The Tibetans of India

The Tibetans of India, numbering approximately 153,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an indigenous community of Tibeto-Burman people inhabiting the Trans-Himalaya region that divides India and Nepal from Tibet. They mostly adhere to Tibetan Buddhism and Tibetan is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Tibetan

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Tibetan Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Tibetan
Primary Language(s): Tibetan (bod)
Primary Religion(s): Tibetan Buddhism
Population: 153,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG041578
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Tibetans of India

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: Tibetan Buddhism
Religious Affiliation: Buddhism

100%
%
Tibetan Buddhism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Tibetan
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

100%
%
Tibetan, Central Speakers

Media Resources in Tibetan:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Tibetan:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2016-2021 New Tibetan Bible Committee✓✓✓
Central Tibetan Bible✓✓✓

2 entries

Or check out the Tibetan bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Tibetans 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 Tibetans:
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 Tibetans of India

The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.
readPsalm 9:9-10

Pray that God will help those who are oppressed and without hope to hear the good news of Jesus and trust in Him, for He has never forsaken those who seek Him.

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst."
readJohn 6:35

Pray that the lost will come to Jesus and believe in Him, never to hunger or thirst again.

Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually!
readPsalm 105:4

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and may feel weak in their current circumstances, they will seek the Lord's presence and persevere in the Lord's strength.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
readEphesians 6:10

Ask God to strengthen believers with His mighty power so that as they cross cultures to share the gospel, they will stand firm against the schemes of the enemy.

Tibetan, Central Across Countries (ROP3 - 110033) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

8 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDName ▼CountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
TibetansTibetansSweden1,000Unengaged and UnreachedTibetanTibetan Buddhism
TibetansTibetansBhutan5,900Unengaged and UnreachedTibetanTibetan Buddhism
TibetansTibetansNepal161,000Engaged yet UnreachedTibetanTibetan Buddhism
TibetansTibetansTaiwan400Unengaged and UnreachedTibetanTibetan Buddhism
TibetansTibetansIndia153,000Engaged yet UnreachedTibetanTibetan Buddhism
TibetansTibetansUnited States12,000Engaged yet UnreachedTibetanTibetan Buddhism
TibetansTibetansCanada5,300Unengaged and UnreachedTibetanTibetan Buddhism
Central TibetansCentral TibetansChina1,200,000Engaged yet UnreachedTibetanTibetan 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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