The Hani of China

The Hani of China, numbering approximately 1,960,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as a Lolo-speaking ethnic group indigenous to the high southwestern plateau of southwestern China's Yunnan province They are an Indigenous people, with Hani as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Hani-Akha people cluster of the Himalayan Peoples. They mostly adhere to Chinese Folk Religion and Hani is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Hani

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Himalayan Peoples
Country: China
People Cluster: Hani-Akha
Primary Language(s): Hani (hni)
Primary Religion(s): Chinese Folk Religion
Population: 1,960,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG007184
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Pray for the Hani of China

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: Chinese Folk Religion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

95%
%
Chinese Folk Religion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Hani
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

100%
%
Hani Speakers

Media Resources in Hani:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Hani:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Hani bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Hani 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 Hani:
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 Hani of China

Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
readPsalm 67:3

Pray that those who are lost and unaware of God's blessings will come to know Him as the one true God, put their trust in Him, and join in praising Him among the nations.

...And that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
readLuke 24:47

Pray that the message of repentance and forgiveness through Jesus will reach everyone.

Remember your mercy, O LORD, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.
readPsalm 25:6

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember the merciful nature and steadfast love of God as they walk with Him daily.

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
read2 Peter 3:9

Pray that those God sends to cross cultures will patiently endure hardships as they share the gospel, knowing that the Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise.

Hani Across Countries (ROP3 - 103712) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

3 people groups

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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