gracious and ready to answer for the hope which is within them.

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.

Waorani (ROP3 - 110681) reported in the following countries:

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

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