The Burmese of Bangladesh

The Burmese of Bangladesh, numbering approximately 527,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnic Bamar community indigenous to Myanmar. They mostly adhere to Theravada Buddhism and Burmese is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: Bangladesh
People Cluster: Burmese
Primary Language(s): Burmese (mya)
Primary Religion(s): Theravada Buddhism
Population: 527,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG001160
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Burmese of Bangladesh

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: Theravada Buddhism
Religious Affiliation: Buddhism

97%
%
Theravada Buddhism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Burmese
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

100%
%
Burmese Speakers

Media Resources in Burmese:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

3 films

Bible Resources in Burmese:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Myanmar Standard Bible✓✓
သမ္မာကျမ်း (Judson Bible)✓✓✓

2 entries

Or check out the Burmese bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Burmese 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 Burmese:
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 Burmese of Bangladesh

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
readPsalm 51:17

Pray that those who want to achieve salvation through their works will be unsettled in their pursuit and that, with a broken spirit and contrite heart, they will trust in Christ.

Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.’ In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.
readJob 1:20-22

Pray that those who mourn will worship God in the midst of their suffering and loss, recognizing He is the source of all good things and that He is worthy of their praise and trust.

Remember your mercy, O LORD, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.
readPsalm 25:6

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember the merciful nature and steadfast love of God as they walk with Him daily.

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe."
readJohn 6:35-36

Praise God for the things such as bread that He has provided as natural conversation bridges to the gospel. Pray that believers will use any bridges He provides to share the gospel with those who do not yet know the good news.

Burmese Across Countries (ROP3 - 101776) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

13 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress Index ▲LanguageReligion
BurmeseBurmeseCambodia5,000Unengaged and UnreachedBurmeseTheravada Buddhism
MyenMyenLaos800Unengaged and UnreachedBurmeseEthnoreligion
BurmeseBurmeseMacao8,000Unengaged and UnreachedBurmeseTheravada Buddhism
BurmeseBurmeseUnited Kingdom12,500Engaged yet UnreachedBurmeseTheravada Buddhism
BurmeseBurmeseBangladesh527,000Engaged yet UnreachedBurmeseTheravada Buddhism
BurmeseBurmeseThailand1,435,000Engaged yet UnreachedBurmeseTheravada Buddhism
BamarBamarMyanmar29,840,000Engaged yet UnreachedBurmeseTheravada Buddhism
BurmeseBurmeseAustralia14,000Engaged yet UnreachedBurmeseTheravada Buddhism
BurmeseBurmeseUnited States107,000Engaged yet UnreachedBurmeseTheravada Buddhism
BurmeseBurmeseCanada5,900Engaged yet UnreachedBurmeseTheravada Buddhism
BurmeseBurmeseMalaysia32,500No Longer UnreachedBurmeseTheravada Buddhism
BurmeseBurmeseGermany500No Longer UnreachedBurmeseTheravada Buddhism
BarmiBarmiIndia650No Longer UnreachedBurmeseTheravada 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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