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The Waioli of Indonesia

The Waioli of Indonesia, numbering approximately 4,900 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a small Papuan-language community of southwestern North Halmahera in Indonesia's Maluku Islands, part of the Sahu language cluster alongside the neighboring Ibu and Gamkonora peoples. They mostly adhere to Animism and Waioli is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Indonesia
People Cluster: Maluku-Northern
Primary Language(s): Waioli (wli)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 4,900
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG022731
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Pray for the Waioli of Indonesia

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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

52%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Waioli
Language Family: North Halmahera

76%
%
Waioli Speakers

Media Resources in Waioli:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Waioli:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Waioli bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Waioli 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 Waioli:
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 Waioli of Indonesia

Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
readLuke 15:7

Pray that God will convict the lost of their sin, give them an urgency to run to Him for forgiveness, and feel His welcoming arms around them when they turn to Him.

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
readJohn 8:12

Pray that many will come to know Jesus, the light of the world, and have the light of life instead of walking in darkness.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.
readEphesians 2:4-5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember God's mercy and grace and experience joy as they walk in new life with Christ.

I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations.
readPsalm 57:9

Pray that God will raise up believers among them who will boldly go and share the gospel with people nearby and with those far away.

Waioli Across Countries (ROP3 - 110629) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
WaioliPG022731WaioliIndonesia4,900No Longer UnreachedWaioliAnimism

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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