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People group profile · PG049229

The East Indians of Barbados

The East Indians of Barbados, numbering about 3,900 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Caribbean people of Indian ancestry whose forebears arrived as indentured laborers from South Asia. They speak the dominant regional languages and maintain cultural traditions influenced by Hindu, Muslim, and broader Indo-Caribbean heritage.

They are a diaspora people in the Indo-Caribbean people cluster of the Latin American and Caribbean Peoples. Their primary religion is Sunni Islam, and they primarily speak Bajan.

Pray for the East IndiansPrint profile

AI-generated illustration representing the East Indians people
AI-generated illustration, not a photograph. Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite: East Indian

Fast facts

Country
Barbados
Population
3,900
Affinity group
South Asian Peoples
People cluster
Indo-Caribbean
Primary language
Bajan (bjs)
Primary religion
Sunni Islam
Strategic Progress Index ?
Engaged yet Unreached
Evangelical
No Known Evangelicals
GSEC ?
Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
Lostness priority ?
Frontier Unreached People Group
Region
Caribbean, Americas
Location
Widespread

Where they live

Gospel status

The East Indians are Engaged yet Unreached, which means fewer than 2% are evangelical Christians, but there are sustained efforts to establish self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. In GSEC terms, this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years.

  • Congregations exist No
  • Church planting in the last two years No Churches Planted

Next steps for the East Indians

  • 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

Primary religion

Sunni Islam · Islam

53% adherents

Primary language

Bajan · Indo-European family

100% speak Bajan

Gospel resources in Bajan

  • Bible not available
  • JESUS Film not available
  • Radio programs not available
  • Gospel recordings not available
  • Audio resources available
  • Bible stories not available

Find more at the JESUS Film Project, Bible.com and Faith Comes by Hearing.

Pray for the East Indians

  1. Romans 12:4–5. Pray that believers from many cultures will work together as one body so that the church is built up.
  2. Revelation 7:9. Pray for the day when people from this group stand before the throne with every nation, tribe, people and language.
  3. John 17:3. Pray that many will come to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent.
  4. Psalm 27:1. Pray that new believers will be strengthened in the face of persecution, with the Lord as their stronghold.

Download a prayer guide

East Indians in other countries

The same people is also reported in 11 other countries.

People groupCountryPopulationStatus
East IndiansTrinidad and Tobago133,000Engaged yet Unreached
East IndiansJamaica25,500Engaged yet Unreached
East IndiansBelize12,000Unengaged and Unreached
East IndiansSaint Lucia5,500Unengaged and Unreached
East IndiansGrenada4,700Unengaged and Unreached
East IndiansChile3,900Unengaged and Unreached
East IndiansArgentina2,700Unengaged and Unreached
East IndiansBrazil2,400Unengaged and Unreached
East IndiansSaint Vincent and the Grenadines1,500Unengaged and Unreached
East IndiansGuatemala700Unengaged and Unreached
East IndiansVenezuela500Unengaged and Unreached

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