Riau Malays

Riau Malays
ملايو رياو
Traditional Riau Wedding Dress
Regions with significant populations
 Riau •  Riau Islands •  North Sumatra •  Jambi •  Bengkulu (Indonesia)
 Johor •  Malacca (Malaysia)
 Indonesia2,610,890
 Malaysia116,000
Languages
Riau Malay, Indonesian
Religion
Sunni Islam
Related ethnic groups
Malays

Riau Malays (Jawi: ملايو رياو‎, Melayu Riau) are a sub-group of Malays native to Riau and Riau Islands province on the eastern region of Sumatra. Today they only make up 29% of Riau Island population while in Riau's they still form a plurality of the population at around 45%. Riau Malays especially coastal Riau and Riau Islands share the same or similar cultural, historical and linguistic background with Johorean and Singaporean Malays due to its common origin starting from Malacca in the 15th century to as recently as Johor Empire in the 18th century.