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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Yinuo Nosu of China

The Yinuo Nosu of China, numbering approximately 822,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are described as a Northern Yi people of the Daliangshan highlands whose distinct Yinuo Nosu identity is marked by a separate Nosu language variety, broad-legged dress traditions, and a history of independent clan organization They are an Indigenous people, with Nosu as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Nosu people cluster of the Tibetan Peoples. They mostly adhere to Chinese Folk Religion and Sichuan Yi is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Nosu, Yinuo

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Tibetan Peoples
Country: China
People Cluster: Nosu
Primary Language(s): Sichuan Yi (iii)
Primary Religion(s): Chinese Folk Religion
Population: 822,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG022215
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Pray for the Yinuo Nosu 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

96%
%
Chinese Folk Religion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Sichuan Yi
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

95%
%
Nuosu Speakers

Media Resources in Sichuan Yi:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film

2 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Sichuan Yi:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Sichuan Yi 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 Yinuo Nosu:
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 Yinuo Nosu of China

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
readMatthew 5:16

Pray that those who are deceived about what brings peace will not settle for any lies they’ve heard about God and will diligently seek Him and be satisfied when they learn the truth about who He is and what He’s done.

There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.
readPsalm 19:3

Pray that God will lead them to His Word, and where it is not available, ask that He will raise up those who will produce gospel media in their heart language.

But my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.
readHebrews 10:38

Pray that as people trust in Christ, they will live by faith and not shrink back from their hope in Christ.

"Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."
readJohn 7:38

Ask God to raise up believers and sustain them as they cross cultures to share hope with those who need it. Pray that many might come to know Christ and that streams of living water will flow from their hearts so they will never thirst again.

Nosu, Yinuo Across Countries (ROP3 - 114266) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguage ▲Religion
Yinuo NosuPG022215Yinuo NosuChina822,000Unengaged and UnreachedSichuan YiChinese 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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