The Betawi of Indonesia

The Betawi of Indonesia, numbering approximately 5,630,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnic group native to Jakarta that emerged from the long-term mixing and acculturation of diverse peoples who settled in colonial Batavia from the 17th century onward. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Betawi is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Indonesia
People Cluster: Sunda-Betawi of Java
Primary Language(s): Betawi (bew)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 5,630,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG022424
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Betawi of Indonesia

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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

97%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Betawi
Language Family: Austronesian

76%
%
Betawi Speakers

Media Resources in Betawi:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Betawi:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Betawi bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Betawi 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 Betawi:
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 Betawi of Indonesia

As it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God".
readRomans 3:10-11

Pray that God will have mercy on those living in broken relationship with Him, and that He will bring many to surrender and repentance at the throne of grace.

For I will proclaim the name of the LORD; ascribe greatness to our God!
readDeuteronomy 32:3

Pray that believers will proclaim the Lord’s name and declare the greatness of our God so that others might believe in Him.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.
readHebrews 10:23

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will cling tightly to the hope they have in God to faithfully keep His promises.

And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.
readMatthew 7:28-29

Pray that God will remind believers that they have His authority as they share His truth with the lost, and pray He will draw crowds of people to this message and plant it deeply in their hearts.

Betawi Across Countries (ROP3 - 101296) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

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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