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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Neo-Melanesian Papuans of Australia

The Neo-Melanesian Papuans of Australia, numbering approximately 31,500 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are described as an indigenous ethnic group of Papua New Guinea They are an Diaspora people, with Neo-Melanesian Papuan as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the New Guinea people cluster of the Pacific Islander Peoples. Their primary religion is Protestantism. They primarily speak Tok Pisin.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Neo-Melanesian Papuan

Fast Facts*:

Affinity Group: Pacific Islander Peoples
Country: Australia
People Cluster: New Guinea
Primary Language(s): Tok Pisin (tpi)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 31,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG008015

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Pray for the Neo-Melanesian Papuans of Australia

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

32%
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Tok Pisin
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Tok Pisin Speakers

Media Resources in Tok Pisin:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Tok Pisin:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1989 Bible Society of Papua New Guinea✓✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Tok Pisin bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Neo-Melanesian Papuans 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 Neo-Melanesian Papuans:
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 Neo-Melanesian Papuans of Australia

Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
readPsalm 67:3

Pray that those who are lost and unaware of God's blessings will come to know Him as the one true God, put their trust in Him, and join in praising Him among the nations.

And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
readMatthew 24:14

Pray that the gospel of God's kingdom will reach more people and that they will respond in faith, becoming disciples of Jesus Christ.

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
read2 Corinthians 9:8

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will trust God in all things, especially in times of persecution.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!
readPsalm 51:2

Pray that God will raise up believers to go and share the gospel with those in this people group who need to be washed of their iniquity and cleansed from their sins.

Neo-Melanesian Papuan Across Countries (ROP3 - 107203) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

4 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguage ▼Religion
Neo-Melanesian PapuansPG008015Neo-Melanesian PapuansAustralia31,500No Longer UnreachedTok PisinProtestantism
Neo-Melanesian PapuansPG010297Neo-Melanesian PapuansPapua New Guinea231,000No Longer UnreachedTok PisinProtestantism
Neo-Melanesian PapuansPG010784Neo-Melanesian PapuansSolomon Islands7,800No Longer UnreachedTok PisinProtestantism
MelanesiansPG046504MelanesiansUnited States1,600No Longer UnreachedTok PisinProtestantism

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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