The Sakau of Vanuatu

The Sakau of Vanuatu, numbering approximately 7,200 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are described as an Oceanic people of Sakao Island and the Port-Olry area on northeastern Espiritu Santo in Vanuatu, whose language diverged phonologically from its closest island neighbors to the point of mutual unintelligibility despite shared ancestry They are an Indigenous people, with Sakau as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Vanuatu people cluster of the Pacific Islander Peoples. They mostly adhere to Roman Catholicism and Sakao is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Pacific Islander Peoples
Country: Vanuatu
People Cluster: Vanuatu
Primary Language(s): Sakao (sku)
Primary Religion(s): Roman Catholicism
Population: 7,200
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG011058
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Pray for the Sakau of Vanuatu

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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Roman Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

55%
%
Roman Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Sakao
Language Family: Austronesian

100%
%
N’kep Speakers

Media Resources in Sakao:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Sakao:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Sakao bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Sakau 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 Sakau:
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 Sakau of Vanuatu

Only in the LORD, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and strength; to him shall come and be ashamed all who were incensed against him.
readIsaiah 45:24

Pray that those who are weary and burdened by their own righteousness will find rest in the righteousness that comes through faith in Christ alone.

So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.
readRomans 9:16

Pray that the merciful God who is at work in people's hearts will advance His gospel among them.

For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
readRomans 10:13

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and sometimes have doubts, God will help them remember and trust the power of Jesus to save them from their sins.

You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.
read2 Corinthians 1:11

Pray that many people will join in praying for the spread of the gospel here, and that God will answer these prayers by drawing more people to Himself.

Sakau Across Countries (ROP3 - 108534) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

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