People group profile · PG009533
The Telugu of Myanmar
The Telugu of Myanmar, numbering about 271,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an Indo-Iranian ethnolinguistic group indigenous to the India states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Puducherry.
They are a diaspora people in the Telugu people cluster of the South Asian Peoples. Their primary religion is Folk Hinduism, and they primarily speak Telugu.

Fast facts
- Country
- Myanmar
- Population
- 271,000
- Affinity group
- Asian Pacific Rim Peoples
- People cluster
- Telugu
- Primary language
- Telugu (tel)
- Primary religion
- Folk Hinduism
- Strategic Progress Index
- Engaged yet Unreached
- Evangelical
- Less than 2%
- GSEC
- Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
- Lostness priority
- Frontier Unreached People Group
- Region
- South-Eastern Asia, Asia
- Location
- Scattered
Where they live
Gospel status
The Telugu are Engaged yet Unreached, which means fewer than 2% are evangelical Christians, but there are sustained efforts to establish self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. In GSEC terms, this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years.
- Congregations exist Yes
- Church planting in the last two years No Churches Planted
Next steps for the Telugu
- 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
Primary religion
Folk Hinduism · Hinduism
90% adherents
Primary language
Telugu · Dravidian family
60% speak Telugu
Gospel resources in Telugu
- Bible available
- JESUS Film available
- Radio programs not available
- Gospel recordings available
- Audio resources available
- Bible stories available
Films
- Magdalena (Telugu)
- The Savior (Telugu)
Bibles
- Contemporary Version · video
- Contemporary Version - LUMO Christmas Film · video
- Contemporary Version - LUMO Easter Film · video
- Easy to Read Version · audio, text
- Grace Ministries · audio, text
Find more at the JESUS Film Project, Bible.com and Faith Comes by Hearing.
Pray for the Telugu
- Romans 12:4–5. Pray that believers from many cultures will work together as one body so that the church is built up.
- Revelation 7:9. Pray for the day when people from this group stand before the throne with every nation, tribe, people and language.
- John 17:3. Pray that many will come to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent.
- Psalm 27:1. Pray that new believers will be strengthened in the face of persecution, with the Lord as their stronghold.
Telugu in other countries
The same people (ROP3 109930) is reported in 9 other countries.
| People group | Country | Population | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Telugu | United Arab Emirates | 518,000 | Engaged yet Unreached |
| Telugu | United States | 428,000 | Engaged yet Unreached |
| Telugu | Malaysia | 138,000 | No Longer Unreached |
| Telugu | Bahrain | 34,500 | Engaged yet Unreached |
| Telugu | Canada | 17,500 | Engaged yet Unreached |
| Telugu | Sri Lanka | 13,000 | No Longer Unreached |
| Telugu | Bangladesh | 12,000 | Engaged yet Unreached |
| Telugu | Singapore | 850 | No Longer Unreached |
| Telugu | Kuwait | 850 | Engaged yet Unreached |
Know something we don't? Submit updates to IMB Global Research.