Download the People Group List (16 languages .csv)

Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
Hindi - हिन्दी | Indonesian - Bahasa Indonesia
Korean - 한국어 | Nepali - नेपाली
Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
Be sure to use the data import function in your favorite app for working with data.
If you'd like to help improve these translations, Contact Us.

PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Tolai of Papua New Guinea

The Tolai of Papua New Guinea, numbering approximately 173,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an indigenous ethnic group of Papua New Guinea. They mostly adhere to Roman Catholicism and Kuanua is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Pacific Islander Peoples
Country: Papua New Guinea
People Cluster: New Guinea
Primary Language(s): Kuanua (ksd)
Primary Religion(s): Roman Catholicism
Population: 173,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG010534
View on Joshua Project

Print Profile
Submit Updates

Pray for the Tolai 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!
Download Prayer Guide

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Roman Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

83%
%
Roman Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kuanua
Language Family: Austronesian

100%
%
Kuanua Speakers

Media Resources in Kuanua:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Kuanua:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1882-1983 Bible Society of Papua New Guinea✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Kuanua bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Tolai 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 Tolai:
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 Tolai of Papua New Guinea

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth.
readPsalm 67:4

Pray that those who are lost in darkness and confusion will come to understand God's ways, submit to His righteous rule, and experience the joy of His salvation.

"Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool."
readIsaiah 1:18

Pray that God will make a way for the gospel to reach many through means they can understand and access, that they will receive the good news with joy, and that they will experience complete forgiveness and cleansing from their sin that Jesus offers through His sacrifice.

For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain.
read2 Thessalonians 3:5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will persevere according to God's command, walk in faith, and be strong so that they can resist the evil one’s deception.

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.

Tolai Across Countries (ROP3 - 110136) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion ▼
TolaiPG010534TolaiPapua New Guinea173,000No Longer UnreachedKuanuaRoman Catholicism

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.

Scroll to Top