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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
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The Chali of Bhutan

The Chali of Bhutan, numbering approximately 1,900 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are an Indigenous ethnolinguistic community of Chhali Gewog in eastern Bhutan, centered in villages such as Wangmakhar, Gorsum, and Tormazhong on the east bank of the Kuri Chhu; their Chalikha language is East Bodish. They mostly adhere to Tibetan Buddhism and Chalikha is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Tibetan Peoples
Country: Bhutan
People Cluster: Bhutanese
Primary Language(s): Chalikha (tgf)
Primary Religion(s): Tibetan Buddhism
Population: 1,900
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG001241
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Pray for the Chali 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: Chalikha
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

75%
%
Chalikha Speakers

Media Resources in Chalikha:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Chalikha:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Chalikha bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 0), 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.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Pioneer Unreached People Group, (LPI: 1), 0.1% or Greater but Less than 0.5% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Chali:
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

Pray specifically for the Chali of Bhutan

I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,' and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.
readPsalm 32:5

Pray those who are lost will realize their sin, confess their iniquity, and grow in their understanding of salvation through faith in Christ alone.

Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
readIsaiah 43:19

Pray that the lost will see the new thing God can do in their lives and trust in His plan and purpose for them.

You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance.
readPsalm 32:7

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember that God is their hiding place and that He will preserve them in the midst of trials.

For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, “‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
readActs 13:47

Pray that as people come to faith, they will follow the Lord's leading to go to their neighbors and share the treasure they found in Christ.

Chali Across Countries (ROP3 - 114869) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguage ▲Religion
ChaliPG001241ChaliBhutan1,900Unengaged and UnreachedChalikhaTibetan 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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