The Moken of Thailand

The Moken of Thailand, numbering approximately 2,300 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 Chao Lay, Salon, Salone They are an Indigenous people, with Moken as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Malay people cluster of the Malay Peoples. They mostly adhere to Animism and Moken is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Thailand
People Cluster: Malay
Primary Language(s): Moken (mwt)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 2,300
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG010892
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Moken of Thailand

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: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

80%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Moken
Language Family: Austronesian

84%
%
Moken Speakers

Media Resources in Moken:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Moken:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Moken bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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 Thailand

For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.
readIsaiah 48:11

Pray that those who have been living for their own glory will turn to the One who is worthy of all praise and find their true identity in Him.

I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
readDaniel 7:13-14

Pray that the gospel will advance so that all peoples will come to know the Son of Man, who has been given dominion and glory and a kingdom, and that they will bow before Him and serve Him forever.

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
readPhilippians 3:20-21

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember their citizenship is in heaven.

I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessing.
read1 Corinthians 9:23

Ask God to give believers a deep desire to share the gospel with those who don't know the truth about God's redemption plan, and to provide them with opportunities to do so cross-culturally.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

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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