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The Khen of Bhutan

The Khen of Bhutan, numbering approximately 66,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an indigenous people of south-central Bhutan's Zhemgang region with roots stretching back over 4,000 years, whose unification was marked by the 1655 construction of Zhemgang Dzong, and who maintain trade relations with the neighboring Bumthang yak herders. They mostly adhere to Tibetan Buddhism and Khengkha is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Tibetan Peoples
Country: Bhutan
People Cluster: Bhutanese
Primary Language(s): Khengkha (xkf)
Primary Religion(s): Tibetan Buddhism
Population: 66,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG001229
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Pray for the Khen of Bhutan

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: Tibetan Buddhism
Religious Affiliation: Buddhism

99%
%
Tibetan Buddhism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Khengkha
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

100%
%
Khengkha Speakers

Media Resources in Khengkha:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Khengkha:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Khengkha bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Khen 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 Khen:
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 Khen of Bhutan

For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
readRomans 5:7-8

Pray for the many who don't yet understand the hope of the gospel, and pray that God will reveal to them that while they were in darkness, Christ died for them.

Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
readPsalm 67:5

While there are many who do not yet praise God, pray that He will work in their lives, advance the gospel among them, and bring many to saving faith in Christ.

Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.
readPsalm 127:1

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will build their homes in the Lord and raise their children to know and honor Him.

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.

Kheng Across Countries (ROP3 - 104937) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group ID ▲NameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
KhenPG001229KhenBhutan66,500Engaged yet UnreachedKhengkhaTibetan Buddhism

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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