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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Kristang of Malaysia

The Kristang of Malaysia, numbering approximately 8,600 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are described as a unique Portuguese Eurasian Creole community centered in Malacca, Malaysia, and Singapore, with diaspora communities in Perth, Australia, and other locations and can also be known as Kristang, Cristão, Papia Kristang, Gente Kristang. They are an Indigenous people, with Kristang as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Other Southeast Asian people cluster of the Southeast Asian Peoples. Their primary religion is Roman Catholicism. They primarily speak Malaccan Portuguese Creole.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Malaccan Creole Portuguese

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: Malaysia
People Cluster: Other Southeast Asian
Primary Language(s): Malaccan Portuguese Creole (mcm)
Primary Religion(s): Roman Catholicism
Population: 8,600
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG020133
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Pray for the Kristang of Malaysia

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Roman Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

85%
%
Roman Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Malaccan Portuguese Creole
Language Family: Indo-European

70%
%
Malaccan Portuguese Creole Speakers

Media Resources in Malaccan Portuguese Creole:

Films:

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Bible Resources in Malaccan Portuguese Creole:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Malaccan Portuguese Creole bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 0), which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Frontier Unreached People Group, (LPI: 0), < 0.1% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Kristang:
Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Kristang 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 Kristang:
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

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Kristang 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 Kristang:
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 Kristang of Malaysia

"For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." Those who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?" But he said "What is impossible with man is possible with God."
readLuke 18:25-27

Pray that the lost who think they have everything they need will recognize their spiritual poverty apart from Jesus and turn to Him in faith.

Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
readPsalm 67:3

Pray that God will be working in people's hearts, give them opportunities to receive the gospel, and bring many to faith in Himself.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.
readEphesians 2:4-5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember God's mercy and grace and experience joy as they walk in new life with Christ.

Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.
read3 John 1:2

Ask God to grant protection and good health — both physical and spiritual — to those He sends cross-culturally to share the gospel.

Kristang Across Countries (ROP3 - 105316) reported in the following countries:

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 Definitions page.

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