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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Kiriwina of Papua New Guinea

The Kiriwina of Papua New Guinea, numbering approximately 43,500 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an indigenous ethnic group of Papua New Guinea. They are an Indigenous people in the New Guinea people cluster of the Pacific Islander Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary language is Kilivila and their primary religion is Protestantism.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Pacific Islander Peoples
Country: Papua New Guinea
People Cluster: New Guinea
Primary Language(s): Kilivila (kij)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 43,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG010067
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Pray for the Kiriwina 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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

60%
%

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kilivila
Language Family: Austronesian

100%
%

Media Resources in Kilivila:

Films:

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Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Kilivila:

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Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Kilivila bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 2), which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Significantly Reached People Group, (LPI: 6), > 20% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical (GSEC: 6), this people group is greater than or equal to 10% evangelical

Next steps for the Kiriwina:
Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Kiriwina are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Next steps for the Kiriwina:
Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Kiriwina 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 Kiriwina:
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 Kiriwina of Papua New Guinea

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
readRomans 3:23

Pray that those who live in fear, guilt and discontentment because of sin will see their need for change, hear, and receive the good news of freedom from sin through Christ.

For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the LORD of hosts.
readMalachi 1:11

Pray that they will worship God in spirit and truth, offering Him the sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving that He desires.

Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.
readMatthew 18:19

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they find other believers to pray with, and that they will trust God to answer their requests according to His will.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
read2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Pray that as people hear and believe the gospel, they will serve others in Jesus' name, and the lost will have an opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel.

Kiriwina Across Countries (ROP3 - 105042) reported in the following countries:

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 Definitions page.

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