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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
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Portuguese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Español | Tagalog / Filipino
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The Serawai of Indonesia

The Serawai of Indonesia, numbering approximately 327,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Malay people of southwestern Sumatra centered in Bengkulu's river valleys and foothills whose identity reflects interactions with neighboring Rejang, Minangkabau, and Pasemah communities while preserving a distinct Serawai language and culture. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Central Malay is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Indonesia
People Cluster: Pasemah of Sumatra
Primary Language(s): Central Malay (pse)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 327,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG022536
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Pray for the Serawai 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

86%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Central Malay
Language Family: Austronesian

100%
%
Malay, Central Speakers

Media Resources in Central Malay:

Films:
Title Link
JESUS View Film
JESUS View Film

2 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Central Malay:

Bible Name (Translation) Video Audio Text
1995 Lembaga Alkitab Indonesia ✓ ✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Central Malay bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Serawai 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 Serawai:
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 Serawai of Indonesia

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.
readGenesis 3:15

Pray that those without Christ will hear the words of Genesis 1-3 in their own language, and desire to know their Creator and His provision of salvation.

The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.
readActs 17:24-25

Pray that the good news will reach everyone in this people group and that many will come to know and serve the one true God who made the world and everything in it and lives today.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
read1 Peter 2:9

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will embrace their identity as God's chosen people, royal priests, and holy nation, living out their faith with purity and devotion.

And Jesus said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men." And immediately they left their nets and followed him.
readMark 1:17-18

Pray that God will raise up believers from this place and/or other cultures nearby to proclaim the gospel to those who desperately need to encounter it.

Serawai Across Countries (ROP3 - 108855) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index

All

1 people group

Photo People Group ID Name Country Population ▲ Strategic Progress Index Language Religion
Serawai PG022536 Serawai Indonesia 327,000 Engaged yet Unreached Central Malay 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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