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
Be sure to use the data import function in your favorite app for working with data.
If you'd like to help improve these translations, Contact Us.

PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Rohingya of Malaysia

The Rohingya of Malaysia, numbering approximately 48,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Muslim ethnic group indigenous to the Rakhine State of Myanmar that has been denied citizenship there since 1982 and has suffered severe persecution and mass displacement. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Rohingya is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite: Rohingya

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: Malaysia
People Cluster: Bengali
Primary Language(s): Rohingya (rhg)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 48,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG049352
View on Joshua Project

Print Profile
Submit Updates

Pray for the Rohingya of Malaysia

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!
Download Prayer Guide

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

99%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Rohingya
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Rohingya Speakers

Media Resources in Rohingya:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Rohingya:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
RCA – 2020 (John), 2021 (Luke)✓✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Rohingya bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Rohingya 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 Rohingya:
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 Rohingya of Malaysia

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
readRomans 3:23

Pray that those who live in fear, guilt and discontentment because of sin will see their need for change, hear, and receive the good news of freedom from sin through Christ.

But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.
readMark 4:20

Pray that those who have never encountered the gospel will have the opportunity to receive it, and that it will fall on good soil and bear much fruit.

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.
readColossians 4:2

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving, as they bring needs before the Lord.

Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.”
readActs 17:32

Ask God to give those He sends to cross cultures wisdom and discernment as they engage in spiritual conversations with those who are curious about the gospel.

Rohingya Across Countries (ROP3 - 102170) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

5 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountry ▲PopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
RohingyaPG049351RohingyaBangladesh908,000Engaged yet UnreachedRohingyaSunni Islam
RohingyaPG049352RohingyaMalaysia48,500Engaged yet UnreachedRohingyaSunni Islam
RohingyaPG022052RohingyaMyanmar636,000Engaged yet UnreachedBengaliSunni Islam
RohingyaPG050625RohingyaSaudi Arabia438,000Unengaged and UnreachedRohingyaSunni Islam
RohingyaPG050359RohingyaUnited States13,000Engaged yet UnreachedRohingyaSunni Islam

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.

Scroll to Top