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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
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Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
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Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Sarawak Dayak of Malaysia

The Sarawak Dayak of Malaysia, numbering approximately 31,500 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are described as an ethnolinguistic community of Malaysia They are an Indigenous people, with Dayak as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Borneo-Kalimantan people cluster of the Malay Peoples. Their primary religion is Animism. They primarily speak Bidayuh, Bau.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Malaysia
People Cluster: Borneo-Kalimantan
Primary Language(s): Bidayuh, Bau (sne)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 31,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG009324
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Pray for the Sarawak Dayak 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: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

60%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Bidayuh, Bau
Language Family: Austronesian

95%
%
Bidayuh, Bau Speakers

Media Resources in Bidayuh, Bau:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Bidayuh, Bau:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Bidayuh, Bau 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: 2), 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): Moderately Reached People Group, (LPI: 5), 6% to 20% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical (GSEC: 6), this people group is greater than or equal to 10% evangelical

Next steps for the Sarawak Dayak:
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

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Sarawak Dayak are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Next steps for the Sarawak Dayak:
Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Sarawak Dayak 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 Sarawak Dayak:
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 Sarawak Dayak of Malaysia

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
readJohn 3:17

Pray for those who are living under the burdens of man-made religion to learn about the freedom Jesus offers them and turn to Him in faith.

Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth!
readPsalm 96:9

Pray that many who do not yet know Jesus will come to know Him and worship Him in the splendor of His holiness.

More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
readRomans 5:11

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will rejoice in what God has done for them and will help others know how they can also be reconciled to God.

Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
readIsaiah 43:19

Praise the God who is able to make a way forward, even when it seems impossible. Ask Him to do a new thing among this people group specifically and among the nations, raising up believers to go and share the gospel with individuals and places where it has not flourished before.

Dayak, Sarawak Across Countries (ROP3 - 108720) reported in the following countries:

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 Definitions page.

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