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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Rouku of Papua New Guinea

The Rouku of Papua New Guinea, numbering approximately 1,500 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an indigenous ethnic group of Papua New Guinea. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Wára is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Pacific Islander Peoples
Country: Papua New Guinea
People Cluster: New Guinea
Primary Language(s): Wára (tci)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 1,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG010404
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Pray for the Rouku of Papua New Guinea

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.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

30%
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Wára
Language Family: Yam

100%
%
Wára Speakers

Media Resources in Wára:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Wára:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Wára bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Rouku 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 Rouku:
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 Rouku of Papua New Guinea

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth.
readPsalm 67:4

Pray that those who are lost in darkness and confusion will come to understand God's ways, submit to His righteous rule, and experience the joy of His salvation.

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.
readPsalm 19:1-2

Pray that the lost will see the glory of God revealed in the heavens, that they will hear the good news, and that their hearts will be softened to respond to God’s call, turning to Him in repentance and faith in Jesus Christ for salvation.

Depart from me, all you workers of evil, for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping.
readPsalm 6:8

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, God will remind them that He is near and will help them place their hope in Him when others wish to do them harm.

Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns! Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.”
readPsalm 96:10

Pray for God to put in the hearts of believers to go to the lost and testify about the Lord who reigns.

Rouku Across Countries (ROP3 - 108423) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguage ▼Religion
RoukuPG010404RoukuPapua New Guinea1,500No Longer UnreachedWáraEthnoreligion

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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