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The Punjabis of Sri Lanka

The Punjabis of Sri Lanka, numbering approximately 13,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic group characterized by their rich cultural heritage, agricultural prowess, and vibrant traditions, originating from the Punjab region of South Asia, currently divided between Pakistan and India. They mostly adhere to Sikhism and Panjabi is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: Sri Lanka
People Cluster: Punjabi
Primary Language(s): Panjabi (pan)
Primary Religion(s): Sikhism
Population: 13,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG006439

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Pray for the Punjabis 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: Sikhism
Religious Affiliation: Sikhism

50%
%
Sikhism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Panjabi
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Punjabi, Eastern Speakers

Media Resources in Panjabi:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
The SaviorView Film

3 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Panjabi:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2000 Bible League International✓
Indian Revised Version✓✓

2 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Panjabi bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Punjabis 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 Punjabis:
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 Punjabis of Sri Lanka

But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.
readIsaiah 59:2

Pray that those who are separated from God will turn to Him in humility and repentance, seeking His forgiveness and the restoration of a right relationship with their Heavenly Father.

And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.
readIsaiah 30:21

As the lost in this people group seek to know the truth of who God is, pray that the Spirit of God will draw them to Himself and guide them in the way they should go.

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.

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."
readMatthew 9:37-38

Pray that the Lord of the harvest will raise up believers to send out into His harvest field, which is ripe and ready.

Punjabi, Eastern Across Countries (ROP3 - 108182) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

18 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress Index ▼LanguageReligion
PunjabisPG010717PunjabisSingapore15,000No Longer UnreachedPanjabiSikhism
SikhsPG048148SikhsKenya43,000Engaged yet UnreachedPanjabiSikhism
SikhsPG048144SikhsFrance16,000Engaged yet UnreachedPanjabiSikhism
PunjabisPG043605PunjabisUnited States606,000Engaged yet UnreachedPanjabiSikhism
PunjabisPG018234PunjabisMalaysia172,000Engaged yet UnreachedPanjabiSikhism
PunjabisPG015024PunjabisTanzania71,000Engaged yet UnreachedPanjabiHinduism
PunjabisPG012249PunjabisUnited Arab Emirates334,000Engaged yet UnreachedPanjabiSunni Islam
PunjabisPG011888PunjabisOman134,000Engaged yet UnreachedPanjabiSunni Islam
PunjabisPG011805PunjabisKuwait21,000Engaged yet UnreachedPanjabiSunni Islam
SikhsPG010910SikhsThailand11,500Engaged yet UnreachedPanjabiSikhism
PunjabisPG006439PunjabisSri Lanka13,000Engaged yet UnreachedPanjabiSikhism
PunjabisPG006280PunjabisNepal16,500Engaged yet UnreachedPanjabiFolk Hinduism
Eastern PunjabisPG000673Eastern PunjabisUnited Kingdom815,000Engaged yet UnreachedPanjabiSikhism
PunjabisPG024006PunjabisAfghanistan9,000Unengaged and UnreachedPanjabiSunni Islam
Eastern PunjabisPG009504Eastern PunjabisMyanmar78,000Unengaged and UnreachedPanjabiFolk Hinduism
PunjabisPG008234PunjabisFiji9,600Unengaged and UnreachedPanjabiFolk Hinduism
Punjabi SikhsPG001198Punjabi SikhsBangladesh80Unengaged and UnreachedPanjabiSikhism
PunjabisPG000094PunjabisDenmark10,000Unengaged and UnreachedPanjabiSikhism

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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