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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Sri Lankan Tamil of Sri Lanka

The Sri Lankan Tamil of Sri Lanka, numbering approximately 2,630,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are descendants of the Jaffna Kingdom that maintained autonomy on the Jaffna Peninsula from the fourteenth century through Portuguese, Dutch, and British colonial rule, tracing a Tamil presence on the island back to at least the second century BCE. They mostly adhere to Hinduism and Tamil is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Sri Lankan Tamil

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: Sri Lanka
People Cluster: Tamil
Primary Language(s): Tamil (tam)
Primary Religion(s): Hinduism
Population: 2,630,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG006432
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Pray for the Sri Lankan Tamil of Sri Lanka

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.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Hinduism
Religious Affiliation: Hinduism

69%
%
Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Tamil
Language Family: Dravidian

100%
%
Tamil Speakers

Media Resources in Tamil:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
The SaviorView Film

3 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Tamil:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Contemporary Version✓
Contemporary Version - LUMO Christmas Film✓
Contemporary Version - LUMO Easter Film✓
Easy-to-Read Version✓✓
Indian Revised Version✓✓
Indian Revised Version✓

6 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Tamil bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Sri Lankan Tamil 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 Sri Lankan Tamil:
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 Sri Lankan Tamil of Sri Lanka

Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.
readJerremiah 32:17

Pray that the God who made the heavens and the earth by the power of His outstretched arm, the One who is able to save those who are lost, will show His great love and mercy to those who are walking in darkness.

For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.
readPsalm 57:10

Pray that God will work, even in the hearts of hard-to-reach people, and that they will rejoice in His steadfast love and faithfulness.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
readHebrews 12:1-2

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember the testimony of those who went before them, resist sin, and run with perseverance the race set before them, fixing their eyes on Jesus.

For the needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.
readPsalm 9:18

Pray that God will raise up believers who can help meet emotional and physical needs among this people group. Ask Him to open doors for them and give them the courage to walk into difficult situations and share the hope of the gospel boldly.

Tamil Hindu Across Countries (ROP3 - 113732) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

14 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress Index ▼LanguageReligion
TamilPG043485TamilCanada163,000No Longer UnreachedTamilHinduism
Tamil HinduPG010925Tamil HinduThailand35,000No Longer UnreachedTamilHinduism
TamilPG009351TamilMalaysia2,620,000No Longer UnreachedTamilHinduism
TamilPG008196TamilCambodia1,800No Longer UnreachedTamilFolk Hinduism
Sri Lankan TamilPG006432Sri Lankan TamilSri Lanka2,630,000No Longer UnreachedTamilHinduism
Sri Lankan TamilPG000621Sri Lankan TamilUnited Kingdom74,500No Longer UnreachedTamilHinduism
TamilPG047226TamilUnited States339,000Engaged yet UnreachedTamilHinduism
TamilPG042483TamilFrance126,000Engaged yet UnreachedTamilHinduism
TamilPG042414TamilGermany67,000Engaged yet UnreachedTamilHinduism
TamilPG015483TamilSeychelles400Engaged yet UnreachedTamilHinduism
TamilPG015474TamilReunion189,000Engaged yet UnreachedRéunion Creole FrenchHinduism
TamilPG010723TamilSingapore244,000Engaged yet UnreachedTamilHinduism
TamilPG009527TamilMyanmar297,000Engaged yet UnreachedTamilFolk Hinduism
TamilPG000442TamilNetherlands7,900Engaged yet UnreachedTamilHinduism

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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