Download the People Group List (16 languages .csv)

Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
Hindi - हिन्दी | Indonesian - Bahasa Indonesia
Korean - 한국어 | Nepali - नेपाली
Portuguese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Español | Tagalog / Filipino
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The Lisu of China

The Lisu of China, numbering approximately 841,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Tibeto-Burmese ethnic group inhabiting the mountainous regions of Myanmar, southwest China, Thailand, and the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. They mostly adhere to Protestantism and Lisu is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Lisu

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: China
People Cluster: Lisu
Primary Language(s): Lisu (lis)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 841,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG007267
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Pray for the Lisu of China

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.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

41%
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Lisu
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

100%
%
Lisu Speakers

Media Resources in Lisu:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Lisu:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
North Thailand Christian Mission✓✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Lisu bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Lisu are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Next steps for the Lisu:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Lisu of China

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
readPsalm 20:7

Pray for those who trust in anything other than the Lord to be convicted of their sin and learn about what Jesus did for them so that they can choose to trust in Him.

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.
readPsalm 1:1-2

Pray that God will call out many sons and daughters from among them and give them a deep love for His Word.

For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.
readHebrews 10:26

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will live with reverence for God and not deliberately keep sinning after they receive the knowledge of the truth.

"For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you."
readActs 17:23

Pray that believers God sends to cross cultures will be sensitive to the spiritual needs of the people they serve, and will proclaim the truth of Christ to them in creative ways that they will understand.

Lisu Across Countries (ROP3 - 105802) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

5 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
LisuPG007267LisuChina841,000No Longer UnreachedLisuProtestantism
LisuPG009523LisuMyanmar328,000No Longer UnreachedLisuProtestantism
Flowery/Southern LisuPG010847Flowery/Southern LisuThailand42,000No Longer UnreachedLisuAnimism
LisuPG049761LisuIndia2,600No Longer UnreachedLisuProtestantism
LisuPG050353LisuUnited States150No Longer UnreachedLisuProtestantism

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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