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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Lepcha of India

The Lepcha of India, numbering approximately 109,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are described as the earliest documented settlers of Sikkim, originally hunter-gatherers following Bon-influenced animist traditions before adopting Tibetan Buddhism while retaining shamans who preside over births, marriages, and deaths They are an Indigenous people, with Lepcha / Rongkup as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Other Tibeto-Burmese people cluster of the Tibetan Peoples. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion. They primarily speak Lepcha.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Tibetan Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Other Tibeto-Burmese
Primary Language(s): Lepcha (lep)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 109,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG041791
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Pray for the Lepcha 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: Lepcha
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

74%
%
Lepcha Speakers

Media Resources in Lepcha:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Lepcha:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Lepcha bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Lepcha 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 Lepcha:
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 Lepcha of India

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
readEphesians 6:12

Pray for those ensnared by the darkness of this world, that they will recognize the spiritual forces at work and turn to the light of Christ.

Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know, and a nation that did not know you shall run to you, because of the LORD your God, and of the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you.
readIsaiah 55:5

Pray that those who do not know God will access the gospel, run to Him, and discover that He is the one their souls have been longing for.

Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.
read1 Peter 3:8

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will live in harmony with one another, showing sympathy, love, compassion, and humility.

He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.
readJohn 1:7

Pray that God will raise up witnesses to testify about Jesus so that all might believe, knowing that He is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.

Lepcha Across Countries (ROP3 - 105723) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

3 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
LepchaPG041791LepchaIndia109,000No Longer UnreachedLepchaEthnoreligion
LepchaPG006247LepchaNepal4,800No Longer UnreachedLepchaTibetan Buddhism
LepchaPG001231LepchaBhutan2,800No Longer UnreachedLepchaEthnoreligion

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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