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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Northern Pumi of China

The Northern Pumi of China, numbering approximately 53,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a regional ethnolinguistic branch of the Pumi people of southwest China, distinguished primarily by language, geography, and historical identity, especially across the Sichuan–Yunnan borderlands. They mostly adhere to Tibetan Buddhism and Northern Pumi is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Tibetan Peoples
Country: China
People Cluster: Tibetan
Primary Language(s): Northern Pumi (pmi)
Primary Religion(s): Tibetan Buddhism
Population: 53,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG006712
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Pray for the Northern Pumi of China

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Tibetan Buddhism
Religious Affiliation: Buddhism

99%
%
Tibetan Buddhism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Northern Pumi
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

100%
%
Pumi, Northern Speakers

Media Resources in Northern Pumi:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Northern Pumi:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Northern Pumi bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Northern Pumi 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 Northern Pumi:
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 Northern Pumi of China

"...And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold." As he said these things, he called out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
readLuke 8:8

Pray that the seeds of truth will take root in the hearts of those who are far from Jesus and that He will lead them from darkness to light.

...I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
readPsalm 13:5

Ask God to bring many to trust in His unfailing love and cause their hearts to rejoice in His salvation.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
readPhilippians 2:5-7

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will imitate His humility in all they do.

The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
readActs 17:30

Pray that those God sends to cross cultures will boldly and lovingly declare that God commands all people everywhere to repent.

Chrame Across Countries (ROP3 - 102197) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDName ▼CountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Northern PumiPG006712Northern PumiChina53,500Engaged yet UnreachedNorthern PumiTibetan 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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