Download the People Group List (16 languages .csv)

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
Korean - 한국어 | Nepali - नेपाली
Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
Be sure to use the data import function in your favorite app for working with data.
If you'd like to help improve these translations, Contact Us.

PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Tai of Papua New Guinea

The Tai of Papua New Guinea, numbering approximately 2,700 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an indigenous ethnic group of Papua New Guinea, Madang province: southwest, Dundrom village. They are an Indigenous people in the New Guinea people cluster of the Pacific Islander Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary language is Tay and their primary religion is Protestantism.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Pacific Islander Peoples
Country: Papua New Guinea
People Cluster: New Guinea
Primary Language(s): Tay (taw)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 2,700
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG010499
View on Joshua Project

Print Profile
Submit Updates

Pray for the Tai 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!
Download Prayer Guide

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

44%
%

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Tay
Language Family: Nuclear Trans New Guinea

100%
%

Media Resources in Tay:

Films:

No language code (ROL) found for this post.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Tay:

The filter value is not set for this post.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Tay bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

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): Marginally Reached People Group, (LPI: 4), 3% or Greater but Less than 6% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical (GSEC: 5), this people group is greater than or equal to 5% evangelical

Next steps for the Tai:
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 Tai 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 Tai:
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 Tai 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 Tai:
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 Tai of Papua New Guinea

The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.
readMatthew 4:16

Pray that those living in darkness and the shadow of death will see a great light and turn to the Lord for salvation.

I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
readDaniel 7:13-14

Pray that the gospel will advance so that all peoples will come to know the Son of Man, who has been given dominion and glory and a kingdom, and that they will bow before Him and serve Him forever.

O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.
readPsalm 51:15

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will abide in Him, and God will help them to proclaim His praise and declare His goodness all day long.

For the needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.
readPsalm 9:18

Pray that God will raise up believers who can help meet emotional and physical needs among this people group. Ask Him to open doors for them and give them the courage to walk into difficult situations and share the hope of the gospel boldly.

Tai Across Countries (ROP3 - 109706) 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.

Scroll to Top