The Bakumpai of Indonesia

The Bakumpai of Indonesia, numbering approximately 130,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Dayak Ngaju-related people of the Barito River basin in Kalimantan whose identity developed through a distinct Bakumpai heritage and long association with the riverine communities of central and southern Borneo. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Bakumpai is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Indonesia
People Cluster: Barito of Kalimantan
Primary Language(s): Bakumpai (bkr)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 130,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG022547
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Pray for the Bakumpai 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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

85%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Bakumpai
Language Family: Austronesian

100%
%
Bakumpai Speakers

Media Resources in Bakumpai:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Bakumpai:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Bakumpai bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Bakumpai 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 Bakumpai:
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 Bakumpai of Indonesia

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
readMatthew 28:16-20

Pray that those who don't yet know Him will encounter the risen Savior and be transformed by the power of His resurrection, becoming disciples who make disciples.

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”
readRevelation 4:11

Pray that the good news will advance and people will recognize and worship the One who created all things by His will, giving glory and honor to Him alone.

And God is able to make all grace about to you, so that having sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
read2 Corinthians 9:8

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will see that God provides for their needs and be content in His provision so that they may excel in every good work.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
readRomans 1:16

Pray that God will raise up sons and daughters who, like Paul, will be bold to share the gospel across cultural barriers so that many might receive salvation.

Bakumpai Across Countries (ROP3 - 100828) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

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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