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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Malayali of Bahrain

The Malayali of Bahrain, numbering approximately 60,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as a Dravidian ethnolinguistic group originating from the present-day state of Kerala in India and inhabiting its southwestern Malabar coast They are an Diaspora people, with Malayali as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Malayali people cluster of the South Asian Peoples. They mostly adhere to Protestantism and Malayalam is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: Bahrain
People Cluster: Malayali
Primary Language(s): Malayalam (mal)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 60,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011303
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Pray for the Malayali of Bahrain

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

—
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Malayalam
Language Family: Dravidian

100%
%
Malayalam Speakers

Media Resources in Malayalam:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Malayalam:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Bible League International✓✓
Holy Bible, Malayalam Contemporary Version - LUMO Christmas Film✓
Holy Bible, Malayalam Contemporary Version - LUMO Easter Film✓
Holy Bible, Malayalam Contemporary Version ™✓

4 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Malayalam bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Malayali 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 Malayali:
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

Pray specifically for the Malayali of Bahrain

Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life"
readJohn 4:13-14

Pray that those who don't know Jesus will drink of the living water that only Christ can provide and never thirst again.

If I ascend to heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
readPsalm 139:8

Pray that the lost will recognize God's presence with them wherever they go, put their faith in Christ, and seek to live in a way that honors and glorifies Him.

But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.
read1 Peter 3:15

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will always be prepared to share the reason for the hope that they have in Jesus with gentleness and respect.

"For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you."
readActs 17:23

Pray that believers God sends to cross cultures will be sensitive to the spiritual needs of the people they serve, and will proclaim the truth of Christ to them in creative ways that they will understand.

Malayali Across Countries (ROP3 - 112836) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

12 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
MalayaliPG012243MalayaliUnited Arab Emirates1,550,000Engaged yet UnreachedMalayalamHinduism
MalayaliPG041532MalayaliIndia461,000Engaged yet UnreachedTamilHinduism
MalayaliPG011803MalayaliKuwait318,000Engaged yet UnreachedMalayalamSunni Islam
MalayaliPG011884MalayaliOman220,000Engaged yet UnreachedMalayalamSunni Islam
MalayaliPG020224MalayaliMalaysia206,000No Longer UnreachedMalayalamHinduism
MalayaliPG043340MalayaliUnited States166,000No Longer UnreachedMalayalamHinduism
MalayaliPG011903MalayaliQatar113,000Engaged yet UnreachedMalayalamProtestantism
MalayaliPG011303MalayaliBahrain60,500Engaged yet UnreachedMalayalamProtestantism
MalayaliPG010714MalayaliSingapore36,000Engaged yet UnreachedMalayalamHinduism
MalayaliPG043436MalayaliCanada32,000Engaged yet UnreachedMalayalamSunni Islam
MalayaliPG009477MalayaliMyanmar31,000Engaged yet UnreachedMalayalamFolk Hinduism
MalayaliPG006163MalayaliMaldives950No Longer UnreachedMalayalamSunni 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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