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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Singkil of Indonesia

The Singkil of Indonesia, numbering approximately 75,500 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Indonesia (Sumatra) and can also be known as Pesisir Singkil. They are an Indigenous people, in the Aceh of Sumatra people cluster of the Malay Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Islam - Sunni. They primarily speak Batak Karo.

Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Copyrighted ©️ 2025 Tony Magdaraog - Shutterstock Used with permission

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Asian Pacific Peoples
Country: Indonesia
People Cluster: Aceh of Sumatra
Primary Language(s): Batak Karo (btx)
Primary Religion(s): Islam - Sunni
Population: 75,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG022539

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Pray for the Singkil of Indonesia

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Islam - Sunni
Religious Affiliation: Islam

%
Islam - Sunni Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Batak Karo
Language Family: Austronesian

%
Batak Karo Speakers

Media Resources in Batak Karo:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Batak Karo:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

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Next steps for the Singkil

The Singkil are Unengaged and Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Next steps for the Singkil

The Singkil 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.

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

Next steps for the Singkil

The Singkil are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Singkil of Indonesia

These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self- made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.
readColossians 2:23

Pray for those without Christ, that they will see the emptiness of human traditions and turn to the truth and grace found in Jesus.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
readJohn 14:6

Pray that those who are searching for a way to God and desiring truth will encounter the good news of eternal life and accept it.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
readPsalm 23:4

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will trust in the Lord's presence, even in the darkest valleys.

And thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else's foundation, but as it is written, "Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand."
readRomans 15:20-21

Pray that God will send believers to cross cultures and proclaim the gospel where Christ has not been named, so that the nations might glorify God for His mercy.

Singkil reported in the following countries (ROP3):

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 Definitions page.

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