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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Sandaun Yau of Papua New Guinea

The Sandaun Yau of Papua New Guinea, numbering approximately 500 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are described as an indigenous ethnic group of Papua New Guinea They are an Indigenous people, with Yau, Sandaun as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the New Guinea people cluster of the Pacific Islander Peoples. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion. They primarily speak Yau (Sandaun Province).

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Yau,Sandaun

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Pacific Islander Peoples
Country: Papua New Guinea
People Cluster: New Guinea
Primary Language(s): Yau (Sandaun Province) (yyu)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 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: PG010656
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Pray for the Sandaun Yau 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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

39%
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Yau (Sandaun Province)
Language Family: Nuclear Torricelli

65%
%
Yau (PNG, Sandaun Province) Speakers

Media Resources in Yau (Sandaun Province):

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Yau (Sandaun Province):

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Yau (Sandaun Province) bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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SPI: No longer Unreached

The Sandaun Yau 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 Sandaun Yau:
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 Sandaun Yau of Papua New Guinea

"And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
readJohn 8:32

Pray for those who live enslaved to sin to hear and receive the truth of the gospel and be set free.

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
readJohn 3:14-15

Pray that the lost will look to Jesus lifted up on the cross and believe in Him, gaining eternal life with God.

I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.
readMatthew 25:36

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will honor Jesus and find joy as they take care of those in need.

"Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."
readJohn 7:38

Ask God to raise up believers and sustain them as they cross cultures to share hope with those who need it. Pray that many might come to know Christ and that streams of living water will flow from their hearts so they will never thirst again.

Yau, Sandaun Across Countries (ROP3 - 110999) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group ID ▼NameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Sandaun YauPG010656Sandaun YauPapua New Guinea500No Longer UnreachedYau (Sandaun Province)Ethnoreligion

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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