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The Sikkimese Bhotia of Bhutan

The Sikkimese Bhotia of Bhutan, numbering approximately 4,600 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are a Tibeto-Burman ethnic group indigenous to the Transhimalayan region that separates India and Nepal from Tibet. They mostly adhere to Tibetan Buddhism and Sikkimese is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Tibetan Peoples
Country: Bhutan
People Cluster: Tibetan
Primary Language(s): Sikkimese (sip)
Primary Religion(s): Tibetan Buddhism
Population: 4,600
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG042386
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Pray for the Sikkimese Bhotia of Bhutan

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Tibetan Buddhism
Religious Affiliation: Buddhism

99%
%
Tibetan Buddhism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Sikkimese
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

75%
%
Sikkimese Speakers

Media Resources in Sikkimese:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Sikkimese:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Sikkimese bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

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): Expanding Unreached People Group, (LPI: 2), 0.5% or Greater but Less than 2% 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 Sikkimese Bhotia:
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 Sikkimese Bhotia of Bhutan

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming.
readColossians 3:5-6

Pray for God to have mercy and give those who don't yet know Him the gift of Jesus and His salvation for all who call upon His name.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
readMatthew 13: 45-46

Pray that they will recognize the treasure of knowing Christ Jesus and be willing to give up everything else to gain Him.

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
readJohn 10:28

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have assurance of eternal life, knowing that no one can snatch them out of the loving hand of Jesus.

Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father sends me, even so I am sending you."
readJohn 20:21

Ask God to raise up and send out believers cross-culturally who will go out in His authority and be sustained by His peace as they share the gospel with the lost.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

3 people groups

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