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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
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Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
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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
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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.

Pray Now!
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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

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Malayalam:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Bible League International✓✓
Holy Bible, Malayalam Contemporary Version - LUMO Christmas Film✓
Holy Bible, Malayalam Contemporary Version - LUMO Easter Film✓
Holy Bible, Malayalam Contemporary Version ™✓

4 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Malayalam bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

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

The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.
readProverbs 4:19

Pray that lost people will accept salvation through Christ, turn from destruction, and experience joy in the way of righteousness.

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
readMatthew 11:28-29

Please pray for them to lift their eyes to Jesus and find rest for their souls, lasting peace, and hope in Him.

I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
readPsalm 121:1-2

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and experience hardship, God will remind them that their help comes from the One who made heaven and earth and that He is powerful to meet their needs.

The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.
readJohn 1:9-10

Pray for those God might send to share the gospel here. Ask that they will grow closer to Jesus and be compelled to share His good news with people who don't know it.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

12 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountry ▼PopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
MalayaliPG043340MalayaliUnited States166,000No Longer UnreachedMalayalamHinduism
MalayaliPG012243MalayaliUnited Arab Emirates1,555,000Engaged yet UnreachedMalayalamHinduism
MalayaliPG010714MalayaliSingapore36,000Engaged yet UnreachedMalayalamHinduism
MalayaliPG011903MalayaliQatar113,000Engaged yet UnreachedMalayalamProtestantism
MalayaliPG011884MalayaliOman220,000Engaged yet UnreachedMalayalamSunni Islam
MalayaliPG009477MalayaliMyanmar31,000Engaged yet UnreachedMalayalamFolk Hinduism
MalayaliPG006163MalayaliMaldives950No Longer UnreachedMalayalamSunni Islam
MalayaliPG020224MalayaliMalaysia207,000No Longer UnreachedMalayalamHinduism
MalayaliPG011803MalayaliKuwait318,000Engaged yet UnreachedMalayalamSunni Islam
MalayaliPG041532MalayaliIndia461,000Engaged yet UnreachedTamilHinduism
MalayaliPG043436MalayaliCanada32,000Engaged yet UnreachedMalayalamSunni Islam
MalayaliPG011303MalayaliBahrain60,500Engaged yet UnreachedMalayalamProtestantism

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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