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 Iranun of Malaysia

The Iranun of Malaysia, numbering approximately 27,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a seafaring Austronesian people related to the Maranao and Maguindanaon, whose ancestors migrated to Sabah from Mindanao in the 18th and 19th centuries after decades of ship-based raids on Spanish territories between 1752 and 1832. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Iranun (Malaysia) is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Malaysia
People Cluster: Filipino, Muslim
Primary Language(s): Iranun (Malaysia) (ilm)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 27,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG020238
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Pray for the Iranun 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: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

98%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Iranun (Malaysia)
Language Family: Austronesian

70%
%
Iranun (Malaysia) Speakers

Media Resources in Iranun (Malaysia):

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Iranun (Malaysia):

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Iranun (Malaysia) bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Iranun 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 Iranun:
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 Iranun of Malaysia

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
readPsalm 20:7

Pray for those who trust in anything other than the Lord to be convicted of their sin and learn about what Jesus did for them so that they can choose to trust in Him.

Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.
readPsalm 25:5

Pray that the gospel will advance and that God will lead people in His truth, bringing many to salvation.

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.

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
readJohn 1:12

Pray that believers will have the opportunity to clearly share the good news with the lost here, so that all people can be invited to trust in Jesus and become children of God.

Iranun Across Countries (ROP3 - 103985) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress Index ▼LanguageReligion
IranunPG020238IranunMalaysia27,500Engaged yet UnreachedIranun (Malaysia)Sunni Islam
IranunPG007692IranunPhilippines588,000Engaged yet UnreachedIranun (Philippines)Sunni 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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