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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Ambonese of Netherlands

The Ambonese of Netherlands, numbering approximately 51,500 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a community from Ambon Island and nearby islands in the Central Moluccas (Maluku) in eastern Indonesia, a distinct post‑colonial community whose presence in the Netherlands stems directly from the collapse of Dutch rule in Indonesia after World War II. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Ambonese Malay is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Ambonese

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Netherlands
People Cluster: Maluku-Central
Primary Language(s): Ambonese Malay (abs)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 51,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG000389
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Pray for the Ambonese of Netherlands

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: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

—
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Ambonese Malay
Language Family: Austronesian

100%
%
Malay, Ambonese Speakers

Media Resources in Ambonese Malay:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Ambonese Malay:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Ambonese Malay bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Ambonese 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 Ambonese:
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 Ambonese of Netherlands

And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
readMatthew 6:7-8

Pray that those who don't have a relationship with their Creator will come to know a God who hears their every need, freeing them from empty rituals and drawing them into a real, trusting relationship with Him.

For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.
readPsalm 57:10

Pray that God will work, even in the hearts of hard-to-reach people, and that they will rejoice in His steadfast love and faithfulness.

Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the LORD has comforted his people and will have compassion on his afflicted.
readIsaiah 49:13

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and suffer for their faith, they will sing for joy and be glad in their hearts because the Lord has compassion on them.

Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.
readActs 17:29

Pray that God will send out laborers to tell people of the one true God and, as the good news is shared, bring about repentance and belief as they turn from idols and follow Jesus.

Ambonese Across Countries (ROP3 - 100274) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
AmbonesePG022625AmboneseIndonesia330,000No Longer UnreachedAmbonese MalayProtestantism
AmbonesePG000389AmboneseNetherlands51,500No Longer UnreachedAmbonese MalaySunni Islam

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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