Download the People Group List (16 languages .csv)

Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
Hindi - हिन्दी | Indonesian - Bahasa Indonesia
Korean - 한국어 | Nepali - नेपाली
Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
Be sure to use the data import function in your favorite app for working with data.
If you'd like to help improve these translations, Contact Us.

The Buginese of Singapore

The Buginese of Singapore, numbering approximately 12,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a diaspora community descended from Bugis migrants from South Sulawesi, including maritime traders who settled in Singapore after its establishment as a British trading port in 1819. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Buginese is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Buginese

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Singapore
People Cluster: Bugi-Makassar of Sulawesi
Primary Language(s): Buginese (bug)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 12,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG010691
View on Joshua Project

Print Profile
Submit Updates

Pray for the Buginese of Singapore

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.

Pray Now!
Download Prayer Guide

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

95%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Buginese
Language Family: Austronesian

100%
%
Bugis Speakers

Media Resources in Buginese:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film

2 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Buginese:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Buginese bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Buginese 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 Buginese:
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 Buginese of Singapore

Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life"
readJohn 4:13-14

Pray that those who don't know Jesus will drink of the living water that only Christ can provide and never thirst again.

The LORD watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
readPsalm 146:9

Pray for God to watch over people, wherever they are, and cause them to meet believers who will share the gospel with them clearly and lovingly.

For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them.
read1 Corinthians 9:19

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have hearts that want to serve the lost around them so that many might come to faith in Jesus.

"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.

Bugis Across Countries (ROP3 - 101703) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

3 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
BugisPG022796BugisIndonesia7,810,000Engaged yet UnreachedBugineseSunni Islam
BugisPG048662BugisMalaysia500,000Engaged yet UnreachedBugineseSunni Islam
BuginesePG010691BugineseSingapore12,000Engaged yet UnreachedBugineseSunni 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.

Scroll to Top