The Sinhalese of Singapore

The Sinhalese of Singapore, numbering approximately 23,500 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are described as a culturally rich and historically significant ethnic group in Sri Lanka, known for their Sinhala language, Theravada Buddhist traditions, and influential role in shaping the island's cultural and political landscape They are an Diaspora people, with Sinhalese as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Sinhala people cluster of the South Asian Peoples. They mostly adhere to Theravada Buddhism and Sinhala is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: Singapore
People Cluster: Sinhala
Primary Language(s): Sinhala (sin)
Primary Religion(s): Theravada Buddhism
Population: 23,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG010722
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Pray for the Sinhalese of Singapore

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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Theravada Buddhism
Religious Affiliation: Buddhism

95%
%
Theravada Buddhism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Sinhala
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Sinhala Speakers

Media Resources in Sinhala:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Bible Resources in Sinhala:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Sinhala 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): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity (GSEC: 1), 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

Next steps for the Sinhalese:
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 Sinhalese of Singapore

As it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God".
readRomans 3:10-11

Pray that God will have mercy on those living in broken relationship with Him, and that He will bring many to surrender and repentance at the throne of grace.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
readJohn 14:6

Pray that those who are searching for a way to God and desiring truth will encounter the good news of eternal life and accept it.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
readPsalm 23:4

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will trust in the Lord's presence, even in the darkest valleys.

And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
readIsaiah 51:11

Pray that, as God sends people to cross cultures and share the good news of Jesus, many will turn to the Lord in repentance and faith and start a personal relationship with Him that will bring them everlasting joy.

Sinhalese Across Countries (ROP3 - 109305) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

11 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDName ▼CountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Sri LankenSri LankenItaly115,000Unengaged and UnreachedSinhalaTheravada Buddhism
SinhaleseSinhaleseMaldives4,000No Longer UnreachedSinhalaTheravada Buddhism
SinhaleseSinhaleseSri Lanka17,680,000Engaged yet UnreachedSinhalaTheravada Buddhism
SinhaleseSinhaleseSingapore23,500Unengaged and UnreachedSinhalaTheravada Buddhism
SinhaleseSinhaleseThailand8,200Unengaged and UnreachedSinhalaTheravada Buddhism
SinhaleseSinhaleseUnited Arab Emirates179,000Engaged yet UnreachedSinhalaTheravada Buddhism
SinhaleseSinhaleseMalaysia36,500No Longer UnreachedSinhalaTheravada Buddhism
SinhaleseSinhaleseCanada18,000Engaged yet UnreachedSinhalaTheravada Buddhism
SinhaleseSinhaleseOman53,000Engaged yet UnreachedSinhalaTheravada Buddhism
SinhaleseSinhaleseQatar56,500Engaged yet UnreachedSinhalaTheravada Buddhism
SinhaleseSinhaleseUnited States30,500Engaged yet UnreachedSinhalaTheravada Buddhism

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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