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The Yabem of Papua New Guinea

The Yabem of Papua New Guinea, numbering approximately 8,100 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an indigenous ethnic group of Papua New Guinea. They mostly adhere to Protestantism and Yabem is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Pacific Islander Peoples
Country: Papua New Guinea
People Cluster: New Guinea
Primary Language(s): Yabem (jae)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 8,100
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG010630
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Pray for the Yabem 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: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

41%
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Yabem
Language Family: Austronesian

65%
%
Yabem Speakers

Media Resources in Yabem:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Yabem:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1980 Bible Society of Papua New Guinea✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Yabem bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Yabem 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 Yabem:
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 Yabem of Papua New Guinea

But he said, "What is impossible with man is possible with God."
readLuke 18:27

Praise God that He is the God of impossible things and that He is able to save even those who seem beyond hope.

The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.
readActs 17:24-25

Pray that the good news will reach everyone in this people group and that many will come to know and serve the one true God who made the world and everything in it and lives today.

You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance.
readPsalm 32:7

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember that God is their hiding place and that He will preserve them in the midst of trials.

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
readPsalm 139:14

Praise God for His creativity and power, and pray that He will raise up men and women from among them who are in awe of all He has done and want to go share the hope of Christ with others.

Yabem Across Countries (ROP3 - 110906) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group ID ▲NameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
YabemPG010630YabemPapua New Guinea8,100No Longer UnreachedYabemProtestantism

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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