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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Pay of Papua New Guinea

The Pay of Papua New Guinea, numbering approximately 2,900 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an indigenous ethnic group of Papua New Guinea. They mostly adhere to Animism and Mala (Papua New Guinea) is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Pacific Islander Peoples
Country: Papua New Guinea
People Cluster: New Guinea
Primary Language(s): Mala (Papua New Guinea) (ped)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 2,900
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG010368
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Pray for the Pay 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: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

90%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Mala (Papua New Guinea)
Language Family: Nuclear Trans New Guinea

65%
%
Mala (Bogia district) Speakers

Media Resources in Mala (Papua New Guinea):

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Mala (Papua New Guinea):

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Mala (Papua New Guinea) bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Pay 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 Pay:
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

Pray specifically for the Pay of Papua New Guinea

For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.
readTitus 3:3

Pray for those who seek worldly pleasures instead of God to flee from sin and choose God’s goodness and lovingkindness by placing their faith in Jesus.

Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts!
readPsalm 96:8

Pray for people here to humbly give God the glory due His name.

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
readHebrew 4:16

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will boldly draw near to God as they approach Him in prayer, receive His mercy, and find grace for help in their time of need.

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go.
readLuke 10:1

Ask God to raise up, send out, and sustain Christians who can go together to share the good news of Jesus with those who need it.

Pay Across Countries (ROP3 - 107957) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountry ▲PopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
PayPG010368PayPapua New Guinea2,900Engaged yet UnreachedMala (Papua New Guinea)Animism

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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