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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Watiwa of Papua New Guinea

The Watiwa of Papua New Guinea, numbering approximately 1,100 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an indigenous ethnic group of Papua New Guinea. They mostly adhere to Protestantism and Watiwa is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Pacific Islander Peoples
Country: Papua New Guinea
People Cluster: New Guinea
Primary Language(s): Watiwa (wtf)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 1,100
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG010613
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Pray for the Watiwa 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.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

44%
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Watiwa
Language Family: Nuclear Trans New Guinea

65%
%
Watiwa Speakers

Media Resources in Watiwa:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Watiwa:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Watiwa bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Watiwa 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 Watiwa:
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 Watiwa of Papua New Guinea

Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.
readJerremiah 32:17

Pray that the God who made the heavens and the earth by the power of His outstretched arm, the One who is able to save those who are lost, will show His great love and mercy to those who are walking in darkness.

Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.
readPsalm 25:5

Pray that the gospel will advance and that God will lead people in His truth, bringing many to salvation.

Jesus said, ‘Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.
readMark 10:29-30

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will know that when they make sacrifices to follow Jesus, He is there with them and will bless them abundantly in this life and in the life to come.

And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven."
readMatthew 16:17

Pray that God who is in heaven will place believers in the lives of people who need to encounter the gospel and that He will reveal to them the truth of what they hear.

Watiwa Across Countries (ROP3 - 110719) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
WatiwaPG010613WatiwaPapua New Guinea1,100No Longer UnreachedWatiwaProtestantism

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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