The Malayali of Myanmar

The Malayali of Myanmar, numbering approximately 31,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Dravidian ethnolinguistic group originating from the present-day state of Kerala in India and inhabiting its southwestern Malabar coast. They mostly adhere to Folk Hinduism and Malayalam is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: Myanmar
People Cluster: Malayali
Primary Language(s): Malayalam (mal)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Hinduism
Population: 31,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG009477
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Malayali 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: Folk Hinduism
Religious Affiliation: Hinduism

67%
%
Folk Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Malayalam
Language Family: Dravidian

100%
%
Malayalam Speakers

Media Resources in Malayalam:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Malayali 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 Malayali:
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 Malayali of Myanmar

Only in the LORD, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and strength; to him shall come and be ashamed all who were incensed against him.
readIsaiah 45:24

Pray that those who are weary and burdened by their own righteousness will find rest in the righteousness that comes through faith in Christ alone.

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.
read1 Timothy 2:5-6

Pray for the truth about Jesus Christ to spread among the lost so that many will accept His ransom for their sin and experience freedom in a relationship with Him.

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
readRomans 8:15

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember the God who has given them freedom from fear so that they will trust Him completely as their good Father who meets all their needs.

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
read2 Corinthians 5:21

Pray that Christians will cross cultures and share the hope of Christ, and that many will trust the One who took their sins and offers them His righteousness.

Malayali Across Countries (ROP3 - 112836) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

12 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDName ▲CountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
MalayaliMalayaliMaldives950No Longer UnreachedMalayalamSunni Islam
MalayaliMalayaliMyanmar31,000Engaged yet UnreachedMalayalamFolk Hinduism
MalayaliMalayaliSingapore36,000Engaged yet UnreachedMalayalamHinduism
MalayaliMalayaliBahrain60,500Engaged yet UnreachedMalayalamProtestantism
MalayaliMalayaliKuwait318,000Engaged yet UnreachedMalayalamSunni Islam
MalayaliMalayaliOman220,000Engaged yet UnreachedMalayalamSunni Islam
MalayaliMalayaliQatar113,000Engaged yet UnreachedMalayalamProtestantism
MalayaliMalayaliUnited Arab Emirates1,555,000Engaged yet UnreachedMalayalamHinduism
MalayaliMalayaliMalaysia207,000No Longer UnreachedMalayalamHinduism
MalayaliMalayaliIndia461,000Engaged yet UnreachedTamilHinduism
MalayaliMalayaliUnited States166,000No Longer UnreachedMalayalamHinduism
MalayaliMalayaliCanada32,000Engaged yet UnreachedMalayalamSunni Islam

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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