The Baram Kayan of Malaysia

The Baram Kayan of Malaysia, numbering approximately 10,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a subgroup of the Kayan people, an indigenous Dayak group native to Borneo, primarily in Sarawak, Malaysia, and parts of East Kalimantan, Indonesia. They mostly adhere to Roman Catholicism and Baram Kayan is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Malaysia
People Cluster: Borneo-Kalimantan
Primary Language(s): Baram Kayan (kys)
Primary Religion(s): Roman Catholicism
Population: 10,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG009203
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Baram Kayan 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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Roman Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

41%
%
Roman Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Baram Kayan
Language Family: Austronesian

70%
%
Kayan, Baram Speakers

Media Resources in Baram Kayan:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Baram Kayan:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Baram Kayan bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Baram Kayan 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 Baram Kayan:
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 Baram Kayan of Malaysia

The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the LORD! May your hearts live forever!
readPsalm 22:26

Pray that the lost will feel a deep hunger for God, be drawn to Him in their affliction, and find lasting satisfaction and salvation in Him alone.

Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts; his name is the LORD; exult before him!
readPsalm 68:4

Pray that many will come to faith in Christ and share the gospel with others so that His salvation will be known among all nations.

Turn, O LORD, deliver my life; save me for the sake of your steadfast love.
readPsalm 6:4

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and still struggle with the worries of this life, God will deliver them from worry for the sake of His steadfast love.

And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you.
readLuke 10:6

Pray that, as people come to faith in Christ and want to share it with others, they will be welcomed into homes and received well so that they can share message of hope with many people.

Baram Kayan Across Countries (ROP3 - 101040) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

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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