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The Bukabukan of New Zealand

The Bukabukan of New Zealand, numbering approximately 300 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic people indigenous to Pukapuka, a coral atoll in the northern group of the Cook Islands. They mostly adhere to Protestantism and Pukapuka is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Pacific Islander Peoples
Country: New Zealand
People Cluster: Polynesian
Primary Language(s): Pukapuka (pkp)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 300
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG009614
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Pray for the Bukabukan of New Zealand

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

35%
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Pukapuka
Language Family: Austronesian

80%
%
Pukapuka Speakers

Media Resources in Pukapuka:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Pukapuka:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Pukapuka bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Bukabukan 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 Bukabukan:
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 Bukabukan of New Zealand

Only in the LORD, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and strength; to him shall come and be ashamed all who were incensed against him.
readIsaiah 45:24

Pray that those who are weary and burdened by their own righteousness will find rest in the righteousness that comes through faith in Christ alone.

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.
readPsalm 1:1-2

Pray that God will call out many sons and daughters from among them and give them a deep love for His Word.

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
readRomans 12:1

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will offer their bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, knowing that this is their spiritual worship.

To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel.
readEphesians 6:18b-19

Ask God to give believers He sends to the lost of this people group the boldness and clarity to proclaim the mystery of the gospel in a way that people can understand.

Bukabukan Across Countries (ROP3 - 101712) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

3 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
PukapukanPG008251PukapukanFrench Polynesia1,800No Longer UnreachedPukapukaProtestantism
BukabukanPG008209BukabukanCook Islands1,000No Longer UnreachedPukapukaProtestantism
BukabukanPG009614BukabukanNew Zealand300No Longer UnreachedPukapukaProtestantism

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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