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The Western Pwo Karen of Myanmar

The Western Pwo Karen of Myanmar, numbering approximately 210,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic subgroup of the Karen, an ethnic group indigenous to Kayin State in southeastern Myanmar. They mostly adhere to Animism and Pwo Western Karen is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Karen, Pow Western

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: Myanmar
People Cluster: Karen
Primary Language(s): Pwo Western Karen (pwo)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 210,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG046602
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Pray for the Western Pwo Karen 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.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

61%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Pwo Western Karen
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

73%
%
Karen, Pwo Western Speakers

Media Resources in Pwo Western Karen:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Pwo Western Karen:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Pwo Western Karen bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Western Pwo Karen 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 Western Pwo Karen:
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 Western Pwo Karen of Myanmar

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth.
readPsalm 67:4

Pray that those who are lost in darkness and confusion will come to understand God's ways, submit to His righteous rule, and experience the joy of His salvation.

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst."
readJohn 6:35

Pray that the lost will come to Jesus and believe in Him, never to hunger or thirst again.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.
readHebrews 10:23

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will cling tightly to the hope they have in God to faithfully keep His promises.

Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples!
readPsalm 105:1

Pray that many among them will call on the name of Jesus, develop a heart for the nations, and go to places where the gospel has not yet been received.

Karen, Pwo Western Across Countries (ROP3 - 114923) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress Index ▲LanguageReligion
Western Pwo KarenPG046602Western Pwo KarenMyanmar210,000No Longer UnreachedPwo Western KarenAnimism

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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