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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
Hindi - हिन्दी | Indonesian - Bahasa Indonesia
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Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Waioli of Indonesia

The Waioli of Indonesia, numbering approximately 4,900 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Indonesia (Maluku), north Maluku, north Halmahera, between Sahu (saj) and Ibu (ibu) languages. They are an Indigenous people in the Maluku-Northern people cluster of the Malay Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary language is Waioli and their primary religion is Animism.

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%
%

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Waioli
Language Family: North Halmahera

76%
%

Media Resources in Waioli:

Films:

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Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Waioli:

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Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Waioli bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 2), 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.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Significantly Reached People Group, (LPI: 6), > 20% or Greater Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical (GSEC: 6), this people group is greater than or equal to 10% evangelical

Next steps for the Waioli:
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

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Waioli 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.

Next steps for the Waioli:
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

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

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
readIsaiah 53:6

Pray that those who have wandered far from God will be drawn back to Him, recognizing their need for a Savior and finding forgiveness and new life in Christ.

Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
readMatthew 16:16

Pray that many will see clearly that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and put their trust in Him.

I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
readPsalm 121:1-2

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and experience hardship, God will remind them that their help comes from the One who made heaven and earth and that He is powerful to meet their needs.

He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.
readJohn 1:7

Pray that God will raise up witnesses to testify about Jesus so that all might believe, knowing that He is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.

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

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 Definitions page.

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