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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Sunwar of Nepal

The Sunwar of Nepal, numbering approximately 124,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as a Kirati tribe of Nepal and some areas of India: West Bengal and Sikkim) They are an Indigenous people, with Sunwar / Sunuwar as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the South Himalayan people cluster of the Himalayan Peoples. Their primary religion is Hinduism. They primarily speak Sunwar.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Himalayan Peoples
Country: Nepal
People Cluster: South Himalayan
Primary Language(s): Sunwar (suz)
Primary Religion(s): Hinduism
Population: 124,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, Concentrated CP Activity
People Group ID: PG006297
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Pray for the Sunwar of Nepal

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Hinduism
Religious Affiliation: Hinduism

79%
%

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Sunwar
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

71%
%

Media Resources in Sunwar:

Films:

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Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Sunwar:

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Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Sunwar bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 1), 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): Expanding Unreached People Group, (LPI: 2), 0.5% to 2% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, Concentrated CP Activity (GSEC: 2), this people group is less than 2% evangelical but there has been initial or concentrated church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Sunwar:
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

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Sunwar 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 Sunwar:
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

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Sunwar 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.

Next steps for the Sunwar:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Sunwar of Nepal

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.

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.

For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
read1 Peter 2:25

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will proclaim the good news and the lost will recognize their need for the Shepherd and turn to Jesus Christ in faith.

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
readEphesians 6:11

Pray that those God sends to cross cultures will put on the full armor of God so that they will be able to stand against the schemes of the enemy.

Sunuwar Across Countries (ROP3 - 109614) 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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