The Bosavi of Papua New Guinea

The Bosavi of Papua New Guinea, numbering approximately 7,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are described as an indigenous ethnic group of Papua New Guinea They are an Indigenous people, with Bosavi as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the New Guinea people cluster of the Pacific Islander Peoples. Their primary religion is Protestantism. They primarily speak Kaluli.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Pacific Islander Peoples
Country: Papua New Guinea
People Cluster: New Guinea
Primary Language(s): Kaluli (bco)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 7,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG009814
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Bosavi 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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

36%
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kaluli
Language Family: Bosavi

100%
%
Kaluli Speakers

Media Resources in Kaluli:

Films:

No entries found for: Kaluli(bco). Help build some!

Bible Resources in Kaluli:

Or check out the Kaluli bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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): Minimally Reached People Group, (LPI: 3), 2% to 3% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical (GSEC: 4), this people group is greater than or equal to 2% evangelical

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

And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you."
read1 Samuel 13:13a

Pray that those who are walking in disobedience will recognize their sin and to turn to God.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
readJohn 14:6

Pray that those who are searching for a way to God and desiring truth will encounter the good news of eternal life and accept it.

For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God. Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.
readPsalm 86:10-11

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will trust in the Lord with all their heart, knowing that He is the one true God and will teach them His ways.

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.

Bosavi Across Countries (ROP3 - 101625) 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.

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