The Kiribertese of Nauru

The Kiribertese of Nauru, numbering approximately 2,300 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an Austronesian ethnic group indigenous to Kiribati. They mostly adhere to Protestantism and Gilbertese is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Pacific Islander Peoples
Country: Nauru
People Cluster: Micronesian
Primary Language(s): Gilbertese (gil)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 2,300
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG009559
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Kiribertese of Nauru

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: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

—
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Gilbertese
Language Family: Austronesian

100%
%
Kiribati Speakers

Media Resources in Gilbertese:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Gilbertese:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Bible Society of the South Pacific, 2016✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Gilbertese bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Kiribertese 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 Kiribertese:
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 Kiribertese of Nauru

For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation.
readPsalm 62:1

Pray that those who are troubled and don't know about the God who saves will hear the good news and find rest in the one true God who can offer salvation for their souls.

...I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
readPsalm 13:5

Ask God to bring many to trust in His unfailing love and cause their hearts to rejoice in His salvation.

The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.
readLamentations 3:25

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will trust in the goodness of the Lord as they wait on Him to answer their cries for help.

To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law.
read1 Corinthians 9:20

Pray that believers from similar cultures will be compelled by Christ's love to reach people who don't know the gospel, and that those people will receive the good news with joy.

Kiribertese Across Countries (ROP3 - 105038) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

7 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
KiriberteseKiriberteseKiribati136,000No Longer UnreachedGilberteseRoman Catholicism
KiriberteseKiriberteseFiji7,100No Longer UnreachedGilberteseProtestantism
GilberteseGilberteseSolomon Islands2,400No Longer UnreachedGilberteseProtestantism
KiriberteseKiriberteseNauru2,300No Longer UnreachedGilberteseProtestantism
GilberteseGilberteseVanuatu1,000No Longer UnreachedGilberteseProtestantism
GilberteseGilberteseUnited States225No Longer UnreachedGilberteseProtestantism
KiriberteseKiriberteseTuvalu125No Longer UnreachedGilberteseProtestantism

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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