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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Kristang of Malaysia

The Kristang of Malaysia, numbering approximately 8,600 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are described as a unique Portuguese Eurasian Creole community centered in Malacca, Malaysia, and Singapore, with diaspora communities in Perth, Australia, and other locations and can also be known as Kristang, Cristão, Papia Kristang, Gente Kristang. They are an Indigenous people, with Kristang as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Other Southeast Asian people cluster of the Southeast Asian Peoples. Their primary religion is Roman Catholicism. They primarily speak Malaccan Portuguese Creole.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Malaccan Creole Portuguese

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: Malaysia
People Cluster: Other Southeast Asian
Primary Language(s): Malaccan Portuguese Creole (mcm)
Primary Religion(s): Roman Catholicism
Population: 8,600
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG020133
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Pray for the Kristang of Malaysia

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Roman Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

85%
%
Roman Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Malaccan Portuguese Creole
Language Family: Indo-European

70%
%
Malaccan Portuguese Creole Speakers

Media Resources in Malaccan Portuguese Creole:

Films:

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Bible Resources in Malaccan Portuguese Creole:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Malaccan Portuguese Creole bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 0), 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.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Frontier Unreached People Group, (LPI: 0), < 0.1% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Kristang:
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

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Kristang 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 Kristang:
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

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Kristang 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 Kristang:
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 Kristang of Malaysia

Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the LORD has comforted his people and will have compassion on his afflicted.
readIsaiah 49:13

Thank the Lord for the people here and ask that His gospel will flow through this land to bring hope to those who are afflicted by the guilt of sin.

The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.
readMatthew 4:16

Pray that those who dwell in darkness and live in the land of the shadow of death may be drawn out of darkness into His marvelous light.

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.
readHebrews 10:24

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will love and encourage one another, spurring each other on to live lives that honor God.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!
readPsalm 51:2

Pray that God will raise up believers to go and share the gospel with those in this people group who need to be washed of their iniquity and cleansed from their sins.

Kristang Across Countries (ROP3 - 105316) reported in the following countries:

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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