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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Samtao of Myanmar

The Samtao of Myanmar, numbering approximately 11,500 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Mon-Khmer ethnic group indigenous to the Shan state of Myanmar. They are an Indigenous people in the Mon-Khmer people cluster of the Southeast Asian Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary language is Samtao and their primary religion is Theravada Buddhism.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: Myanmar
People Cluster: Mon-Khmer
Primary Language(s): Samtao (stu)
Primary Religion(s): Theravada Buddhism
Population: 11,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG022054
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Pray for the Samtao 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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Theravada Buddhism
Religious Affiliation: Buddhism

90%
%
Theravada Buddhism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Samtao
Language Family: Austroasiatic

100%
%
Samtao Speakers

Media Resources in Samtao:

Films:

No entries found for: Samtao(stu). Help build some!

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Bible Resources in Samtao:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Samtao bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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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): Marginally Reached People Group, (LPI: 4), 3% to 6% 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 Samtao:
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 Samtao 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 Samtao:
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 Samtao 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 Samtao:
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 Samtao of Myanmar

But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.
read1 Timothy 6:9

Pray for those, rich and poor, who have put their trust in worldly things, and ask that they will be honest with themselves, acknowledge their need for God and turn to Him.

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
readPsalm 16:11

Pray that God will make a way for His path of life to be revealed to many so that they may come into His presence and experience abundant joy and eternal pleasures at His right hand.

"...I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
readMatthew 16:18b

Pray that God will build and grow His Church among this people.

And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.
readMark 5:20

Pray that God will bring people who appear beyond hope to faith in Jesus and that they will then go and tell others of the marvelous things He has done.

Samtao Across Countries (ROP3 - 108587) 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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