Download the People Group List (16 languages .csv)

Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
Hindi - हिन्दी | Indonesian - Bahasa Indonesia
Korean - 한국어 | Nepali - नेपाली
Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
Be sure to use the data import function in your favorite app for working with data.
If you'd like to help improve these translations, Contact Us.

PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Sinhalese of Qatar

The Sinhalese of Qatar, numbering approximately 56,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are 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 mostly adhere to Theravada Buddhism and Sinhala is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: Qatar
People Cluster: Sinhala
Primary Language(s): Sinhala (sin)
Primary Religion(s): Theravada Buddhism
Population: 56,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG046417
View on Joshua Project

Print Profile
Submit Updates

Pray for the Sinhalese of Qatar

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.

Pray Now!
Download Prayer Guide

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

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Sinhala:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Sinhala bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Sinhalese 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 Sinhalese:
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 Sinhalese of Qatar

And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.
readJohn 3:19

Pray that God will have mercy on those who love the darkness they are walking in and turn from their sin to faith in Christ.

Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!
readPsalm 96:3

Pray for people to hear and believe the good news of Jesus and joyfully share it with their family and friends.

For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.
readActs 17:23

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have a deep desire to know God more fully and to make Him known in creative ways to others who are still searching for truth.

Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith. But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.
read2 Thessalonians 3:1-3

Pray that the Word of God will spread throughout this people group and be honored. Ask God to establish His people and guard them from the evil one, testifying to this whole people group of His great faithfulness.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

11 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress Index ▲LanguageReligion
SinhalesePG010722SinhaleseSingapore23,500Unengaged and UnreachedSinhalaTheravada Buddhism
SinhalesePG010919SinhaleseThailand8,200Unengaged and UnreachedSinhalaTheravada Buddhism
Sri LankenPG042326Sri LankenItaly115,000Unengaged and UnreachedSinhalaTheravada Buddhism
SinhalesePG006441SinhaleseSri Lanka17,680,000Engaged yet UnreachedSinhalaTheravada Buddhism
SinhalesePG012253SinhaleseUnited Arab Emirates179,000Engaged yet UnreachedSinhalaTheravada Buddhism
SinhalesePG043470SinhaleseCanada18,000Engaged yet UnreachedSinhalaTheravada Buddhism
SinhalesePG046413SinhaleseOman53,000Engaged yet UnreachedSinhalaTheravada Buddhism
SinhalesePG046417SinhaleseQatar56,500Engaged yet UnreachedSinhalaTheravada Buddhism
SinhalesePG047303SinhaleseUnited States30,500Engaged yet UnreachedSinhalaTheravada Buddhism
SinhalesePG006165SinhaleseMaldives4,000No Longer UnreachedSinhalaTheravada Buddhism
SinhalesePG018261SinhaleseMalaysia36,500No Longer 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.

Scroll to Top