The Bamar of Myanmar

The Bamar of Myanmar, numbering approximately 29,840,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as an ethnic Bamar community indigenous to Myanmar. The Bamar are the largest ethnic group in Myanmar, accounting for two-thirds of the country's population They are an Indigenous people, with Burmese (Bhama) as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Burmese people cluster of the Southeast Asian Peoples. They mostly adhere to Theravada Buddhism and Burmese is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3 Flash: Bamar

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: Myanmar
People Cluster: Burmese
Primary Language(s): Burmese (mya)
Primary Religion(s): Theravada Buddhism
Population: 29,840,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG022042
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Bamar 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

97%
%
Theravada Buddhism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Burmese
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

100%
%
Burmese Speakers

Media Resources in Burmese:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

3 films

Bible Resources in Burmese:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Myanmar Standard Bible✓✓
သမ္မာကျမ်း (Judson Bible)✓✓✓

2 entries

Or check out the Burmese bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Bamar 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 Bamar:
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 Bamar of Myanmar

For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.
readEphesians 5:8

Pray that those who are lost will turn from the darkness they are walking in and embrace the light, becoming children of light who bear fruit in every good work.

For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
read2 Timothy 4:3-4

Pray that the lost will be open to the truth of the gospel and turn from false teachings and myths to the sound doctrine of Christ in faith.

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
readColossians 3:2

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will set their minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, as they look to Christ for guidance and strength.

And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.”
readLuke 18:29-30

Pray that God will raise up people to go and share the gospel and help them trust His promise that anyone who has left those they treasure for the sake of the kingdom of God will receive many times more in this life and in the life to come.

Burmese Across Countries (ROP3 - 101776) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

13 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
BamarBamarMyanmar29,840,000Engaged yet UnreachedBurmeseTheravada Buddhism
BurmeseBurmeseThailand1,435,000Engaged yet UnreachedBurmeseTheravada Buddhism
BurmeseBurmeseBangladesh527,000Engaged yet UnreachedBurmeseTheravada Buddhism
BurmeseBurmeseUnited States107,000Engaged yet UnreachedBurmeseTheravada Buddhism
BurmeseBurmeseMalaysia32,500No Longer UnreachedBurmeseTheravada Buddhism
BurmeseBurmeseAustralia14,000Engaged yet UnreachedBurmeseTheravada Buddhism
BurmeseBurmeseUnited Kingdom12,500Engaged yet UnreachedBurmeseTheravada Buddhism
BurmeseBurmeseMacao8,000Unengaged and UnreachedBurmeseTheravada Buddhism
BurmeseBurmeseCanada5,900Engaged yet UnreachedBurmeseTheravada Buddhism
BurmeseBurmeseCambodia5,000Unengaged and UnreachedBurmeseTheravada Buddhism
MyenMyenLaos800Unengaged and UnreachedBurmeseEthnoreligion
BarmiBarmiIndia650No Longer UnreachedBurmeseTheravada Buddhism
BurmeseBurmeseGermany500No Longer UnreachedBurmeseTheravada Buddhism

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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