The Newar of India

The Newar of India, numbering approximately 233,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as a Kathmandu Valley people descended from ancient Kirati and Licchavi civilizations, whose renowned architects and artisans built the valley's historic temples before communities also settled India's Darjeeling, Kalimpong, and Sikkim नेवार, नेवा They are an Indigenous people, with Newar / Newah as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Other Tibeto-Burmese people cluster of the Tibetan Peoples. Their primary religion is Hinduism. They primarily speak Nepali (individual language).

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Tibetan Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Other Tibeto-Burmese
Primary Language(s): Nepali (individual language) (npi)
Primary Religion(s): Hinduism
Population: 233,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, Dispersed CP Activity
People Group ID: PG041726
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Newar 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: Hinduism
Religious Affiliation: Hinduism

85%
%
Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Nepali (individual language)
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Nepali Speakers

Media Resources in Nepali (individual language):

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
The SaviorView Film

4 films

Bible Resources in Nepali (individual language):

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
New Revised Version✓✓
New Revised Version - LUMO Christmas Film✓

2 entries

Or check out the Nepali (individual language) bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Newar 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 Newar:
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 Newar of India

As it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God".
readRomans 3:10-11

Pray that God will have mercy on those living in broken relationship with Him, and that He will bring many to surrender and repentance at the throne of grace.

For my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples.
readLuke 2:30

Pray that the lost will see the salvation of God, and that they will trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
readIsaiah 9:6

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will rejoice in the coming of the Prince of Peace because He will bring everlasting peace and rule with justice and righteousness.

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
readJohn 12:24

Pray that God will raise up men and women who are willing to die to their own desires, bearing much fruit for the kingdom among individuals and in places where His gospel has not been proclaimed.

Newar Across Countries (ROP3 - 107217) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

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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