The Tamil of Maldives

The Tamil of Maldives, numbering approximately 900 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a diaspora community of Tamil Muslims in the Maldives. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Tamil is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: Maldives
People Cluster: Tamil
Primary Language(s): Tamil (tam)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 900
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG006166

Pray for the Tamil of Maldives

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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

61%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Tamil
Language Family: Dravidian

100%
%
Tamil Speakers

Media Resources in Tamil:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
The SaviorView Film

3 films

Bible Resources in Tamil:

Or check out the Tamil bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Tamil 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 Tamil:
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 Tamil of Maldives

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
readRomans 1:20

As God's creation declares His glory, pray that multitudes who don't know Him will see the works of His hands and desire to know more about the Creator.

Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near.
readIsaiah 55:6

Pray that the lost will seek the Lord while He may be found and call upon Him while He is near, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

Not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
readHebrews 10:25

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will not neglect meeting together but encourage one another as they see the Day approaching.

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
readEphesians 6:11

Pray that those God sends to cross cultures will put on the full armor of God so that they will be able to stand against the schemes of the enemy.

Tamil Muslim Across Countries (ROP3 - 109788) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

6 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Indian MuslimsIndian MuslimsMalaysia320,000Unengaged and UnreachedTamilSunni Islam
TamilTamilBahrain48,500Engaged yet UnreachedTamilHinduism
TamilTamilQatar28,500Engaged yet UnreachedTamilSunni Islam
TamilTamilOman28,000Engaged yet UnreachedTamilSunni Islam
TamilTamilKuwait4,700Engaged yet UnreachedTamilSunni Islam
TamilTamilMaldives900No Longer UnreachedTamilSunni 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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