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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

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

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
readRomans 10:14

Pray that those who haven't heard will hear the Word of Christ and believe in Him, calling upon the name of the Lord to be saved.

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
readJohn 3:14-15

Pray that the lost will look to Jesus lifted up on the cross and believe in Him, gaining eternal life with God.

But you said, "I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude."
readGenesis 32:12

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will experience God's presence and protection even in difficult circumstances, knowing that He will make them fruitful.

And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven."
readMatthew 16:17

Pray that God who is in heaven will place believers in the lives of people who need to encounter the gospel and that He will reveal to them the truth of what they hear.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group ID ▼NameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Cocos MalaysPG008206Cocos MalaysCocos (Keeling) Islands550Unengaged and UnreachedCocos Islands MalaySunni Islam
Cocos MalaysPG007858Cocos MalaysChristmas Island250No Longer 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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