The Eastern Kadazan of Malaysia

The Eastern Kadazan of Malaysia, numbering approximately 31,500 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Malaysia (Sabah) They are an Indigenous people, in the Borneo-Kalimantan people cluster of the Malay Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion. They primarily speak Kadazan, Labuk-Kinabatangan.

Eastern Kadazan in Malaysia photo
Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Eastern Kadazan

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Asian Pacific Rim Peoples
Country: Malaysia
People Cluster: Borneo-Kalimantan
Primary Language(s): Kadazan, Labuk-Kinabatangan (dtb)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 31,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG020232
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Eastern Kadazan of Malaysia

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kadazan, Labuk-Kinabatangan
Language Family: Austronesian

%
Kadazan, Labuk-Kinabatangan Speakers

Media Resources in Kadazan, Labuk-Kinabatangan:

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Bible Resources in Kadazan, Labuk-Kinabatangan:

Or check out the Kadazan, Labuk-Kinabatangan bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Next steps for the Eastern Kadazan

The Eastern Kadazan are Unengaged and Unreached, 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.

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

Next steps for the Eastern Kadazan

The Eastern Kadazan 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.

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

Next steps for the Eastern Kadazan

The Eastern Kadazan 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.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Eastern Kadazan of Malaysia

But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.
read1 Timothy 6:9

Pray for those, rich and poor, who have put their trust in worldly things, and ask that they will be honest with themselves, acknowledge their need for God and turn to Him.

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.

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
readPsalm 27:1

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, God will strengthen them when they face persecution of any kind for Jesus' name’s sake.

For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.
read2 Corinthians 1:5

When any who might believe suffer for the sake of the gospel, ask God to deepen their understanding of His grace so that they may share it freely with those who have not received it.

Kadazan, Eastern (ROP3 - 102844) reported in the following countries:

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

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