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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Northern Torres Islanders of Vanuatu

The Northern Torres Islanders of Vanuatu, numbering approximately 225 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an Oceanic-speaking population of the Torres archipelago in northern Vanuatu. They form part of the wider Torres-Banks cultural region, one of the most linguistically diverse areas of Remote Oceania. They are an Indigenous people in the Vanuatu people cluster of the Pacific Islander Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary language is Hiw and their primary religion is Protestantism.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Northern Torres Islander

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Pacific Islander Peoples
Country: Vanuatu
People Cluster: Vanuatu
Primary Language(s): Hiw (hiw)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 225
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG011045
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Pray for the Northern Torres Islanders of Vanuatu

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

—
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Hiw
Language Family: Austronesian

100%
%
Hiw Speakers

Media Resources in Hiw:

Films:

No entries found for: Hiw(hiw). Help build some!

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Hiw:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Hiw 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): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical (GSEC: 5), this people group is greater than or equal to 5% evangelical

Next steps for the Northern Torres Islanders:
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 Northern Torres Islanders 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 Northern Torres Islanders:
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 Northern Torres Islanders 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 Northern Torres Islanders:
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 Northern Torres Islanders of Vanuatu

For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the LORD made the heavens.
read1 Chronicles 16:26

Pray that those among them who are lost and seeking after worthless idols will have the opportunity to hear and respond to the good news, seeing that Jesus is better than any idol.

Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward.
readPsalm 127:3

Pray that God will bless this generation of children, that they will come to know Jesus early in life and follow Him always.

This God - his way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.
readPsalm 18:30

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have access to His Word and the ability to understand it, so that they can grow in their faith and find refuge in Him.

The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way.
readPsalm 37:23

Pray that believers from near and far will serve here and trust in the Lord's timing as He establishes their steps.

Northern Torres Islander Across Countries (ROP3 - 107467) 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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