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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Minangkabau of Indonesia

The Minangkabau of Indonesia, numbering approximately 8,130,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as a matrilineal Austronesian people of the Minangkabau Highlands of West Sumatra whose identity was shaped by the Pagaruyung kingdom, widespread migration traditions, and a distinctive synthesis of Malay heritage and Islamic custom They are an Indigenous people, with Minangkabau as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Minangkabau-Rejang of Sumatra people cluster of the Malay Peoples. Their primary religion is Sunni Islam. They primarily speak Minangkabau.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Indonesia
People Cluster: Minangkabau-Rejang of Sumatra
Primary Language(s): Minangkabau (min)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 8,130,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, Concentrated CP Activity
People Group ID: PG022519
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Pray for the Minangkabau 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: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

99%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Minangkabau
Language Family: Austronesian

100%
%
Minangkabau Speakers

Media Resources in Minangkabau:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Minangkabau:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Today's Minang Version, 2010✓✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Minangkabau bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Minangkabau 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 Minangkabau:
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 Minangkabau of Indonesia

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming.
readColossians 3:5-6

Pray for God to have mercy and give those who don't yet know Him the gift of Jesus and His salvation for all who call upon His name.

So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.
readRomans 9:16

Pray that the merciful God who is at work in people's hearts will advance His gospel among them.

Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.
readPsalm 34:5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will see themselves as God sees them, with radiant faces and hearts that have been cleansed of all shame.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
readRomans 6:23

Pray that God will bring people to faith who are excited about the eternal life they have in Christ and will want to cross cultures to share this hope with others.

Minangkabau Across Countries (ROP3 - 106640) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
MinangkabauPG022519MinangkabauIndonesia8,130,000Engaged yet UnreachedMinangkabauSunni Islam

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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