The Apatani of India

The Apatani of India, numbering approximately 41,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a tribal community of Apatani speakers in the Apatani valley of Lower Subansiri district, Arunachal Pradesh. The Apatani practice wet-rice cultivation and profess the Donyi-Polo religion. They mostly adhere to Animism and Apatani is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: South Asian Tribal
Primary Language(s): Apatani (apt)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 41,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG042047
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Apatani 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: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

95%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Apatani
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

74%
%
Apatani Speakers

Media Resources in Apatani:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Apatani:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Apatani bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Apatani 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 Apatani:
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 Apatani of India

All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.
readRomans 3:12

Pray that those who are enslaved to sin will admit their need for a Savior, acknowledging that no one is righteous.

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.
read1 Timothy 2:5-6

Pray for the truth about Jesus Christ to spread among the lost so that many will accept His ransom for their sin and experience freedom in a relationship with Him.

For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.
readHebrews 10:34

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have compassion for those in prison, sympathize with those who are mistreated, and continue to do good and share the gospel with others.

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.

Tanu Across Countries (ROP3 - 111338) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

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