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
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Malays of Malaysia

The Malays of Malaysia, numbering approximately 13,670,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as an ethnolinguistic community of Malaysia (Peninsular) They are an Indigenous people, with Malay as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Malay people cluster of the Malay Peoples. Their primary religion is Sunni Islam. They primarily speak Malay.

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

Fast Facts*:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Malaysia
People Cluster: Malay
Primary Language(s): Malay (zlm)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 13,670,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG020134
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Pray for the Malays 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!
Download Prayer Guide

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

99%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Malay
Language Family: Austronesian

100%
%
Malay Speakers

Media Resources in Malay:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
The SaviorView Film

2 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Malay:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2001 Today's Malay Version✓✓
Alkitab Versi Borneo✓✓✓

2 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Malay bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Malays 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 Malays:
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 Malays of Malaysia

And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
readMatthew 6:7-8

Pray that those who don't have a relationship with their Creator will come to know a God who hears their every need, freeing them from empty rituals and drawing them into a real, trusting relationship with Him.

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!
readPsalm 57:11

Pray that the lost will learn about God's great love and faithfulness so that they might trust in Christ for their salvation.

And he brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be.”
readGenesis 15:5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will trust God to keep His promises.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
readEphesians 6:12

Ask God to give those He sends to cross cultures the discernment they need to recognize the spiritual battle they are fighting. Pray God will protect their faith as they abide in Him.

Malay Across Countries (ROP3 - 106144) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

10 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
MalaysPG020134MalaysMalaysia13,670,000Engaged yet UnreachedMalaySunni Islam
MalaysPG010713MalaysSingapore744,000Engaged yet UnreachedMalaySunni Islam
MalaysPG006435MalaysSri Lanka73,000Unengaged and UnreachedSri Lankan Malay CreoleSunni Islam
Malaysian MalaysPG000656Malaysian MalaysUnited Kingdom56,000Engaged yet UnreachedMalaySunni Islam
MalaysPG009476MalaysMyanmar27,000Unengaged and UnreachedMalaySunni Islam
MalaysPG007977MalaysAustralia21,500Engaged yet UnreachedMalaySunni Islam
MalaysPG043435MalaysCanada11,500Unengaged and UnreachedMalaySunni Islam
MalaysPG043339MalaysUnited States10,500Unengaged and UnreachedMalaySunni Islam
MalaysPG015276MalaysComoros1,100Engaged yet UnreachedMalaySunni Islam
MalaysPG015369MalaysMayotte325Engaged yet UnreachedMalaySunni 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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