The Rumai Palaung of Myanmar

The Rumai Palaung of Myanmar, numbering approximately 218,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as a Palaung subgroup of Myanmar's northern Shan hills who settled the region before the Shan arrived from China in the twelfth century, sustaining themselves through tea cultivation on mountain slopes near Namhsan They are an Indigenous people, with Palaung as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Mon-Khmer people cluster of the Southeast Asian Peoples. They mostly adhere to Theravada Buddhism and Rumai Palaung is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: Myanmar
People Cluster: Mon-Khmer
Primary Language(s): Rumai Palaung (rbb)
Primary Religion(s): Theravada Buddhism
Population: 218,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG022053
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Pray for the Rumai Palaung of Myanmar

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Theravada Buddhism
Religious Affiliation: Buddhism

95%
%
Theravada Buddhism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Rumai Palaung
Language Family: Austroasiatic

100%
%
Palaung, Rumai Speakers

Media Resources in Rumai Palaung:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Rumai Palaung:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Rumai Palaung bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Rumai Palaung 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 Rumai Palaung:
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 Rumai Palaung of Myanmar

I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me, that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other.
readIsaiah 45:5-6

Pray that the lost among them will be delivered from the confusion of false beliefs and come to know the one true God who alone brings light and purpose to their lives.

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
readJohn 8:12

Pray that many will come to know Jesus, the light of the world, and have the light of life instead of walking in darkness.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
read2 Corinthians 5:17

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will understand and experience the truth that in Christ, they are a new creation, and the old has gone and the new has come.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
readJohn 1:5

Pray that when discouraging days come, those who cross cultures for the sake of the gospel will be comforted as they remember that the light of Christ is stronger than the darkness that surrounds them.

Rumai Across Countries (ROP3 - 108436) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

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