The Moken of Thailand

The Moken of Thailand, numbering approximately 2,300 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an Indigenous Austronesian sea‑nomadic people who traditionally live throughout the Mergui Archipelago (Myanmar) and the Andaman Sea waters of Thailand. 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

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
readRomans 10:14

Pray that those who haven't heard will hear the Word of Christ and believe in Him, calling upon the name of the Lord to be saved.

So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them
readMatthew 4:24

Pray that the truth about the Lord will spread throughout the land so that many will have an opportunity to receive the good news and put their faith in Him.

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
readJohn 10:28

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have assurance of eternal life, knowing that no one can snatch them out of the loving hand of Jesus.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
readJohn 1:5

Pray that when discouraging days come, those who cross cultures for the sake of the gospel will be comforted as they remember that the light of Christ is stronger than the darkness that surrounds them.

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.

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