Overview: The Malay peoples inhabit primarily island and coastal regions across Southeast Asia and the Pacific, representing one of history's most significant maritime cultures. Linguistic and archaeological evidence traces Austronesian-speaking peoples to origins in Taiwan, with migrations southward to the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and beyond over thousands of years. This broader Austronesian family includes remarkable diversity: the Malay peoples of island Southeast Asia, the Malagasy who sailed westward to Madagascar, and Polynesian peoples who navigated eastward across the Pacific to islands as distant as Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and Hawaiʻi. These groups developed sophisticated navigation techniques, ocean-going vessels, and maritime trade networks. The sea remains central to cultural identity, livelihoods, and social organization for many communities, though contemporary Malay peoples also include substantial inland and urban populations.

  -- ROP Editor

People clusters: Aceh of Sumatra; Bali-Sasak; Banjar of Kalimantan; Barito of Kalimantan; Batak-Nias of Sumatra; Borneo-Kalimantan; Bugi-Makassar of Sulawesi; Bungku-Bajau; Filipino Tribal; Filipino, Central; Filipino, Muslim; Flores-Sumba-Alor; Gorontalo of Sulawesi; Jawa; Kaili-Tomini of Sulawesi; Lampung of Sumatra; Madura of Java; Malagasy; Malay; Maluku-Central; Maluku-Northern; Maluku-Southern; Melayu of Sumatra; Minahasa-Sangir of Sulawesi; Minangkabau-Rejang of Sumatra; Musi of Sumatra; Ogan of Sumatra; Pasemah of Sumatra; Sunda-Betawi of Java; Timor; Toraja of Sulawesi; Tukangbesi of Sulawesi; West Malaysia Indigenous

Countries where they are found: American Samoa; Australia; Brunei; Canada; China; Christmas Island; Cocos (Keeling) Islands; Comoros; France; Germany; Guam; Hong Kong; Indonesia; Italy; Kuwait; Macao; Madagascar; Malaysia; Mauritius; Mayotte; Myanmar; Netherlands; New Caledonia; New Zealand; Northern Mariana Islands; Oman; Palau; Philippines; Portugal; Qatar; Reunion; Singapore; Spain; Sri Lanka; Thailand; Timor-Leste; United Kingdom; United States