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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Makasai of Timor-Leste

The Makasai of Timor-Leste, numbering approximately 163,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Papuan-language people of eastern Timor-Leste's Baucau and Viqueque districts, descended from Trans-New Guinea migrants who intermarried with Austronesian-speaking populations and absorbed Portuguese colonial influence through Tetum as a lingua franca. They mostly adhere to Roman Catholicism and Makasae is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Timor-Leste
People Cluster: Timor
Primary Language(s): Makasae (mkz)
Primary Religion(s): Roman Catholicism
Population: 163,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG023125
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Pray for the Makasai of Timor-Leste

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: Roman Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

90%
%
Roman Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Makasae
Language Family: Timor-Alor-Pantar

100%
%
Makasae Speakers

Media Resources in Makasae:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Makasae:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Makasae bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Makasai 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 Makasai:
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 Makasai of Timor-Leste

And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you."
read1 Samuel 13:13a

Pray that those who are walking in disobedience will recognize their sin and to turn to God.

The mountains rose, the valleys sank down to the place that you appointed for them.
readPsalm 104:8

Pray that they will see the hand of God in the beauty and order of the natural world, and that they will worship Him as the Creator and Sustainer of all things.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
readHebrews 12:1-2

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember the testimony of those who went before them, resist sin, and run with perseverance the race set before them, fixing their eyes on Jesus.

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
readPsalm 139:14

Praise God for His creativity and power, and pray that He will raise up men and women from among them who are in awe of all He has done and want to go share the hope of Christ with others.

Makasai Across Countries (ROP3 - 106084) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
MakasaiPG023125MakasaiTimor-Leste163,000No Longer UnreachedMakasaeRoman 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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