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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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Acehnese of Indonesia

The Acehnese of Indonesia, numbering approximately 4,880,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an Austronesian people of northern Sumatra whose identity was shaped by the Aceh Sultanate and centuries of interaction among indigenous, Malay, and other regional populations. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Achinese is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Acehnese

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Indonesia
People Cluster: Aceh of Sumatra
Primary Language(s): Achinese (ace)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 4,880,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG022477
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Pray for the Acehnese 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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

99%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Achinese
Language Family:

95%
%
Aceh Speakers

Media Resources in Achinese:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Achinese:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Today's Aceh Version, 1997✓✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Achinese bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Acehnese 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 Acehnese:
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 Acehnese of Indonesia

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.
readJohn 11:25

Pray for the many who have never heard about or understood the importance of what Jesus did for them, asking God to make a way for them to hear that the perfect Son of Man suffered, died, and rose again so that they might be saved.

The mountains rose, the valleys sank down to the place that you appointed for them.
readPsalm 104:8

Pray that they will see the hand of God in the beauty and order of the natural world, and that they will worship Him as the Creator and Sustainer of all things.

Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.
readEphesians 6:18

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be alert and persistent in prayer for all believers, offering their requests with thanksgiving.

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
read2 Peter 3:9

Pray that those God sends to cross cultures will patiently endure hardships as they share the gospel, knowing that the Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise.

Acehnese Across Countries (ROP3 - 100036) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
AcehnesePG022477AcehneseIndonesia4,880,000Engaged yet UnreachedAchineseSunni Islam
AchenesePG047659AcheneseUnited States400Unengaged and UnreachedAchineseSunni 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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