The Han Chinese (Cantonese) of China

The Han Chinese (Cantonese) of China, numbering approximately 64,770,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Han Chinese ethnolinguistic group of southern China's Pearl River Delta who speak Cantonese and share a regional heritage shaped by Lingnan culture, maritime trade, and extensive overseas migration. They mostly adhere to Chinese Folk Religion and Yue Chinese is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Han Chinese, Cantonese

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: East Asian Peoples
Country: China
People Cluster: Chinese
Primary Language(s): Yue Chinese (yue)
Primary Religion(s): Chinese Folk Religion
Population: 64,770,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG006808
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Han Chinese (Cantonese) of China

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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Chinese Folk Religion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

59%
%
Chinese Folk Religion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Yue Chinese
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

80%
%
Chinese, Yue Speakers

Media Resources in Yue Chinese:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Bible Resources in Yue Chinese:

4 entries

Or check out the Yue Chinese bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Han Chinese (Cantonese) 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 Han Chinese (Cantonese):
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 Han Chinese (Cantonese) of China

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
readJohn 3:17

Pray for those who are living under the burdens of man-made religion to learn about the freedom Jesus offers them and turn to Him in faith.

Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know, and a nation that did not know you shall run to you, because of the LORD your God, and of the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you.
readIsaiah 55:5

Pray that those who do not know God will access the gospel, run to Him, and discover that He is the one their souls have been longing for.

The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
read2 Corinthians 9:6

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember the principle of sowing and reaping, and be generous in their giving and serving, knowing that they will reap a generous harvest.

For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.
read2 Corinthians 1:8-9

Pray that as people hear and believe the gospel, they will be faithful as they walk through trials and will have an opportunity to be a witness to others in this people group of the goodness of God.

Han Chinese, Cantonese Across Countries (ROP3 - 103701) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

25 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Han Chinese (Cantonese)Han Chinese (Cantonese)China64,770,000No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseChinese Folk Religion
Han Chinese (Cantonese)Han Chinese (Cantonese)Hong Kong6,245,000No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseChinese Folk Religion
Han Chinese (Cantonese)Han Chinese (Cantonese)Malaysia1,935,000No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseChinese Folk Religion
Han Chinese (Cantonese)Han Chinese (Cantonese)United States1,030,000No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseAtheism
Han Chinese (Cantonese)Han Chinese (Cantonese)Vietnam789,000No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseChinese Folk Religion
Han Chinese (Cantonese)Han Chinese (Cantonese)Macao668,000No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseChinese Folk Religion
Han Chinese (Cantonese)Han Chinese (Cantonese)Canada573,000No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseChinese Folk Religion
Han Chinese (Cantonese)Han Chinese (Cantonese)Singapore512,000No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseChinese Folk Religion
Han ChineseHan ChineseUnited Kingdom197,000No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseChinese Folk Religion
Han Chinese (Cantonese)Han Chinese (Cantonese)Peru118,000No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseChinese Folk Religion
Han ChineseHan ChinesePanama69,500No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseAtheism
Han ChineseHan ChineseTrinidad and Tobago44,500No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseChinese Folk Religion
Han ChineseHan ChineseLaos36,500No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseChinese Folk Religion
Han ChineseHan ChineseReunion31,500No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseChinese Folk Religion
Han Chinese (Cantonese)Han Chinese (Cantonese)Venezuela30,000No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseChinese Folk Religion
Han Chinese (Cantonese)Han Chinese (Cantonese)Dominican Republic12,000No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseChinese Folk Religion
Han Chinese (Cantonese)Han Chinese (Cantonese)Ecuador9,700No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseAtheism
Han Chinese (Cantonese)Han Chinese (Cantonese)Belgium9,500No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseAtheism
Han Chinese (Cantonese)Han Chinese (Cantonese)Mauritius8,400No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseChinese Folk Religion
Han ChineseHan ChineseBrunei7,900No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseChinese Folk Religion
Han Chinese (Cantonese)Han Chinese (Cantonese)Honduras7,800No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseChinese Folk Religion
Han Chinese (Cantonese)Han Chinese (Cantonese)Guyana3,300No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseChinese Folk Religion
Han Chinese (Cantonese)Han Chinese (Cantonese)Zimbabwe1,600No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseChinese Folk Religion
Han ChineseHan ChineseCuracao1,100No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseChinese Folk Religion
Han Chinese (Cantonese)Han Chinese (Cantonese)Haiti550No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseChinese Folk Religion

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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