Download the People Group List (16 languages .csv)

Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
Hindi - हिन्दी | Indonesian - Bahasa Indonesia
Korean - 한국어 | Nepali - नेपाली
Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
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The Maru of Myanmar

The Maru of Myanmar, numbering approximately 150,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic group indigenous to Myanmar and widely distributed along the border area between Myanmar's Kachin state and China's Dehong Dai-Jingpo autonomous prefecture in Yunnan province. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Maru is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Maru

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Tibetan Peoples
Country: Myanmar
People Cluster: Other Tibeto-Burmese
Primary Language(s): Maru (mhx)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 150,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG009482
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Pray for the Maru of Myanmar

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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

87%
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Maru
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

100%
%
Lhao Vo Speakers

Media Resources in Maru:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Maru:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Common Language Version✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Maru bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Maru are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Next steps for the Maru:
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

Pray specifically for the Maru of Myanmar

Claiming to be wise, they became fools.
readRomans 1:22

Ask God to pour out His mercy and bring those who are walking in their own wisdom to faith in Jesus.

...I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
readPsalm 13:5

Ask God to bring many to trust in His unfailing love and cause their hearts to rejoice in His salvation.

Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.
readMatthew 18:19

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they find other believers to pray with, and that they will trust God to answer their requests according to His will.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
readMatthew 28:19-20

Ask God to bring people among this group to faith in Jesus who will be obedient to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to obey all that Christ has commanded.

Maru Across Countries (ROP3 - 106361) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
MaruPG009482MaruMyanmar150,000Engaged yet UnreachedMaruEthnoreligion
MaruPG007279MaruChina31,500No Longer UnreachedMaruProtestantism

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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