The Iaian of New Caledonia

The Iaian of New Caledonia, numbering approximately 4,900 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an Indigenous Kanak people of Ouvéa in New Caledonia's Loyalty Islands, centered in the Fajawe district and speaking the Oceanic language Iaai. They mostly adhere to Roman Catholicism and Iaai is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Pacific Islander Peoples
Country: New Caledonia
People Cluster: New Caledonia
Primary Language(s): Iaai (iai)
Primary Religion(s): Roman Catholicism
Population: 4,900
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG018340
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Iaian of New Caledonia

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: Roman Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

91%
%
Roman Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Iaai
Language Family: Austronesian

78%
%
Iaai Speakers

Media Resources in Iaai:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Iaai:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Iaai bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Iaian 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 Iaian:
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 Iaian of New Caledonia

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
readPsalm 19:1

Pray that those who are lost will look to the heavens and see the glory of God displayed, leading them to seek Him and know Him as their Creator and Savior.

Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!
readPsalm 96:3

Pray for people to hear and believe the good news of Jesus and joyfully share it with their family and friends.

But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.
readHebrews 10:39

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, and faithfully follow God, they will share Christ boldly with those around them.

But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.
read2 Corinthians 3:16

Give thanks to God for believers around the world who are willing to cross cultures to share the gospel with those who are perishing. Pray that He will work through their witness to draw many to turn to Him.

Iaian Across Countries (ROP3 - 115561) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

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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