People group profile · PG050373
The Rakhine of the United States
The Rakhine of the United States, numbering about 7,700 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnoreligious community indigenous to Myanmar's Rakhine state, part of the broader Burmese refugee diaspora.
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 Rakhine.

Fast facts
- Country
- United States
- Population
- 7,700
- Affinity group
- Asian Pacific Rim Peoples
- People cluster
- Burmese
- Primary language
- Rakhine (rki)
- 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
- Also known as
- Arakanese
- Region
- Northern America, Americas
- Location
- California, Texas, Indiana, New York, South Carolina
Where they live
Gospel status
The Rakhine 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 Rakhine
- 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
67% adherents
Primary language
Rakhine · Sino-Tibetan family
80% speak Rakhine
Gospel resources in Rakhine
- Bible available
- JESUS Film available
- Radio programs not available
- Gospel recordings available
- Audio resources available
- Bible stories not available
Films
- JESUS (Rakhine)
Find more at the JESUS Film Project, Bible.com and Faith Comes by Hearing.
Pray for the Rakhine
- 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.
Arakanese (Rakhine) in other countries
The same people (ROP3 106013) is reported in 3 other countries.
Know something we don't? Submit updates to IMB Global Research.