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People group profile · PG010962

The Aneityumese of Vanuatu

The Aneityumese of Vanuatu, numbering about 1,600 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are the people of Vanuatu's southernmost island, Aneityum, once governed by seven chiefdoms before disease and blackbirding reduced thousands to under 200 by 1930, around when missionary John Inglis produced the first complete Bible in a Melanesian language.

They are an indigenous people in the Vanuatu people cluster of the Pacific Islander Peoples. Their primary religion is Protestantism, and they primarily speak Aneityum.

Pray for the AneityumesePrint profile

AI-generated illustration representing the Aneityumese people
AI-generated illustration, not a photograph. Photo by Google. (2025). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Aneityumese

Fast facts

Country
Vanuatu
Population
1,600
Affinity group
Asian Pacific Rim Peoples
People cluster
Vanuatu
Primary language
Aneityum (aty)
Primary religion
Protestantism
Strategic Progress Index ?
No Longer Unreached
Evangelical
5% or Greater but Less than 10%
GSEC ?
5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
Lostness priority ?
Moderately Reached People Group
Region
Melanesia, Oceania

Where they live

Gospel status

The Aneityumese are No Longer Unreached, which means 2% or more are evangelical Christians. In GSEC terms, this people group is greater than or equal to 5% evangelical.

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

Next steps for the Aneityumese

  • 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

Primary language

Aneityum · Austronesian family

100% speak Aneityum

Gospel resources in Aneityum

  • Bible available, published 1879
  • JESUS Film not available
  • Radio programs not available
  • Gospel recordings available
  • Audio resources not available
  • Bible stories not available

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

Pray for the Aneityumese

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

Download a prayer guide

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