The Karen of Australia

The Karen of Australia, numbering approximately 4,200 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as an ethnolinguistic subgroup of the Karen, an ethnic group of Sino-Tibetan language-speaking people indigenous to the Kayin State in southeastern Myanmar They are an Diaspora people, with Karen as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Karen people cluster of the Southeast Asian Peoples. Their primary religion is Protestantism. They primarily speak Pwo Eastern Karen.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: Australia
People Cluster: Karen
Primary Language(s): Pwo Eastern Karen (kjp)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 4,200
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG043753

Pray for the Karen of Australia

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: Pwo Eastern Karen
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

100%
%
Karen, Pwo Eastern Speakers

Media Resources in Pwo Eastern Karen:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Pwo Eastern Karen:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Pwo Eastern Karen bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Karen 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 Karen:
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 Karen of Australia

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
readMatthew 28:16-20

Pray that those who don't yet know Him will encounter the risen Savior and be transformed by the power of His resurrection, becoming disciples who make disciples.

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth.
readPsalm 67:4

Pray that God will use ways from in-person witnesses to digital gospel resources to bring the joy of His salvation to everyone so that they can be glad in Him and sing for joy.

You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance.
readPsalm 32:7

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember that God is their hiding place and that He will preserve them in the midst of trials.

The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”
readJohn 1:35-36

Pray for those God sends to cross cultures to share the gospel, that they might faithfully share the good news of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Karen, Pwo Eastern Across Countries (ROP3 - 104659) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

3 people groups

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

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