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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Limbu of Bhutan

The Limbu of Bhutan, numbering approximately 4,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an indigenous community of Limbu in Bhutan and can also be known as Lhotshampa, Yakthumba. They are an Indigenous people, in the South Himalayan people cluster of the Tibetan / Himalayan Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Other - Kirati. They primarily speak Limbu.

Limbu in Bhutan photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Copyrighted ©️ 2025 Denis Belitsky - Shutterstock Used with permission

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: Bhutan
People Cluster: South Himalayan
Primary Language(s): Limbu (lif)
Primary Religion(s): Other - Kirati
Population: 4,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG001232

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Pray for the Limbu of Bhutan

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Other - Kirati
Religious Affiliation: Other

%
Other - Kirati Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Limbu
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

%
Limbu Speakers

Media Resources in Limbu:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Limbu:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Limbu bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Limbu

The Limbu are Unengaged and Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Next steps for the Limbu

The Limbu 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.

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

Next steps for the Limbu

The Limbu 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.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Limbu of Bhutan

But he said, "What is impossible with man is possible with God."
readLuke 18:27

Praise God that He is the God of impossible things and that He is able to save even those who seem beyond hope.

There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.
readPsalm 19:3

Pray that God will lead them to His Word, and where it is not available, ask that He will raise up those who will produce gospel media in their heart language.

It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
readIsaiah 25:9

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will proclaim and rejoice in His salvation.

Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.
readLuke 10:3

Ask God to raise up and send humble believers who will depend on Him as they go out like lambs among wolves to share the good news with those who need to hear it.

Limbu (ROP3 - 105776) reported in the following countries:

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 Definitions page.

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