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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
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Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Palembang of Indonesia

The Palembang of Indonesia, numbering approximately 4,120,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Malay people of South Sumatra whose identity emerged from the historic Palembang and Srivijaya heartlands, reflecting centuries of interaction among indigenous, Arab, Chinese, and other regional communities along the Musi River. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Musi is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Indonesia
People Cluster: Musi of Sumatra
Primary Language(s): Musi (mui)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 4,120,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG022525
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Pray for the Palembang 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: Musi
Language Family: Austronesian

90%
%
Musi Speakers

Media Resources in Musi:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Musi:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Musi bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Palembang 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 Palembang:
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 Palembang of Indonesia

I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,' and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.
readPsalm 32:5

Pray those who are lost will realize their sin, confess their iniquity, and grow in their understanding of salvation through faith in Christ alone.

And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.
read2 Timothy 2:2

Pray that the lost will come to faith in Christ and be discipled in the truth of the gospel, becoming faithful followers of Jesus who, in turn, make disciples themselves.

We give thanks to you, O God; we give thanks, for your name is near. We recount your wondrous deeds.
readPsalm 75:1

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will give thanks to the Lord for His wondrous works and declare His goodness to all people.

And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
readRomans 10:15

Pray that God will call many believers who will obediently go and share the gospel with those who desperately need it.

Palembang Across Countries (ROP3 - 107781) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
PalembangPG022525PalembangIndonesia4,120,000Engaged yet UnreachedMusiSunni 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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