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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Tongans of New Zealand

The Tongans of New Zealand, numbering approximately 74,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Polynesian ethnic group indigenous to the island nation of Tonga in the south Pacific. They mostly adhere to Protestantism and Tonga (Tonga Islands) is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Pacific Islander Peoples
Country: New Zealand
People Cluster: Polynesian
Primary Language(s): Tonga (Tonga Islands) (ton)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 74,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG018511
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Pray for the Tongans of New Zealand

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!
Download Prayer Guide

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

40%
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Tonga (Tonga Islands)
Language Family: Austronesian

100%
%
Tongan Speakers

Media Resources in Tonga (Tonga Islands):

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Tonga (Tonga Islands):

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Revised West Translation✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Tonga (Tonga Islands) bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Tongans 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 Tongans:
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 Tongans of New Zealand

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
readRomans 1:19

Pray that God will use testimony of creation to cause those who do not yet know the gospel to long for truth and a relationship with the Author of life.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
readJohn 14:6

Pray that those who are searching for a way to God and desiring truth will encounter the good news of eternal life and accept it.

But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.
read1 Peter 3:15

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will always be prepared to share the reason for the hope that they have in Jesus with gentleness and respect.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
readPsalm 23:6

Ask God to raise up believers who will share the hope that, for those who trust in Christ, goodness and love will follow them all the days of their lives, and they will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Tongan Across Countries (ROP3 - 110155) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

7 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress Index ▲LanguageReligion
TongansPG008240TongansFiji1,500No Longer UnreachedTonga (Tonga Islands)Protestantism
TongansPG018315TongansTonga101,000No Longer UnreachedTonga (Tonga Islands)Protestantism
TongansPG018437TongansVanuatu350No Longer UnreachedWallisianProtestantism
TongansPG018511TongansNew Zealand74,000No Longer UnreachedTonga (Tonga Islands)Protestantism
TongansPG043655TongansUnited States29,000No Longer UnreachedTonga (Tonga Islands)Protestantism
TongansPG047468TongansCanada1,800No Longer UnreachedTonga (Tonga Islands)Protestantism
TongansPG050230TongansAmerican Samoa1,500No Longer UnreachedTonga (Tonga Islands)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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