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The Cocos Malays of Cocos (Keeling) Islands

The Cocos Malays of Cocos (Keeling) Islands, numbering approximately 550 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are a Malay community indigenous to the Cocos (Keeling) Islands of the eastern Indian Ocean. They speak Cocos Malay and English, practice predominantly Sunni Islam, and trace their heritage to settlers from across the Malay Archipelago. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Cocos Islands Malay is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Cocos (Keeling) Islands
People Cluster: Malay
Primary Language(s): Cocos Islands Malay (coa)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 550
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG008206
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Pray for the Cocos Malays of Cocos (Keeling) Islands

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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

99%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Cocos Islands Malay
Language Family: Austronesian

100%
%
Malay, Cocos Islands Speakers

Media Resources in Cocos Islands Malay:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Cocos Islands Malay:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Cocos Islands Malay bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 0), which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Pioneer Unreached People Group, (LPI: 1), 0.1% or Greater but Less than 0.5% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Cocos Malays:
Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Pray specifically for the Cocos Malays of Cocos (Keeling) Islands

"And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
readJohn 8:32

Pray for those who live enslaved to sin to hear and receive the truth of the gospel and be set free.

Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.
readGenesis 2:7

Pray that Christians will be able to share the hope of Christ with suffering people and that He will breathe new life into their souls.

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
readRomans 12:1

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will offer their bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, knowing that this is their spiritual worship.

For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
readRomans 12:4-5

Ask God to send believers to people in other cultures and to help them use their gifts in harmony with others so that the body of Christ may be built up.

Malay, Cocos Islands Across Countries (ROP3 - 102252) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDName ▲CountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Cocos MalaysPG007858Cocos MalaysChristmas Island250No Longer UnreachedCocos Islands MalaySunni Islam
Cocos MalaysPG008206Cocos MalaysCocos (Keeling) Islands550Unengaged and UnreachedCocos Islands MalaySunni 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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