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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Rakahanga-Manihiki of Cook Islands

The Rakahanga-Manihiki of Cook Islands, numbering approximately 1,900 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic group indigenous to the Cook Islands of Rakahanga and Manihiki. They are an Indigenous people in the Polynesian people cluster of the Pacific Islander Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary language is Rakahanga-Manihiki and their primary religion is Protestantism.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Rakahanga-Manihiki

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Pacific Islander Peoples
Country: Cook Islands
People Cluster: Polynesian
Primary Language(s): Rakahanga-Manihiki (rkh)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 1,900
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG008214
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Pray for the Rakahanga-Manihiki of Cook 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.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

—
%

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Rakahanga-Manihiki
Language Family: Austronesian

80%
%

Media Resources in Rakahanga-Manihiki:

Films:

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Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Rakahanga-Manihiki:

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Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Rakahanga-Manihiki bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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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): Moderately Reached People Group, (LPI: 5), 6% to 20% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical (GSEC: 6), this people group is greater than or equal to 10% evangelical

Next steps for the Rakahanga-Manihiki:
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 Rakahanga-Manihiki 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 Rakahanga-Manihiki:
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 Rakahanga-Manihiki 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 Rakahanga-Manihiki:
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 Rakahanga-Manihiki of Cook Islands

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
readMatthew 9:36

Pray that those who have no hope and are in need of a Savior will be comforted by the Good Shepherd, who seeks to gather the lost and weary into His care.

And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
readLuke 7:50

Pray for the good news of Jesus Christ to reach many so that they can place their faith in Him and have lasting hope.

In God, whose word I praise, in the LORD, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?
readPsalm 56:10-11

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will trust in the Lord's promises, knowing that He will uphold them with His righteous right hand.

I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessing.
read1 Corinthians 9:23

Ask God to give believers a deep desire to share the gospel with those who don't know the truth about God's redemption plan, and to provide them with opportunities to do so cross-culturally.

Rakahanga-Manihiki Across Countries (ROP3 - 108282) 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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