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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.

Pray Now!
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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

I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.
readProverbs 8:17

As many search for hope, pray they will discover materials that will lead them to Jesus and explain the gospel in a way they will resonate with.

Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
readPsalm 47:6

Pray that believers will have a heart to invite others to trust in Christ alone so that they might sing praises to His name.

You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
readDeuteronomy 6:5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, and might, as they strive to live lives that honor and glorify Him.

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
read2 Peter 3:9

Pray that those God sends to cross cultures will patiently endure hardships as they share the gospel, knowing that the Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguage ▼Religion
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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