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The Kalabit of Malaysia

The Kalabit of Malaysia, numbering approximately 6,700 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an Indigenous people of northeastern Sarawak whose traditional homeland is the Kelabit Highlands; they traditionally lived in longhouses and practiced wet-rice cultivation. They mostly adhere to Protestantism and Kelabit is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Malaysia
People Cluster: Borneo-Kalimantan
Primary Language(s): Kelabit (kzi)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 6,700
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG009259
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Pray for the Kalabit 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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

33%
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kelabit
Language Family: Austronesian

80%
%
Kelabit Speakers

Media Resources in Kelabit:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Kelabit:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Kelabit bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Kalabit 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 Kalabit:
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 Kalabit of Malaysia

"For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." Those who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?" But he said "What is impossible with man is possible with God."
readLuke 18:25-27

Pray that the lost who think they have everything they need will recognize their spiritual poverty apart from Jesus and turn to Him in faith.

Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.
readMark 10:14b

Praise Jesus for the way He loves children, asking that many will learn the truth about Him and come to Him unhindered.

He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken.
readIsaiah 25:8

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will rejoice in the hope of the Lord's coming, when He will swallow up death forever and wipe away their tears.

And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
readRomans 10:15

Pray that God will call many believers who will obediently go and share the gospel with those who desperately need it.

Kalabit Across Countries (ROP3 - 104450) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group ID ▲NameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
KalabitPG009259KalabitMalaysia6,700No Longer UnreachedKelabitProtestantism
KalabitPG022568KalabitIndonesia750No Longer UnreachedKelabitProtestantism

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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