Telugu of Malaysia (PGID: PG009356)

The Telugu of Malaysia

The Telugu of Malaysia, numbering approximately 138,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Telugu-speaking diaspora descended largely from colonial-era labor migrants from coastal Andhra who settled on plantations in British Malaya. They mostly adhere to Hinduism and Telugu is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: Malaysia
People Cluster: Telugu
Primary Language(s): Telugu (tel)
Primary Religion(s): Hinduism
Population: 138,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG009356
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Pray for the Telugu 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.

Pray Now!

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Hinduism
Religious Affiliation: Hinduism

85%

Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Telugu
Language Family: Dravidian

100%

Telugu Speakers

Media Resources in Telugu:

Films:

Title	Link
JESUS	View Film
JESUS	View Film
Magdalena	View Film
The Savior	View Film

4 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Telugu:

Bible Name (Translation)	Video	Audio	Text
Contemporary Version	✓
Contemporary Version - LUMO Christmas Film	✓
Contemporary Version - LUMO Easter Film	✓
Easy to Read Version		✓	✓
Grace Ministries		✓	✓

5 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Telugu bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Telugu 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 Telugu:

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 Telugu of Malaysia

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth.
Psalm 67:4

Pray that those who are lost in darkness and confusion will come to understand God's ways, submit to His righteous rule, and experience the joy of His salvation.

Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
Isaiah 43:19

Pray that the lost will see the new thing God can do in their lives and trust in His plan and purpose for them.

But Jesus called them to him, saying "Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God."
Luke 18:16

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have a burden to share the hope of Christ with children.

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe."
John 6:35-36

Praise God for the things such as bread that He has provided as natural conversation bridges to the gospel. Pray that believers will use any bridges He provides to share the gospel with those who do not yet know the good news.

Telugu Across Countries (ROP3 - 109930) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index

All

Engaged yet Unreached UUPG No Longer Unreached

CountryReligion

10 people groups

People Group ID	Name	Country	Population ▼	Strategic Progress Index	Language	Religion
PG012259	Telugu	United Arab Emirates	520,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Telugu	Hinduism
PG047224	Telugu	United States	428,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Telugu	Hinduism
PG009533	Telugu	Myanmar	271,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Telugu	Folk Hinduism
PG009356	Telugu	Malaysia	138,000	No Longer Unreached	Telugu	Hinduism
PG011307	Telugu	Bahrain	34,500	Engaged yet Unreached	Telugu	Hinduism
PG043486	Telugu	Canada	17,500	Engaged yet Unreached	Telugu	Hinduism
PG006443	Telugu	Sri Lanka	13,000	No Longer Unreached	Telugu	Hinduism
PG001213	Telugu	Bangladesh	12,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Telugu	Hinduism
PG010724	Telugu	Singapore	850	No Longer Unreached	Telugu	Hinduism
PG011808	Telugu	Kuwait	850	Engaged yet Unreached	Telugu	Hinduism

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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