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

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
readJohn 3:17

Pray for those who are living under the burdens of man-made religion to learn about the freedom Jesus offers them and turn to Him in faith.

Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
readPsalm 67:3

Pray that God will be working in people's hearts, give them opportunities to receive the gospel, and bring many to faith in Himself.

It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
readIsaiah 25:9

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will proclaim and rejoice in His salvation.

For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.
read2 Corinthians 1:5

When any who might believe suffer for the sake of the gospel, ask God to deepen their understanding of His grace so that they may share it freely with those who have not received it.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

12 people groups

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

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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