People group profile · PG049351
The Rohingya of Bangladesh
The Rohingya of Bangladesh, numbering about 908,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Muslim ethnic group indigenous to the Rakhine State of Myanmar that has been denied citizenship there since 1982 and has suffered severe persecution and mass displacement, with a large number of refugees fleeing to neighboring Bangladesh.
They are a diaspora people in the Bengali people cluster of the South Asian Peoples. Their primary religion is Sunni Islam, and they primarily speak Rohingya.

Fast facts
- Country
- Bangladesh
- Population
- 908,000
- Affinity group
- South Asian Peoples
- People cluster
- Bengali
- Primary language
- Rohingya (rhg)
- Primary religion
- Sunni Islam
- Strategic Progress Index
- Engaged yet Unreached
- Evangelical
- Less than 2%
- GSEC
- Less than 2% Evangelical, Dispersed CP Activity
- Lostness priority
- Frontier Unreached People Group
- Region
- Southern Asia, Asia
Where they live
Gospel status
The Rohingya 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 but there has been dispersed church planting among them within the past two years.
- Congregations exist Yes
- Church planting in the last two years Dispersed Church Planting
Next steps for the Rohingya
- 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
Sunni Islam · Islam
100% adherents
Primary language
Rohingya · Indo-European family
100% speak Rohingya
Gospel resources in Rohingya
- Bible available
- JESUS Film available
- Radio programs not available
- Gospel recordings available
- Audio resources available
- Bible stories not available
Films
- JESUS (Rohingya)
Bibles
- RCA – 2020 (John), 2021 (Luke) · video, audio, text
Find more at the JESUS Film Project, Bible.com and Faith Comes by Hearing.
Pray for the Rohingya
- 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.
- Romans 12:4–5. Pray that believers from many cultures will work together as one body so that the church is built up.
Rohingya in other countries
The same people (ROP3 102170) is reported in 4 other countries.
| People group | Country | Population | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rohingya | Myanmar | 636,000 | Engaged yet Unreached |
| Rohingya | Saudi Arabia | 438,000 | Unengaged and Unreached |
| Rohingya | Malaysia | 48,500 | Engaged yet Unreached |
| Rohingya | United States | 13,000 | Engaged yet Unreached |
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