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The Nusa Laut of Indonesia

The Nusa Laut of Indonesia, numbering approximately 3,500 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an indigenous Moluccan people of Nusa Laut Island in the Lease Islands, east of Ambon, whose ancestral language has largely disappeared through a shift to Ambonese Malay. They mostly adhere to Animism and Ambonese Malay is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Indonesia
People Cluster: Maluku-Central
Primary Language(s): Ambonese Malay (abs)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 3,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG022695
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Pray for the Nusa Laut 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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

40%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Ambonese Malay
Language Family: Austronesian

100%
%
Malay, Ambonese Speakers

Media Resources in Ambonese Malay:

Films:
Title Link
JESUS View Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Ambonese Malay:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Ambonese Malay bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Nusa Laut 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 Nusa Laut:
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 Nusa Laut 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.

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
readMatthew 11:28-29

Please pray for them to lift their eyes to Jesus and find rest for their souls, lasting peace, and hope in Him.

And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
readActs 2:42

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will devote themselves to God's Word, to fellowship with each other, and to prayer.

I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessing.
read1 Corinthians 9:23

Ask God to give believers a deep desire to share the gospel with those who don't know the truth about God's redemption plan, and to provide them with opportunities to do so cross-culturally.

Nusa Laut Across Countries (ROP3 - 107520) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index

All

1 people group

Photo People Group ID Name Country Population ▼ Strategic Progress Index Language Religion
Nusa Laut PG022695 Nusa Laut Indonesia 3,500 No Longer Unreached Ambonese Malay Animism

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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