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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Sonsorol of Palau

The Sonsorol of Palau, numbering approximately 900 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Chuukic-speaking Micronesian people of Palau's remote Sonsorol Islands, descended by tradition from canoe voyagers who drifted from Ulithi Atoll, ethnically and linguistically distinct from mainland Palauans despite shared statehood. They mostly adhere to Roman Catholicism and Palauan is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Sonsorol

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Pacific Islander Peoples
Country: Palau
People Cluster: Micronesian
Primary Language(s): Palauan (pau)
Primary Religion(s): Roman Catholicism
Population: 900
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG050219
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Pray for the Sonsorol of Palau

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: Roman Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

50%
%
Roman Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Palauan
Language Family: Austronesian

100%
%
Palauan Speakers

Media Resources in Palauan:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Palauan:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
United Bible Societies✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Palauan bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Sonsorol 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 Sonsorol:
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 Sonsorol of Palau

I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,' and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.
readPsalm 32:5

Pray those who are lost will realize their sin, confess their iniquity, and grow in their understanding of salvation through faith in Christ alone.

...And that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
readLuke 24:47

Pray that the message of repentance and forgiveness through Jesus will reach everyone.

Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!
readPsalm 100:3-4

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be in awe of the Lord God, their Creator, and will give Him thanksgiving and praise.

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
readJohn 12:24

Pray that God will raise up men and women who are willing to die to their own desires, bearing much fruit for the kingdom among individuals and in places where His gospel has not been proclaimed.

Sonsorol Across Countries (ROP3 - 109419) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
SonsorolPG050219SonsorolPalau900No Longer UnreachedPalauanRoman Catholicism

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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