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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Kayaw of Myanmar

The Kayaw of Myanmar, numbering approximately 26,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Myanmar. They are an Indigenous people in the Karen people cluster of the Southeast Asian Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary language is Kayaw and their primary religion is Protestantism.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: Myanmar
People Cluster: Karen
Primary Language(s): Kayaw (kvl)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 26,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG009414
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Pray for the Kayaw 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.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

80%
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kayaw
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

100%
%
Kayaw Speakers

Media Resources in Kayaw:

Films:

No entries found for: Kayaw(kvl). Help build some!

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Bible Resources in Kayaw:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Kayaw bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 2), which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Significantly Reached People Group, (LPI: 6), > 20% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical (GSEC: 6), this people group is greater than or equal to 10% evangelical

Next steps for the Kayaw:
Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Kayaw 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 Kayaw:
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

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Kayaw are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Next steps for the Kayaw:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Kayaw of Myanmar

For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.
readIsaiah 48:11

Pray that those who have been living for their own glory will turn to the One who is worthy of all praise and find their true identity in Him.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
readMatthew 13: 45-46

Pray that they will recognize the treasure of knowing Christ Jesus and be willing to give up everything else to gain Him.

Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually!
readPsalm 105:4

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and may feel weak in their current circumstances, they will seek the Lord's presence and persevere in the Lord's strength.

"For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you."
readActs 17:23

Pray that believers God sends to cross cultures will be sensitive to the spiritual needs of the people they serve, and will proclaim the truth of Christ to them in creative ways that they will understand.

Kayaw Across Countries (ROP3 - 101664) reported in the following countries:

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 Definitions page.

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