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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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The Zaiwa of China

The Zaiwa of China, numbering approximately 143,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Miri-Kachin-speaking ethnolinguistic group indigenous to parts of southwest China and eastern Myanmar. They mostly adhere to Chinese Folk Religion and Zaiwa is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Himalayan Peoples
Country: China
People Cluster: Miri-Kachin
Primary Language(s): Zaiwa (atb)
Primary Religion(s): Chinese Folk Religion
Population: 143,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG007451
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Pray for the Zaiwa of China

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: Chinese Folk Religion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

95%
%
Chinese Folk Religion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Zaiwa
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

100%
%
Zaiwa Speakers

Media Resources in Zaiwa:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Zaiwa:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc.✓
Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc. 2009✓✓

2 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Zaiwa bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Zaiwa 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 Zaiwa:
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 Zaiwa of China

I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.
readProverbs 8:17

As many search for hope, pray they will discover materials that will lead them to Jesus and explain the gospel in a way they will resonate with.

After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” And leaving everything, he rose and followed him.
readLuke 5:27-28

Prat that God will prepare many hearts to meet Him when He says, “Follow Me!” and that they will respond in faith, leaving everything behind to follow Him.

For the LORD takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation.
readPsalm 149:4

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be encouraged and feel immeasurably loved as they meditate on the fact that God takes pleasure in them.

Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
readIsaiah 43:19

Praise the God who is able to make a way forward, even when it seems impossible. Ask Him to do a new thing among this people group specifically and among the nations, raising up believers to go and share the gospel with individuals and places where it has not flourished before.

Zaiwa Across Countries (ROP3 - 110204) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

3 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
ZaiwaPG007451ZaiwaChina143,000No Longer UnreachedZaiwaChinese Folk Religion
ZaiwaPG009407ZaiwaMyanmar38,500No Longer UnreachedZaiwaAnimism
ZaiwaPG050381ZaiwaUnited States1,200No Longer UnreachedZaiwaAnimism

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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