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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
Hindi - हिन्दी | Indonesian - Bahasa Indonesia
Korean - 한국어 | Nepali - नेपाली
Portuguese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Español | Tagalog / Filipino
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The Bwe Karen of Myanmar

The Bwe Karen of Myanmar, numbering approximately 21,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic subgroup of the Karen, an ethnic group indigenous to Kayin State in southeastern Myanmar. They mostly adhere to Animism and Bwe Karen is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Karen, Bghai

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: Myanmar
People Cluster: Karen
Primary Language(s): Bwe Karen (bwe)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 21,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG009510
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Pray for the Bwe Karen 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

74%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Bwe Karen
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

73%
%
Karen, Bwe Speakers

Media Resources in Bwe Karen:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Bwe Karen:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Bwe Karen bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Bwe Karen 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.

Next steps for the Bwe Karen:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Bwe Karen of Myanmar

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.
readIsaiah 40:8

Pray that those who don't know Jesus will be freed from the emptiness of fading hopes and find lasting life and truth in the unchanging Word of God.

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.

This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
readEphesians 5:32-33

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will grasp the profound mystery of Christ's love for the Church, reflecting this love in their marriages.

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 that God will make His living and active Word available to everyone in this people group so that many will respond to the gospel. Ask Him to provide Jesus-followers to walk with new believers as they grow in Him.

Karen, Bwe Across Countries (ROP3 - 108338) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDName ▼CountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Bwe KarenPG009510Bwe KarenMyanmar21,000No Longer UnreachedBwe KarenAnimism
Bghai KarenPG010827Bghai KarenThailand2,100No Longer UnreachedBwe KarenAnimism

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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