People group profile · PG047440
The Burmese of Canada
The Burmese of Canada, numbering about 5,900 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnic Bamar community indigenous to Myanmar.
They are a diaspora people in the Burmese people cluster of the Southeast Asian Peoples. Their primary religion is Theravada Buddhism, and they primarily speak Burmese.

Fast facts
- Country
- Canada
- Population
- 5,900
- Affinity group
- Asian Pacific Rim Peoples
- People cluster
- Burmese
- Primary language
- Burmese (mya)
- Primary religion
- Theravada Buddhism
- Strategic Progress Index
- Engaged yet Unreached
- Evangelical
- No Known Evangelicals
- GSEC
- Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
- Lostness priority
- Frontier Unreached People Group
- Region
- Northern America, Americas
Where they live
Gospel status
The Burmese 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 No
- Church planting in the last two years No Churches Planted
Next steps for the Burmese
- 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
Theravada Buddhism · Buddhism
99% adherents
Primary language
Burmese · Sino-Tibetan family
100% speak Burmese
Gospel resources in Burmese
- Bible available
- JESUS Film available
- Radio programs not available
- Gospel recordings available
- Audio resources available
- Bible stories not available
Films
- JESUS (Burmese, Standard)
- JESUS (Burmese Musselmani)
- JESUS (Burmese, Common)
- Magdalena (Burmese, Standard)
Bibles
- Myanmar Standard Bible · audio, text
- သမ္မာကျမ်း (Judson Bible) · video, audio, text
Find more at the JESUS Film Project, Bible.com and Faith Comes by Hearing.
Pray for the Burmese
- Ephesians 5:8. Pray that those walking in darkness will turn to the light and live as children of light.
- Romans 10:14–15. Ask God to send messengers, so that people can hear, believe and call on the name of the Lord.
- Matthew 9:37–38. Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest field.
- 2 Timothy 2:2. Pray for faithful local leaders who will teach others, so that the church multiplies.
Burmese in other countries
The same people (ROP3 101776) is reported in 12 other countries.
| People group | Country | Population | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bamar | Myanmar | 29,830,000 | Engaged yet Unreached |
| Burmese | Thailand | 1,435,000 | Engaged yet Unreached |
| Burmese | Bangladesh | 527,000 | Engaged yet Unreached |
| Burmese | United States | 107,000 | Engaged yet Unreached |
| Burmese | Malaysia | 32,500 | No Longer Unreached |
| Burmese | Australia | 14,000 | Engaged yet Unreached |
| Burmese | United Kingdom | 12,500 | Engaged yet Unreached |
| Burmese | Macao | 8,000 | Unengaged and Unreached |
| Burmese | Cambodia | 5,000 | Unengaged and Unreached |
| Myen | Laos | 800 | Unengaged and Unreached |
| Barmi | India | 650 | No Longer Unreached |
| Burmese | Germany | 500 | No Longer Unreached |
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