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The Central Maewo of Vanuatu

The Central Maewo of Vanuatu, numbering approximately 2,500 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an Austronesian people of Maewo, Vanuatu's rainiest island, whose traditional life centers on secret men's societies and whose language is spoken by adults but fading among youth. They mostly adhere to Protestantism and Central Maewo is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Pacific Islander Peoples
Country: Vanuatu
People Cluster: Vanuatu
Primary Language(s): Central Maewo (mwo)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 2,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG010981
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Pray for the Central Maewo of Vanuatu

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

—
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Central Maewo
Language Family: Austronesian

68%
%
Maewo, Central Speakers

Media Resources in Central Maewo:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Central Maewo:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Central Maewo bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Central Maewo 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 Central Maewo:
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 Central Maewo of Vanuatu

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
readEphesians 2:8-9

Pray that the lost among them will receive the gift of salvation by grace through faith, not by works, and be created for good works.

For my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples.
readLuke 2:30

Pray that the lost will see the salvation of God, and that they will trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.

Turn, O LORD, deliver my life; save me for the sake of your steadfast love.
readPsalm 6:4

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and still struggle with the worries of this life, God will deliver them from worry for the sake of His steadfast love.

Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith. But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.
read2 Thessalonians 3:1-3

Pray that the Word of God will spread throughout this people group and be honored. Ask God to establish His people and guard them from the evil one, testifying to this whole people group of His great faithfulness.

Central Maewo Across Countries (ROP3 - 101923) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index

All

1 people group

Photo People Group ID Name Country Population ▲ Strategic Progress Index Language Religion
Central Maewo PG010981 Central Maewo Vanuatu 2,500 No Longer Unreached Central Maewo Protestantism

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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