The Chakmas of Bangladesh

The Chakmas of Bangladesh, numbering approximately 492,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a scheduled tribe of India, Tripura, Mizoram, Assam, Meghalaya and West Bengal, also in Bangladesh, southeast, Chittagong Hills. They mostly adhere to Folk Buddhism and Chakma is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: Bangladesh
People Cluster: South Asian Tribal
Primary Language(s): Chakma (ccp)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Buddhism
Population: 492,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, Dispersed CP Activity
People Group ID: PG001162
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Chakmas 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: Folk Buddhism
Religious Affiliation: Buddhism

80%
%
Folk Buddhism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Chakma
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Chakma Speakers

Media Resources in Chakma:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Chakma:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2012 Bibles International✓

1 entry

Or check out the Chakma bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Chakmas 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 Chakmas:
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 Chakmas of Bangladesh

Abraham said, "God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." So they went both of them together.
readGenesis 22:8

Pray that God will open the ears of those who are lost to understand and believe that only shed blood takes away sin and that, like Abraham, they will believe that God Himself provides the lamb for the burnt offering, who is Jesus the final, perfect sacrifice.

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth.
readPsalm 67:4

Pray that God will use ways from in-person witnesses to digital gospel resources to bring the joy of His salvation to everyone so that they can be glad in Him and sing for joy.

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
readGalatians 3:28

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be united in Christ across all differences of ethnicity, social status, and gender.

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go.
readLuke 10:1

Ask God to raise up, send out, and sustain Christians who can go together to share the good news of Jesus with those who need it.

Chakma Across Countries (ROP3 - 101976) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

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