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The Dawei of Myanmar

The Dawei of Myanmar, numbering approximately 600,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Bamar-related people native to northern Tanintharyi Region, centered around Dawei and also present in neighboring Mon State. They mostly adhere to Theravada Buddhism and Tavoyan is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Dawei

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: Myanmar
People Cluster: Burmese
Primary Language(s): Tavoyan (tvn)
Primary Religion(s): Theravada Buddhism
Population: 600,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG048864
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Pray for the Dawei 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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Theravada Buddhism
Religious Affiliation: Buddhism

99%
%
Theravada Buddhism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Tavoyan
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

100%
%
Tavoyan Speakers

Media Resources in Tavoyan:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Tavoyan:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Tavoyan bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Dawei 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 Dawei:
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 Dawei of Myanmar

"I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world."
readJohn 16:33

Pray that those who don't have peace with God will find peace in Christ, even amid the troubles of this world.

Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.
readGenesis 2:7

Pray that Christians will be able to share the hope of Christ with suffering people and that He will breathe new life into their souls.

How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.
readPsalm 119:9

Pray that as young men place their faith in Jesus, they will walk in purity and live according to God's Word.

Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns! Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.”
readPsalm 96:10

Pray for God to put in the hearts of believers to go to the lost and testify about the Lord who reigns.

Tavoyan Across Countries (ROP3 - 114965) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
DaweiPG048864DaweiMyanmar600,000Engaged yet UnreachedTavoyanTheravada Buddhism

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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