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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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Rohingya of Malaysia

The Rohingya of Malaysia, numbering approximately 48,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as 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 are an Diaspora people, with Rohingya as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Bengali people cluster of the South Asian Peoples. 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
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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.

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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

Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the LORD has comforted his people and will have compassion on his afflicted.
readIsaiah 49:13

Thank the Lord for the people here and ask that His gospel will flow through this land to bring hope to those who are afflicted by the guilt of sin.

Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.
readPsalm 25:5

Pray that the gospel will advance and that God will lead people in His truth, bringing many to salvation.

Turn, O LORD, deliver my life; save me for the sake of your steadfast love.
readPsalm 6:4

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and still struggle with the worries of this life, God will deliver them from worry for the sake of His steadfast love.

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
readIsaiah 58:7

As believers cross cultures to share the good news of Christ, pray that God will sustain them and grow their faith as He gives them the compassion necessary to minister well to those in need.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

5 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
RohingyaPG049351RohingyaBangladesh908,000Engaged yet UnreachedRohingyaSunni Islam
RohingyaPG022052RohingyaMyanmar636,000Engaged yet UnreachedBengaliSunni Islam
RohingyaPG050625RohingyaSaudi Arabia438,000Unengaged and UnreachedRohingyaSunni Islam
RohingyaPG049352RohingyaMalaysia48,500Engaged yet 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.

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