Download the People Group List (16 languages .csv)

Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
Hindi - हिन्दी | Indonesian - Bahasa Indonesia
Korean - 한국어 | Nepali - नेपाली
Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
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The Malayali of Malaysia

The Malayali of Malaysia, numbering approximately 207,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Dravidian ethnolinguistic group originating from the present-day state of Kerala in India and inhabiting its southwestern Malabar coast. They mostly adhere to Hinduism 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: Malaysia
People Cluster: Malayali
Primary Language(s): Malayalam (mal)
Primary Religion(s): Hinduism
Population: 207,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG020224
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Pray for the Malayali 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: Hinduism
Religious Affiliation: Hinduism

50%
%
Hinduism 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: No longer Unreached

The Malayali 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 Malayali:
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 Malayali of Malaysia

Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.
readJerremiah 32:17

Pray that the God who made the heavens and the earth by the power of His outstretched arm, the One who is able to save those who are lost, will show His great love and mercy to those who are walking in darkness.

So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.
readRomans 9:16

Pray that the merciful God who is at work in people's hearts will advance His gospel among them.

I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me. I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.
readPsalm 3:5-6

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and experience isolation or other persecution, God will sustain them and give them confidence and rest in Him.

"Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."
readJohn 7:38

Ask God to raise up believers and sustain them as they cross cultures to share hope with those who need it. Pray that many might come to know Christ and that streams of living water will flow from their hearts so they will never thirst again.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

12 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▲Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
MalayaliPG006163MalayaliMaldives950No Longer UnreachedMalayalamSunni Islam
MalayaliPG009477MalayaliMyanmar31,000Engaged yet UnreachedMalayalamFolk Hinduism
MalayaliPG043436MalayaliCanada32,000Engaged yet UnreachedMalayalamSunni Islam
MalayaliPG010714MalayaliSingapore36,000Engaged yet UnreachedMalayalamHinduism
MalayaliPG011303MalayaliBahrain60,500Engaged yet UnreachedMalayalamProtestantism
MalayaliPG011903MalayaliQatar113,000Engaged yet UnreachedMalayalamProtestantism
MalayaliPG043340MalayaliUnited States166,000No Longer UnreachedMalayalamHinduism
MalayaliPG020224MalayaliMalaysia207,000No Longer UnreachedMalayalamHinduism
MalayaliPG011884MalayaliOman220,000Engaged yet UnreachedMalayalamSunni Islam
MalayaliPG011803MalayaliKuwait318,000Engaged yet UnreachedMalayalamSunni Islam
MalayaliPG041532MalayaliIndia461,000Engaged yet UnreachedTamilHinduism
MalayaliPG012243MalayaliUnited Arab Emirates1,555,000Engaged yet UnreachedMalayalamHinduism

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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