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The Paama of Vanuatu

The Paama of Vanuatu, numbering approximately 12,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a small Melanesian island people of Vanuatu's Malampa Province, subsistence gardeners and fishers who embraced Christianity in the early 20th century while retaining traditional kastom beliefs in ritual and divination. They mostly adhere to Protestantism and Paama is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Pacific Islander Peoples
Country: Vanuatu
People Cluster: Vanuatu
Primary Language(s): Paama (pma)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 12,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG018416
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Pray for the Paama 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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

—
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Paama
Language Family: Austronesian

100%
%
Paama Speakers

Media Resources in Paama:

Films:
Title Link
JESUS View Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Paama:

Bible Name (Translation) Video Audio Text
2016 Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc ✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Paama bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Paama 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 Paama:
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 Paama of Vanuatu

And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
readMatthew 24:14

Pray that the message of hope will reach those who are wandering in darkness, offering them a path to eternal life.

Greet also the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in Asia."
readRomans 16:5

Pray for houses to be meeting places for Christians and that God will advance the gospel and grow His Church through natural familial and community relationships.

So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.
read1 Corinthians 3:7

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be unified in making disciples and be used by God to further His kingdom near and far.

And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.”
readLuke 18:29-30

Pray that God will raise up people to go and share the gospel and help them trust His promise that anyone who has left those they treasure for the sake of the kingdom of God will receive many times more in this life and in the life to come.

Paama Across Countries (ROP3 - 107726) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index

All

1 people group

Photo People Group ID Name Country Population ▼ Strategic Progress Index Language Religion
Paama PG018416 Paama Vanuatu 12,000 No Longer Unreached Paama 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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