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People group profile · PG010198

The Mawan of Papua New Guinea

The Mawan of Papua New Guinea, numbering about 950 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an indigenous ethnic group of Papua New Guinea.

They are an indigenous people in the New Guinea people cluster of the Pacific Islander Peoples. Their primary religion is Protestantism, and they primarily speak Tok Pisin.

Pray for the MawanPrint profile

AI-generated illustration representing the Mawan people
AI-generated illustration, not a photograph. Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Mawan

Fast facts

Country
Papua New Guinea
Population
950
Affinity group
Asian Pacific Rim Peoples
People cluster
New Guinea
Primary language
Tok Pisin (tpi)
Primary religion
Protestantism
Strategic Progress Index ?
No Longer Unreached
Evangelical
30% or Greater but Less than 40%
GSEC ?
10% or Greater Evangelical
Lostness priority ?
Significantly Reached People Group
Region
Melanesia, Oceania

Where they live

Gospel status

The Mawan are No Longer Unreached, which means 2% or more are evangelical Christians. In GSEC terms, this people group is greater than or equal to 10% evangelical.

  • Congregations exist Yes
  • Church planting in the last two years No Churches Planted

Next steps for the Mawan

  • Pray for the churches among this group to grow in faithfulness and maturity
  • Equip believers to reach the unreached peoples around them
  • Send out laborers from this people to the nations

Primary religion

Protestantism · Christianity

40% adherents

Primary language

Tok Pisin · Indo-European family

100% speak Tok Pisin

Gospel resources in Tok Pisin

  • Bible available, published 1999
  • JESUS Film available
  • Radio programs not available
  • Gospel recordings available
  • Audio resources available
  • Bible stories not available

Films

Bibles

Find more at the JESUS Film Project, Bible.com and Faith Comes by Hearing.

Pray for the Mawan

  1. 2 Timothy 2:2. Pray for faithful local leaders who will teach others, so that the church multiplies.
  2. Ephesians 5:8. Pray that those walking in darkness will turn to the light and live as children of light.
  3. Romans 10:14–15. Ask God to send messengers, so that people can hear, believe and call on the name of the Lord.
  4. Matthew 9:37–38. Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest field.

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