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The Santal (Santali) of India

The Santal (Santali) of India, numbering approximately 7,610,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are one of the largest Indigenous tribal (Adivasi) peoples of India. Santal identity is centered on village life, agriculture, clan organization, nature-based religious traditions, rich musical and dance heritage, and a strong sense of ethnic distinctiveness. They mostly adhere to Folk Hinduism and Santali is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Munda-Santal
Primary Language(s): Santali (sat)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Hinduism
Population: 7,610,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, Dispersed CP Activity
People Group ID: PG046351

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Pray for the Santal (Santali) 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: Folk Hinduism
Religious Affiliation: Hinduism

100%
%
Folk Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Santali
Language Family: Austroasiatic

100%
%
Santhali Speakers

Media Resources in Santali:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film

2 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Santali:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Santali bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Santal (Santali) 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 Santal (Santali):
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 Santal (Santali) of India

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.

“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.

And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
readActs 2:42

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will devote themselves to God's Word, to fellowship with each other, and to prayer.

And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you.
readLuke 10:6

Pray that, as people come to faith in Christ and want to share it with others, they will be welcomed into homes and received well so that they can share message of hope with many people.

Santal, Santali Across Countries (ROP3 - 118709) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Santal (Santali)PG046351Santal (Santali)India7,610,000Engaged yet UnreachedSantaliFolk Hinduism

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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