The Palembang of Indonesia

The Palembang of Indonesia, numbering approximately 4,120,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as 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 are an Indigenous people, with Palembang as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Musi of Sumatra people cluster of the Malay Peoples. Their primary religion is Sunni Islam. They primarily speak Musi.

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
View on Joshua Project

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.

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

Bible Resources in Musi:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Musi bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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

Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me! O LORD, be my helper!
readPsalm 30:10

Pray that people in the depths of despair and suffering and living outside of relationship with Christ will cry out to the Lord and find help, peace, and joy in Him.

For my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples.
readLuke 2:30

Pray that the lost will see the salvation of God, and that they will trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.

My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
readJohn 10:29

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will rejoice as they remember that they can never lose their salvation

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
readIsaiah 58:7

As believers cross cultures to share the good news of Christ, pray that God will sustain them and grow their faith as He gives them the compassion necessary to minister well to those in need.

Palembang Across Countries (ROP3 - 107781) 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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