The Lisu of Myanmar

The Lisu of Myanmar, numbering approximately 328,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are described as a Tibeto-Burmese ethnic group inhabiting the mountainous regions of Myanmar, southwest China, Thailand, and the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh They are an Indigenous people, with Lisu as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Lisu people cluster of the Southeast Asian Peoples. Their primary religion is Protestantism. They primarily speak Lisu.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: Myanmar
People Cluster: Lisu
Primary Language(s): Lisu (lis)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 328,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG009523
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Lisu of Myanmar

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: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

—
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Lisu
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

100%
%
Lisu Speakers

Media Resources in Lisu:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Lisu:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
North Thailand Christian Mission✓✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Lisu bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Lisu 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 Lisu:
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 Lisu of Myanmar

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
readPsalm 51:1

Give thanks to God that He is able to forgive all the sins people might commit, and pray that many who don't yet know this will hear the good news and turn to Him for mercy.

"You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet."
readMatthew 5:13

Pray that the lost will have the opportunity to hear a Christian witness of how the gospel can bring hope and that they will put their faith in Christ.

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.
readHebrews 10:24

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will love and encourage one another, spurring each other on to live lives that honor God.

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
readJohn 1:12

Pray that believers will have the opportunity to clearly share the good news with the lost here, so that all people can be invited to trust in Jesus and become children of God.

Lisu Across Countries (ROP3 - 105802) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

5 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
LisuLisuChina840,000No Longer UnreachedLisuProtestantism
LisuLisuMyanmar328,000No Longer UnreachedLisuProtestantism
Flowery/Southern LisuFlowery/Southern LisuThailand42,000No Longer UnreachedLisuAnimism
LisuLisuIndia2,600No Longer UnreachedLisuProtestantism
LisuLisuUnited States150No Longer UnreachedLisuProtestantism

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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