Download the People Group List (16 languages .csv)

Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
Hindi - हिन्दी | Indonesian - Bahasa Indonesia
Korean - 한국어 | Nepali - नेपाली
Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Puman of China

The Puman of China, numbering approximately 18,500 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are a Palaungic people of Yunnan's Shuangjiang county in China, officially classified under the Bulang nationality, whose ancestors are traced to the ancient Pu tribes recorded along the Lancang River valley. They mostly adhere to Theravada Buddhism and U is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Puman

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: China
People Cluster: Mon-Khmer
Primary Language(s): U (uuu)
Primary Religion(s): Theravada Buddhism
Population: 18,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG007354
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Pray for the Puman 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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Theravada Buddhism
Religious Affiliation: Buddhism

95%
%
Theravada Buddhism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: U
Language Family: Austroasiatic

75%
%
U Speakers

Media Resources in U:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in U:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the U bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 0), 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): Frontier Unreached People Group, (LPI: 0), < 0.1% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Puman:
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

Pray specifically for the Puman of China

And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you."
read1 Samuel 13:13a

Pray that those who are walking in disobedience will recognize their sin and to turn to God.

No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.
readLuke 13:3

Pray that the lost will repent and believe the gospel, for without it, they will perish.

Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?
read2 Corinthians 6:14

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and want to marry, they will be led to other believers and enter into godly marriages.

Come, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD, who stand by night in the house of the LORD!
readPsalm 134:1

Pray that God will raise up believers among them who are in awe of Him and that, in service to Him, they will share the gospel with others so that they too may bless the Lord!

Puman Across Countries (ROP3 - 108170) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress Index ▼LanguageReligion
PumanPG007354PumanChina18,500Unengaged and UnreachedUTheravada 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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