The Gilbertese of Solomon Islands

The Gilbertese of Solomon Islands, numbering approximately 2,400 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an Austronesian ethnic group indigenous to Kiribati. They mostly adhere to Protestantism and Gilbertese is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Pacific Islander Peoples
Country: Solomon Islands
People Cluster: Micronesian
Primary Language(s): Gilbertese (gil)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 2,400
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG018403
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Gilbertese of Solomon Islands

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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

—
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Gilbertese
Language Family: Austronesian

100%
%
Kiribati Speakers

Media Resources in Gilbertese:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Gilbertese:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Bible Society of the South Pacific, 2016✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Gilbertese bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Gilbertese 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 Gilbertese:
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 Gilbertese of Solomon Islands

Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life"
readJohn 4:13-14

Pray that those who don't know Jesus will drink of the living water that only Christ can provide and never thirst again.

So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.
readRomans 9:16

Pray that the merciful God who is at work in people's hearts will advance His gospel among them.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures.
readPsalm 23:1

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember that the Lord is their shepherd, providing for their every need.

Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
readMatthew 6:9b-10

Pray that God will raise up Christians who are driven by a desire to see God's name worshiped, His kingdom come, and His will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Ask Him to send them to the lost in this people group and sustain them.

Kiribertese Across Countries (ROP3 - 105038) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

7 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountry ▼PopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
GilberteseGilberteseVanuatu1,000No Longer UnreachedGilberteseProtestantism
GilberteseGilberteseUnited States225No Longer UnreachedGilberteseProtestantism
KiriberteseKiriberteseTuvalu125No Longer UnreachedGilberteseProtestantism
GilberteseGilberteseSolomon Islands2,400No Longer UnreachedGilberteseProtestantism
KiriberteseKiriberteseNauru2,300No Longer UnreachedGilberteseProtestantism
KiriberteseKiriberteseKiribati136,000No Longer UnreachedGilberteseRoman Catholicism
KiriberteseKiriberteseFiji7,100No Longer UnreachedGilberteseProtestantism

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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