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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

Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.
readMark 10:15

Pray for those who might be trapped in pride, that God will humble them and give them a childlike faith and complete dependence on Him through faith in Christ.

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”
readRevelation 4:11

Pray that the good news will advance and people will recognize and worship the One who created all things by His will, giving glory and honor to Him alone.

Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?
read2 Corinthians 6:14

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and want to marry, they will be led to other believers and enter into godly marriages.

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
readHebrews 4:12

Pray that God will make His living and active Word available to everyone in this people group so that many will respond to the gospel. Ask Him to provide Jesus-followers to walk with new believers as they grow in Him.

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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