The Yunnan Mongols of China

The Yunnan Mongols of China, numbering approximately 8,900 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are a small Mongolic-origin community in Yunnan Province, southwestern China, most commonly known as the Khatso people. They are descendants of Mongol military settlers who remained in Yunnan after the Mongol conquest of the region during the 13th century. They mostly adhere to Daoism and Katso is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Mongol, Yunnan

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: East Asian Peoples
Country: China
People Cluster: Mongolian
Primary Language(s): Katso (kaf)
Primary Religion(s): Daoism
Population: 8,900
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): No Evangelicals, Churches or Resources
People Group ID: PG007315
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Daoism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

60%
%
Daoism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Katso
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

70%
%
Katso Speakers

Media Resources in Katso:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Katso:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Katso bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 0), which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Frontier Unreached People Group, (LPI: 0), < 0.1% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): No Evangelicals, Churches or Resources (GSEC: 0), there are no evangelical Christians or churches among this people group and there is no access to evangelical print, audio, visual or human resources

Next steps for the Yunnan Mongols:
Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Pray specifically for the Yunnan Mongols of China

Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?
readJames 2:5

Pray for those living in despair to experience the riches of God's love and the hope of eternal life through faith in Christ.

Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.’ In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.
readJob 1:20-22

Pray that those who mourn will worship God in the midst of their suffering and loss, recognizing He is the source of all good things and that He is worthy of their praise and trust.

But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated.
readHebrews 10:32-33

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember the day of their salvation and persevere in their faith despite hardships and suffering.

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
readHebrews 4:12

Pray that God will make His living and active Word available to everyone in this people group so that many will respond to the gospel. Ask Him to provide Jesus-followers to walk with new believers as they grow in Him.

Katso Across Countries (ROP3 - 115846) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

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