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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
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Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
Hindi - हिन्दी | Indonesian - Bahasa Indonesia
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Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The North Sumatran Malays of Indonesia

The North Sumatran Malays of Indonesia, numbering approximately 2,710,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a coastal Malay community of eastern North Sumatra whose identity emerged through the Islamization of local Karo and Simalungun populations and the development of a distinctive regional Malay culture. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Malay (individual language) is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: North Sumatran Malay

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Indonesia
People Cluster: Malay
Primary Language(s): Malay (individual language) (zlm)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 2,710,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG022492
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Pray for the North Sumatran Malays 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.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

99%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Malay (individual language)
Language Family: Austronesian

100%
%
Malay Speakers

Media Resources in Malay (individual language):

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
The SaviorView Film

2 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Malay (individual language):

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2001 Today's Malay Version✓✓
Alkitab Versi Borneo✓✓✓

2 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Malay (individual language) bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The North Sumatran Malays 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 North Sumatran Malays:
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 North Sumatran Malays of Indonesia

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
readMatthew 9:36

Pray that those who have no hope and are in need of a Savior will be comforted by the Good Shepherd, who seeks to gather the lost and weary into His care.

"You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet."
readMatthew 5:13

Pray that the lost will have the opportunity to hear a Christian witness of how the gospel can bring hope and that they will put their faith in Christ.

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.
readHebrews 10:24

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will love and encourage one another, spurring each other on to live lives that honor God.

To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.
read1 Corinthians 9:22

Ask God to raise up believers from around the world to go and share the hope of Jesus with the lost so that they might trust in Him and have the hope of eternal life.

Malay, North Sumatra Across Countries (ROP3 - 116020) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountry ▼PopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
North Sumatran MalaysPG022492North Sumatran MalaysIndonesia2,710,000Engaged yet UnreachedMalay (individual language)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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