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

The Tetum of Indonesia, numbering approximately 57,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an Austronesian ethnolinguistic people of West Timor in eastern Indonesia who speak Tetum. They maintain a distinct cultural identity shaped by clan relationships, traditional kingdoms, Catholic traditions, and the shared heritage of Timor. They mostly adhere to Roman Catholicism and Tetun Dili is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Indonesia
People Cluster: Timor
Primary Language(s): Tetun Dili (tdt)
Primary Religion(s): Roman Catholicism
Population: 57,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG047016
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Pray for the Tetum 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: Roman Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

84%
%
Roman Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Tetun Dili
Language Family: Austronesian

100%
%
Tetun Dili Speakers

Media Resources in Tetun Dili:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Tetun Dili:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Tetun Dili bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Tetum 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 Tetum:
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 Tetum of Indonesia

And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.
readJohn 3:19

Pray that God will have mercy on those who love the darkness they are walking in and turn from their sin to faith in Christ.

As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.
readMatthew 13:23

Pray that their hearts will have good soil that receives the Word, understands it, and bears fruit for God's kingdom.

Depart from me, all you workers of evil, for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping.
readPsalm 6:8

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, God will remind them that He is near and will help them place their hope in Him when others wish to do them harm.

Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith. But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.
read2 Thessalonians 3:1-3

Pray that the Word of God will spread throughout this people group and be honored. Ask God to establish His people and guard them from the evil one, testifying to this whole people group of His great faithfulness.

Tetum Across Countries (ROP3 - 109979) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion ▲
TetumPG047016TetumIndonesia57,000Engaged yet UnreachedTetun DiliRoman Catholicism

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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