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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Tai Long of Myanmar

The Tai Long of Myanmar, numbering approximately 4,750,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a people of Myanmar: Shan state, southeast Myanmar and can also be known as Burmese Shan. They are an Indigenous people, in the Shan people cluster of the Southeast Asian Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Buddhism - Theravada. They primarily speak Shan.

Tai Long in Myanmar photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Copyrighted ©️ 2025 Kerry Olson Used with permission

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Asian Pacific Peoples
Country: Myanmar
People Cluster: Shan
Primary Language(s): Shan (shn)
Primary Religion(s): Buddhism - Theravada
Population: 4,750,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG022043
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Pray for the Tai Long of Myanmar

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Buddhism - Theravada
Religious Affiliation: Buddhism

%
Buddhism - Theravada Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Shan
Language Family: Kra-Dai

%
Shan Speakers

Media Resources in Shan:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Shan:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Shan bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Next steps for the Tai Long

The Tai Long are Unengaged and Unreached, 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.

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

Next steps for the Tai Long

The Tai Long 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.

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

Next steps for the Tai Long

The Tai Long 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.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Tai Long of Myanmar

Behold, I stand at the door and?knock.?If anyone hears my voice and opens the door,?I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.
readRevelation 3:20

Pray that those who have not opened their hearts to Jesus will hear His knock and invite Him in as their Savior and Lord.

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. 

For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
readRomans 10:13

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and sometimes have doubts, God will help them remember and trust the power of Jesus to save them from their sins.

There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.
readMark 7:15

Pray for Christians to take any opportunity to share the hope of Jesus with lost people here, praying they will be wise like Jesus as they share the truth about what can defile people and what can make them clean.

Tai Shan (ROP3 - 113721) 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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