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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Bhutia of India

The Bhutia of India, numbering approximately 258,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Tibeto-Burman ethnic group indigenous to the Transhimalayan region that separates India and Nepal from Tibet. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Sherpa is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Tibetan Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Tibetan
Primary Language(s): Sherpa (xsr)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 258,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, Concentrated CP Activity
People Group ID: PG041587
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Pray for the Bhutia of India

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: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

—
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Sherpa
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

74%
%
Sherpa Speakers

Media Resources in Sherpa:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Sherpa:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2015 Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc✓✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Sherpa bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Bhutia 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 Bhutia:
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 Bhutia of India

And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you."
read1 Samuel 13:13a

Pray that those who are walking in disobedience will recognize their sin and to turn to God.

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!
readPsalm 57:11

Pray that the lost will learn about God's great love and faithfulness so that they might trust in Christ for their salvation.

The LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.
readNumbers 6:25

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember that He has given them His favor and His presence.

But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.
read2 Corinthians 3:16

Give thanks to God for believers around the world who are willing to cross cultures to share the gospel with those who are perishing. Pray that He will work through their witness to draw many to turn to Him.

Bhotia Across Countries (ROP3 - 111608) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

3 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▲Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Sikkimese BhotiaPG042386Sikkimese BhotiaBhutan4,600Unengaged and UnreachedSikkimeseTibetan Buddhism
BhotiaPG006180BhotiaNepal33,500Engaged yet UnreachedDzongkhaFolk Buddhism
BhutiaPG041587BhutiaIndia258,000Engaged yet UnreachedSherpaEthnoreligion

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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