Download the People Group List (16 languages .csv)

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
Korean - 한국어 | Nepali - नेपाली
Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Bacan of Indonesia

The Bacan of Indonesia, numbering approximately 3,800 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are described as a Malayic people of the Bacan Islands whose ancestors are thought to have migrated from Borneo and whose identity remains tied to Bacan Malay Bacan, Bacan Malay, Bacanese Malay They are an Indigenous people, with Malay as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Malay people cluster of the Malay Peoples. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and North Moluccan Malay is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Bacan

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Indonesia
People Cluster: Malay
Primary Language(s): North Moluccan Malay (max)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 3,800
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG022629
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Pray for the Bacan 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

65%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: North Moluccan Malay
Language Family: Austronesian

100%
%
Malay, North Moluccan Speakers

Media Resources in North Moluccan Malay:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in North Moluccan Malay:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Perjanjian Baru terjemahan Bahasa Melayu Maluku Utara✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the North Moluccan Malay bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Bacan 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.

Next steps for the Bacan:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Bacan of Indonesia

As it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God".
readRomans 3:10-11

Pray that God will have mercy on those living in broken relationship with Him, and that He will bring many to surrender and repentance at the throne of grace.

Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength!
readPsalm 96:7

Pray that entire households will come to faith in Jesus and that God will bless their families with faith in Him for generations to come.

Praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
readActs 2:47

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, God will use their faith and their church community as a testimony to the watching world and grow His Church.

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, "Your God reigns”
readIsaiah 52:7

Pray that God will provide open doors for believers who cross cultures to share the good news of salvation with those who need it. Pray that He will give them joy as they see Him move.

Malay, Bacanese Across Countries (ROP3 - 106150) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
BacanPG022629BacanIndonesia3,800No Longer UnreachedNorth Moluccan MalaySunni 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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