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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Kayaw of Myanmar

The Kayaw of Myanmar, numbering approximately 26,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Myanmar and can also be known as Brek Karen. They are an Indigenous people, in the Karen people cluster of the Tibetan / Himalayan Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Christianity - Protestantism. They primarily speak Kayaw.

Kayaw in Myanmar photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Copyrighted ©️ 2025 Asia Harvest-Operation Myanmar Used with permission

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Asian Pacific Peoples
Country: Myanmar
People Cluster: Karen
Primary Language(s): Kayaw (kvl)
Primary Religion(s): Christianity - Protestantism
Population: 26,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG009414

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Pray for the Kayaw of Myanmar

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Christianity - Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

%
Christianity - Protestant… Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kayaw
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

%
Kayaw Speakers

Media Resources in Kayaw:

Films:

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Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Kayaw:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

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Next steps for the Kayaw

The Kayaw are Unengaged and Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Next steps for the Kayaw

The Kayaw 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.

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

Next steps for the Kayaw

The Kayaw 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.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Kayaw of Myanmar

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
readRomans 3:23

Pray that those who live in fear, guilt and discontentment because of sin will see their need for change, hear, and receive the good news of freedom from sin through Christ.

Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts!
readPsalm 96:8

Pray for people here to humbly give God the glory due His name.

For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.
readHebrews 10:34

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have compassion for those in prison, sympathize with those who are mistreated, and continue to do good and share the gospel with others.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
readJohn 3:16

Pray that God will send and sustain believers to cross cultures and share the gospel with the lost. Ask that He will give them His heart for the lost and that many will believe in Him and not perish but have eternal life.

Kayaw reported in the following countries (ROP3):

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 Definitions page.

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