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 Puwa of China

The Puwa of China, numbering approximately 50,500 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of China. They are an Indigenous people in the Other Tibeto-Burmese people cluster of the Tibetan Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary language is Phowa, Hlepho and their primary religion is Chinese Folk Religion.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Tibetan Peoples
Country: China
People Cluster: Other Tibeto-Burmese
Primary Language(s): Phowa, Hlepho (yhl)
Primary Religion(s): Chinese Folk Religion
Population: 50,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG022103
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Pray for the Puwa 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: Chinese Folk Religion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

80%
%
Chinese Folk Religion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Phowa, Hlepho
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

70%
%
Phowa, Hlepho Speakers

Media Resources in Phowa, Hlepho:

Films:

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Bible Resources in Phowa, Hlepho:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Phowa, Hlepho bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 2), 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): Moderately Reached People Group, (LPI: 5), 6% to 20% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical (GSEC: 5), this people group is greater than or equal to 5% evangelical

Next steps for the Puwa:
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

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Puwa 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 Puwa:
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

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Puwa 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 Puwa:
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 Puwa of China

But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven"
readMatthew 9:14

Pray that those who are spiritually dead will recognize their need for spiritual nourishment and turn to the One who offers true fulfillment.

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!
readPsalm 57:11

Pray that the lost will learn about God's great love and faithfulness so that they might trust in Christ for their salvation.

Depart from me, all you workers of evil, for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping.
readPsalm 6:8

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, God will remind them that He is near and will help them place their hope in Him when others wish to do them harm.

Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!
readPsalm 149:3

Pray that God will send His people across cultures to share the gospel so that those who don't yet know the truth about Him might praise His name and share the hope of Christ with others.

Puwa Across Countries (ROP3 - 114283) reported in the following countries:

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 Definitions page.

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