The Manipuri of Bangladesh

The Manipuri of Bangladesh, numbering approximately 44,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are described as a tribal ethnic group indigenous to the state of Manipur in northeast India and the Sylhet District of northeastern Bangladesh They are an Indigenous people, with Manipuri as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Manipuri people cluster of the Himalayan Peoples. Their primary religion is Hinduism. They primarily speak Meitei.

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

Fast Facts*:

Affinity Group: Himalayan Peoples
Country: Bangladesh
People Cluster: Manipuri
Primary Language(s): Meitei (mni)
Primary Religion(s): Hinduism
Population: 44,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG001188
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Manipuri of Bangladesh

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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Hinduism
Religious Affiliation: Hinduism

85%
%
Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Meitei
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

100%
%
Meitei Speakers

Media Resources in Meitei:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Bible Resources in Meitei:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2019 Bibles International

1 entry

Or check out the Meitei bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Manipuri 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.

Next steps for the Manipuri:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Manipuri of Bangladesh

And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
readMatthew 24:14

Pray that the message of hope will reach those who are wandering in darkness, offering them a path to eternal life.

You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
readJames 4:4

Pray that the lost will be convicted of their friendship with the world, which is hostility toward God, and that they will turn from their sin and embrace the grace and mercy of God through Christ Jesus.

Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.
readMatthew 18:19

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they find other believers to pray with, and that they will trust God to answer their requests according to His will.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
readActs 1:8

Pray that God will raise up believers who are willing to cross cultures and boldly share the good news of Jesus with the lost in this people group and from every nation.

Meitei, Manipuri Hindu Across Countries (ROP3 - 106268) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

4 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
MeitheiMeitheiIndia1,885,000Engaged yet UnreachedMeiteiHinduism
ManipuriManipuriBangladesh44,000No Longer UnreachedMeiteiHinduism
ManipuriManipuriMyanmar28,000Engaged yet UnreachedMeiteiHinduism
MeitheiMeitheiUnited States150Unengaged and UnreachedMeiteiFolk 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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