The Riang of Myanmar

The Riang of Myanmar, numbering approximately 57,500 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Mon-Khmer ethnic group indigenous to the Shan state of Myanmar, near the border with China. They are an Indigenous people in the Mon-Khmer people cluster of the Southeast Asian Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary language is Riang Lang and their primary religion is Theravada Buddhism.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: Myanmar
People Cluster: Mon-Khmer
Primary Language(s): Riang Lang (ril)
Primary Religion(s): Theravada Buddhism
Population: 57,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG009511
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Pray for the Riang 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: Theravada Buddhism
Religious Affiliation: Buddhism

90%
%
Theravada Buddhism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Riang Lang
Language Family: Austroasiatic

100%
%
Riang Lang Speakers

Media Resources in Riang Lang:

Films:

No entries found for: Riang Lang(ril). Help build some!

Bible Resources in Riang Lang:

Or check out the Riang Lang bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 2), which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Expanding Unreached People Group, (LPI: 2), 0.5% to 2% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical (GSEC: 4), this people group is greater than or equal to 2% evangelical

Next steps for the Riang:
Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Riang 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 Riang:
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

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Riang 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 Riang:
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 Riang of Myanmar

I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.
readIsaiah 42:8

Pray that lost people will turn from worthless idols to worship the one true God, recognizing that He alone is worthy of all glory and praise.

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise).
readEphesians 6:1-2

Pray that God will bring young men and women to faith in Jesus and that the fruit of their faith will be a powerful testimony as they honor their parents.

And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.
read2 Corinthians 12:28

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will grow in the spiritual gifts God has given them and use these gifts to glorify Him and build up the Church.

Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father sends me, even so I am sending you."
readJohn 20:21

Ask God to raise up and send out believers cross-culturally who will go out in His authority and be sustained by His peace as they share the gospel with the lost.

Riang-Lang Across Countries (ROP3 - 108371) reported in the following countries:

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 Definitions page.

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