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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Moken of Myanmar

The Moken of Myanmar, numbering approximately 4,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as an Indigenous Austronesian sea‑nomadic people who traditionally live throughout the Mergui Archipelago (Myanmar) and the Andaman Sea waters of Thailand Sea Nomads, Chao Lay, Salone They are an Indigenous people, with Moken as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Malay people cluster of the Malay Peoples. Their primary religion is Animism. They primarily speak Moken.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Myanmar
People Cluster: Malay
Primary Language(s): Moken (mwt)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 4,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG009486
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Pray for the Moken 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: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

80%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Moken
Language Family: Austronesian

73%
%
Moken Speakers

Media Resources in Moken:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Moken:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Moken bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Moken 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 Moken:
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 Moken of Myanmar

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
readRomans 1:19

Pray that God will use testimony of creation to cause those who do not yet know the gospel to long for truth and a relationship with the Author of life.

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
readHebrews 4:12

Pray for God's Word to be accessible to everyone in this people group in a way they will resonate with so that many will engage with it, receive it, and share it with others.

But Jesus called them to him, saying "Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God."
readLuke 18:16

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have a burden to share the hope of Christ with children.

He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
readPsalm 23:3

Pray for believers to go and share the gospel with others here. Ask that God will restore their souls and lead them in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.

Moken Across Countries (ROP3 - 106723) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group ID ▼NameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
MokenPG010892MokenThailand2,300Engaged yet UnreachedMokenAnimism
MokenPG009486MokenMyanmar4,000Engaged yet UnreachedMokenAnimism

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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