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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.

Pray Now!
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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

View all resources

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

View all resources

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

For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the LORD made the heavens.
readPsalm 96:5

Pray that those who are seeking after worthless idols will not be satisfied until they seek the truth and find it in Christ.

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise).
readEphesians 6:1-2

Pray that God will bring young men and women to faith in Jesus and that the fruit of their faith will be a powerful testimony as they honor their parents.

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
read1 Peter 2:24

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember every day that Jesus' death on the cross brings real healing and restoration to their souls and joyfully share this good news with others.

Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
readIsaiah 43:19

Praise the God who is able to make a way forward, even when it seems impossible. Ask Him to do a new thing among this people group specifically and among the nations, raising up believers to go and share the gospel with individuals and places where it has not flourished before.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic 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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