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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Hermit Islanders of Papua New Guinea

The Hermit Islanders of Papua New Guinea, numbering approximately 90 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a small and little-known Indigenous people group located in Papua New Guinea, specifically associated with the Hermit Islands in the Bismarck Sea. They mostly adhere to Protestantism and Seimat is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Pacific Islander Peoples
Country: Papua New Guinea
People Cluster: New Guinea
Primary Language(s): Seimat (ssg)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 90
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG020272
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Pray for the Hermit Islanders of Papua New Guinea

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!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

58%
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Seimat
Language Family: Austronesian

90%
%
Seimat Speakers

Media Resources in Seimat:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Seimat:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2012 Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc.✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Seimat bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Hermit Islanders are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Next steps for the Hermit Islanders:
Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Pray specifically for the Hermit Islanders of Papua New Guinea

Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me! O LORD, be my helper!
readPsalm 30:10

Pray that people in the depths of despair and suffering and living outside of relationship with Christ will cry out to the Lord and find help, peace, and joy in Him.

Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!
readPsalm 96:3

Pray for people to hear and believe the good news of Jesus and joyfully share it with their family and friends.

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
read1 Peter 2:24

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember every day that Jesus' death on the cross brings real healing and restoration to their souls and joyfully share this good news with others.

For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, “‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
readActs 13:47

Pray that as people come to faith, they will follow the Lord's leading to go to their neighbors and share the treasure they found in Christ.

Agomes Across Countries (ROP3 - 103758) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Hermit IslandersPG020272Hermit IslandersPapua New Guinea90Engaged yet UnreachedSeimatProtestantism

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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