The West Uvean of New Caledonia

The West Uvean of New Caledonia, numbering approximately 2,700 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are descendants of Wallisian Polynesian navigators who settled Ouvea in New Caledonia's Loyalty Islands in the late 1600s, whose Fagauvea speech is the only Polynesian language to count in base five, under influence from the neighboring Iaai people. They mostly adhere to Roman Catholicism and West Uvean is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Pacific Islander Peoples
Country: New Caledonia
People Cluster: Polynesian
Primary Language(s): West Uvean (uve)
Primary Religion(s): Roman Catholicism
Population: 2,700
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG018383
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the West Uvean of New Caledonia

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Roman Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

90%
%
Roman Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: West Uvean
Language Family: Austronesian

78%
%
Fagauvea Speakers

Media Resources in West Uvean:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in West Uvean:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the West Uvean bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 0), which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Frontier Unreached People Group, (LPI: 0), < 0.1% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the West Uvean:
Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Pray specifically for the West Uvean of New Caledonia

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.

Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward.
readPsalm 127:3

Pray that God will bless this generation of children, that they will come to know Jesus early in life and follow Him always.

And they all ate and were satisfied. And what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.
readLuke 9:17

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will meditate on the stories of Jesus' miracles, be in awe of Him, and trust Him for everything they need.

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
readJames 5:16

Pray that believers whom God sends will confess their sins, pray for one another, and live in unity. Ask that they will model healthy Christian relationships for this people group.

West Uvean Across Countries (ROP3 - 110766) 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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