People group profile · PG023117
The Adabe of Timor-Leste
The Adabe of Timor-Leste, numbering about 6,700 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an Indigenous people of Atauro Island whose identity is rooted in the Raklungu (Adabe) dialect of the Atauran language and longstanding island traditions shaped by maritime connections within the Timor region.
They are an indigenous people in the Timor people cluster of the Malay Peoples. Their primary religion is Roman Catholicism, and they primarily speak Atauran.

Fast facts
- Country
- Timor-Leste
- Population
- 6,700
- Affinity group
- Asian Pacific Rim Peoples
- People cluster
- Timor
- Primary language
- Atauran (adb)
- Primary religion
- Roman Catholicism
- Strategic Progress Index ?
- No Longer Unreached
- Evangelical
- 75% or Greater
- GSEC ?
- 10% or Greater Evangelical
- Lostness priority ?
- Significantly Reached People Group
- Region
- South-Eastern Asia, Asia
- Location
- Dili district: Atauro island; Timor island north of capital
Where they live
Gospel status
The Adabe are No Longer Unreached, which means 2% or more are evangelical Christians. In GSEC terms, this people group is greater than or equal to 10% evangelical.
- Congregations exist Yes
- Church planting in the last two years Dispersed Church Planting
Next steps for the Adabe
- Pray for the churches among this group to grow in faithfulness and maturity
- Equip believers to reach the unreached peoples around them
- Send out laborers from this people to the nations
Primary religion
Roman Catholicism · Christianity
61% adherents
Primary language
Atauran · Bookkeeping family
100% speak Atauran
Gospel resources in Atauran
- Bible not available
- JESUS Film not available
- Radio programs not available
- Gospel recordings not available
- Audio resources not available
- Bible stories not available
Find more at the JESUS Film Project, Bible.com and Faith Comes by Hearing.
Pray for the Adabe
- Romans 12:4–5. Pray that believers from many cultures will work together as one body so that the church is built up.
- Revelation 7:9. Pray for the day when people from this group stand before the throne with every nation, tribe, people and language.
- John 17:3. Pray that many will come to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent.
- Psalm 27:1. Pray that new believers will be strengthened in the face of persecution, with the Lord as their stronghold.
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