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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Athpare Rai of Nepal

The Athpare Rai of Nepal, numbering approximately 83,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an Indigenous Kiranti community centered in the hills around Dhankuta in eastern Nepal, with traditions linking their origins to their present homeland. They mostly adhere to Hinduism and Dungmali is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Athpare Rai

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Himalayan Peoples
Country: Nepal
People Cluster: South Himalayan
Primary Language(s): Dungmali (raa)
Primary Religion(s): Hinduism
Population: 83,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG006167
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Pray for the Athpare Rai of Nepal

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: Hinduism
Religious Affiliation: Hinduism

80%
%
Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Dungmali
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

71%
%
Dungmali Speakers

Media Resources in Dungmali:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Dungmali:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Dungmali bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Athpare Rai 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 Athpare Rai:
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 Athpare Rai of Nepal

But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven"
readMatthew 9:14

Pray that those who are spiritually dead will recognize their need for spiritual nourishment and turn to the One who offers true fulfillment.

But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.
readMark 4:20

Pray that those who have never encountered the gospel will have the opportunity to receive it, and that it will fall on good soil and bear much fruit.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
read2 Corinthians 5:17

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will understand and experience the truth that in Christ, they are a new creation, and the old has gone and the new has come.

Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works!
readPsalm 105:2

Pray for God to saturate this place with the gospel and raise up believing men and women from among them to share the good news of Christ with those who have yet to encounter it.

Rai, Athpare Across Countries (ROP3 - 100597) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguage ▼Religion
Athpare RaiPG006167Athpare RaiNepal83,000Engaged yet UnreachedDungmaliHinduism

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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