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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
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Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
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The Baltistani Bhotia of Pakistan

The Baltistani Bhotia of Pakistan, numbering approximately 513,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Tibetic people of the Karakoram Mountains of northern Pakistan who speak Balti. Historically linked to Tibetan civilization, they retain distinctive linguistic and cultural traditions while practicing Islam and relying on irrigated mountain agriculture. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Balti is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Baltistani Bhotia

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Tibetan Peoples
Country: Pakistan
People Cluster: Tibetan
Primary Language(s): Balti (bft)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 513,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG006328
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Pray for the Baltistani Bhotia of Pakistan

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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

99%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Balti
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

100%
%
Balti Speakers

Media Resources in Balti:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Balti:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Balti bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Baltistani Bhotia are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Next steps for the Baltistani Bhotia:
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

Pray specifically for the Baltistani Bhotia of Pakistan

The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.
readPsalm 9:9-10

Pray that God will help those who are oppressed and without hope to hear the good news of Jesus and trust in Him, for He has never forsaken those who seek Him.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
readMatthew 13: 45-46

Pray that they will recognize the treasure of knowing Christ Jesus and be willing to give up everything else to gain Him.

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
readGalatians 3:28

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be united in Christ across all differences of ethnicity, social status, and gender.

And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.”
readLuke 18:29-30

Pray that God will raise up people to go and share the gospel and help them trust His promise that anyone who has left those they treasure for the sake of the kingdom of God will receive many times more in this life and in the life to come.

Balti Across Countries (ROP3 - 111443) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Baltistani BhotiaPG006328Baltistani BhotiaPakistan513,000Engaged yet UnreachedBaltiSunni Islam
Baltistani BhotiaPG047102Baltistani BhotiaIndia151,000Engaged yet UnreachedBaltiSunni Islam

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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