The Bakumpai of Indonesia

The Bakumpai of Indonesia, numbering approximately 131,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Dayak Ngaju-related people of the Barito River basin in Kalimantan whose identity developed through a distinct Bakumpai heritage and long association with the riverine communities of central and southern Borneo. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Bakumpai is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Indonesia
People Cluster: Barito of Kalimantan
Primary Language(s): Bakumpai (bkr)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 131,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG022547
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Bakumpai 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

85%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Bakumpai
Language Family: Austronesian

100%
%
Bakumpai Speakers

Media Resources in Bakumpai:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Bakumpai:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Bakumpai bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Bakumpai 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 Bakumpai:
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 Bakumpai of Indonesia

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
readEphesians 6:12

Pray for those ensnared by the darkness of this world, that they will recognize the spiritual forces at work and turn to the light of Christ.

Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
readPsalm 34:8

Pray that the gospel will advance and that many will have the opportunity to taste and see the goodness of God and entrust their lives to Him.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
readPhilippians 2:5-7

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will imitate His humility in all they do.

Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
readMatthew 6:9b-10

Pray that God will raise up Christians who are driven by a desire to see God's name worshiped, His kingdom come, and His will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Ask Him to send them to the lost in this people group and sustain them.

Bakumpai Across Countries (ROP3 - 100828) 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.

Scroll to Top