The Han Chinese (Min Nan) of Malaysia

The Han Chinese (Min Nan) of Malaysia, numbering approximately 2,415,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Han Chinese ethnolinguistic group of southern Fujian who speak Southern Min languages and share a maritime cultural heritage shaped by trade, migration, and longstanding ties to Taiwan and Southeast Asia. They mostly adhere to Chinese Folk Religion and Min Nan Chinese is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Han Chinese, Min Nan

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: East Asian Peoples
Country: Malaysia
People Cluster: Chinese
Primary Language(s): Min Nan Chinese (nan)
Primary Religion(s): Chinese Folk Religion
Population: 2,415,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG046598
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Pray for the Han Chinese (Min Nan) of Malaysia

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: Chinese Folk Religion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

80%
%
Chinese Folk Religion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Min Nan Chinese
Language Family: Southern Daly

100%
%
Chinese, Min Nan Speakers

Media Resources in Min Nan Chinese:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

3 films

Bible Resources in Min Nan Chinese:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Wycliffe Malaysia✓✓
Today's Taiwanese Version✓✓✓

2 entries

Or check out the Min Nan Chinese bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Han Chinese (Min Nan) 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 Han Chinese (Min Nan):
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 Han Chinese (Min Nan) of Malaysia

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
readRomans 5:10

Pray that any who may be enemies of God will grasp the depth of God's love demonstrated through Christ's death for the ungodly, and be reconciled to Him.

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb’
readRevelation 7:9-10

Pray that many people will receive the gospel and will be part of the great multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, clothed in white robes and palm branches, proclaiming salvation belongs to our God.

Jesus said, ‘Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.
readMark 10:29-30

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will know that when they make sacrifices to follow Jesus, He is there with them and will bless them abundantly in this life and in the life to come.

O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill? He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart.
readPsalm 15:1-2

Ask God to send believers who will go and, with integrity, walk blamelessly and do what is right, speaking truth about the Lord with those who need to learn about His redemption plan.

Han Chinese, Min Nan Across Countries (ROP3 - 102140) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

10 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Han Chinese (Min Nan)Han Chinese (Min Nan)China35,550,000No Longer UnreachedMin Nan ChineseAgnosticism
Han Chinese (Min Nan)Han Chinese (Min Nan)Taiwan13,680,000No Longer UnreachedMin Nan ChineseChinese Folk Religion
Han Chinese (Min Nan)Han Chinese (Min Nan)Malaysia2,415,000No Longer UnreachedMin Nan ChineseChinese Folk Religion
Han Chinese (Min Nan)Han Chinese (Min Nan)Singapore1,790,000No Longer UnreachedMin Nan ChineseChinese Folk Religion
Han ChineseHan ChinesePhilippines1,275,000No Longer UnreachedMin Nan ChineseChinese Folk Religion
Han Chinese (Min Nan)Han Chinese (Min Nan)Hong Kong418,000No Longer UnreachedMin Nan ChineseChinese Folk Religion
Han Chinese (Min Nan)Han Chinese (Min Nan)United States156,000No Longer UnreachedMin Nan ChineseUnaffiliated
Han Chinese (Min Nan)Han Chinese (Min Nan)Canada29,000No Longer UnreachedMin Nan ChineseChinese Folk Religion
Han Chinese (Min Nan)Han Chinese (Min Nan)Peru7,700No Longer UnreachedMin Nan ChineseChinese Folk Religion
Han Chinese, TaiwaneseHan Chinese, TaiwaneseArgentina1,400No Longer UnreachedMin Nan ChineseChinese Folk Religion

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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