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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Minangkabau of Indonesia

The Minangkabau of Indonesia, numbering approximately 8,130,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as a matrilineal Austronesian people of the Minangkabau Highlands of West Sumatra whose identity was shaped by the Pagaruyung kingdom, widespread migration traditions, and a distinctive synthesis of Malay heritage and Islamic custom They are an Indigenous people, with Minangkabau as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Minangkabau-Rejang of Sumatra people cluster of the Malay Peoples. Their primary religion is Sunni Islam. They primarily speak Minangkabau.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Minangkabau

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Indonesia
People Cluster: Minangkabau-Rejang of Sumatra
Primary Language(s): Minangkabau (min)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 8,130,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, Concentrated CP Activity
People Group ID: PG022519
View on Joshua Project

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Pray for the Minangkabau of Indonesia

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

99%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Minangkabau
Language Family: Austronesian

100%
%
Minangkabau Speakers

Media Resources in Minangkabau:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Minangkabau:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Today's Minang Version, 2010✓✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Minangkabau bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Minangkabau 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 Minangkabau:
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 Minangkabau of Indonesia

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
readRomans 10:14

Pray that those who haven't heard will hear the Word of Christ and believe in Him, calling upon the name of the Lord to be saved.

...And that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
readLuke 24:47

Pray that the message of repentance and forgiveness through Jesus will reach everyone.

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
readColossians 3:1

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

"For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you."
readActs 17:23

Pray that believers God sends to cross cultures will be sensitive to the spiritual needs of the people they serve, and will proclaim the truth of Christ to them in creative ways that they will understand.

Minangkabau Across Countries (ROP3 - 106640) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▲Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
MinangkabauPG022519MinangkabauIndonesia8,130,000Engaged yet UnreachedMinangkabauSunni 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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