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The Athpare Rai of Nepal

The Athpare Rai of Nepal, numbering approximately 83,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an Indigenous Kiranti community centered in the hills around Dhankuta in eastern Nepal, with traditions linking their origins to their present homeland. They mostly adhere to Hinduism and Dungmali is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Himalayan Peoples
Country: Nepal
People Cluster: South Himalayan
Primary Language(s): Dungmali (raa)
Primary Religion(s): Hinduism
Population: 83,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG006167
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Pray for the Athpare Rai of Nepal

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: Hinduism
Religious Affiliation: Hinduism

80%
%
Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Dungmali
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

71%
%
Dungmali Speakers

Media Resources in Dungmali:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Dungmali:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Dungmali bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Athpare Rai 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 Athpare Rai:
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 Athpare Rai of Nepal

For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.
readIsaiah 48:11

Pray that those who have been living for their own glory will turn to the One who is worthy of all praise and find their true identity in Him.

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
readMatthew 6:10

Pray that God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven, and that people will seek His kingdom and righteousness above all else, trusting in His provision.

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.

And through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
readColossians 1:20

As believers cross cultures to tell others about Jesus, praise God for allowing them to be a part of His reconciling all things to Himself, asking Him to help them remember their role in His beautiful plan of salvation for others.

Rai, Athpare Across Countries (ROP3 - 100597) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Athpare RaiPG006167Athpare RaiNepal83,000Engaged yet UnreachedDungmaliHinduism

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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