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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Western Gurung of Nepal

The Western Gurung of Nepal, numbering approximately 712,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic group indigenous to the hills and mountains of Gandaki Province in Nepal They are an Indigenous people, in the South Asian Buddhist people cluster of the South Asian Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion - Animism. They primarily speak Gurung.

Gurung in Bhutan photo
Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Western Gurung

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: Nepal
People Cluster: South Asian Buddhist
Primary Language(s): Gurung (gvr)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion - Animism
Population: 712,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG006314
View on Joshua Project

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Pray for the Western Gurung of Nepal

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion - Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

%
Ethnoreligion - Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Gurung
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

%
Gurung Speakers

Media Resources in Gurung:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Gurung:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Gurung bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Next steps for the Western Gurung

The Western Gurung are Unengaged and Unreached, 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.

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

Next steps for the Western Gurung

The Western Gurung 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.

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

Next steps for the Western Gurung

The Western Gurung 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.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Western Gurung of Nepal

That they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us.
readActs 17:27

Pray that those who don't yet know Christ will search diligently for God and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.

O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.
readPsalm 104:24

Pray that they will see the wisdom and power of God in His creation and praise Him for His mighty works.

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.
readHebrews 10:24

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will love and encourage one another, spurring each other on to live lives that honor God.

You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.
read2 Corinthians 1:11

Pray that many people will join in praying for the spread of the gospel here, and that God will answer these prayers by drawing more people to Himself.

Gurung, Western (ROP3 - 110781) reported in the following countries:

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 Definitions page.

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