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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Batak Simalungun of Indonesia

The Batak Simalungun of Indonesia, numbering approximately 1,625,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are described as an ethnolinguistic community of Indonesia (Sumatra), north Sumatra, northeast of Lake Toba They are an Indigenous people, with Batak as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Batak-Nias of Sumatra people cluster of the Malay Peoples. Their primary religion is Protestantism. They primarily speak Batak Simalungun.

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

Fast Facts*:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Indonesia
People Cluster: Batak-Nias of Sumatra
Primary Language(s): Batak Simalungun (bts)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 1,625,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG022485
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Pray for the Batak Simalungun 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: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

—
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Batak Simalungun
Language Family: Austronesian

100%
%
Batak Simalungun Speakers

Media Resources in Batak Simalungun:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Batak Simalungun:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Formal Batak Simalungun Version, 2007✓✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Batak Simalungun bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Batak Simalungun 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 Batak Simalungun:
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 Batak Simalungun of Indonesia

For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God?
readPsalm 18:31

As people look to their own efforts for hope, pray they will have the opportunity to learn and believe in the Lord, who is the only Rock worthy of their faith.

Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
readPsalm 2:10-11

Pray for the rulers and authorities here to seek the Lord and serve Him only. Pray that the people they lead will be amazed by the work of God in their lives.

"...I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
readMatthew 16:18b

Pray that God will build and grow His Church among this people.

And thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else's foundation, but as it is written, "Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand."
readRomans 15:20-21

Pray that God will send believers to cross cultures and proclaim the gospel where Christ has not been named, so that the nations might glorify God for His mercy.

Batak Simalungun Across Countries (ROP3 - 101127) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Batak SimalungunPG022485Batak SimalungunIndonesia1,625,000No Longer UnreachedBatak SimalungunProtestantism

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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