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
Be sure to use the data import function in your favorite app for working with data.
If you'd like to help improve these translations, Contact Us.

PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Lepcha of India

The Lepcha of India, numbering approximately 109,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are the earliest documented settlers of Sikkim, originally hunter-gatherers following Bon-influenced animist traditions before adopting Tibetan Buddhism while retaining shamans who preside over births, marriages, and deaths. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Lepcha is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Tibetan Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Other Tibeto-Burmese
Primary Language(s): Lepcha (lep)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 109,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG041791
View on Joshua Project

Print Profile
Submit Updates

Pray for the Lepcha 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.

Pray Now!
Download Prayer Guide

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

—
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Lepcha
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

74%
%
Lepcha Speakers

Media Resources in Lepcha:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Lepcha:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Lepcha bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Lepcha 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 Lepcha:
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 Lepcha of India

For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or?rulers?or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.
readColossians 1:16

Pray for those who are lost among them, that they will come to know the One who created all things and holds all things together.

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
readRomans 5:10

Pray that God will remove obstacles to the gospel so that many will see the hope He offers through the death, burial, and resurrection of His Son, and be transformed from being enemies to being His friends.

Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.
readColossians 4:5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be wise in the way they walk with the lost and manage their time and other resources in a way that honors God.

There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.
readMark 7:15

Pray for Christians to take any opportunity to share the hope of Jesus with lost people here, praying they will be wise like Jesus as they share the truth about what can defile people and what can make them clean.

Lepcha Across Countries (ROP3 - 105723) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

3 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDName ▼CountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
LepchaPG001231LepchaBhutan2,800No Longer UnreachedLepchaEthnoreligion
LepchaPG006247LepchaNepal4,800No Longer UnreachedLepchaTibetan Buddhism
LepchaPG041791LepchaIndia109,000No Longer UnreachedLepchaEthnoreligion

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.

Scroll to Top