The Sinhalese of Oman

The Sinhalese of Oman, numbering approximately 53,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a culturally rich and historically significant ethnic group in Sri Lanka, known for their Sinhala language, Theravada Buddhist traditions, and influential role in shaping the island's cultural and political landscape. They mostly adhere to Theravada Buddhism and Sinhala is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: Oman
People Cluster: Sinhala
Primary Language(s): Sinhala (sin)
Primary Religion(s): Theravada Buddhism
Population: 53,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG046413
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Sinhalese of Oman

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: Theravada Buddhism
Religious Affiliation: Buddhism

95%
%
Theravada Buddhism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Sinhala
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Sinhala Speakers

Media Resources in Sinhala:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Bible Resources in Sinhala:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Sinhala bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Sinhalese 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 Sinhalese:
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 Sinhalese of Oman

O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.
readPsalm 10:17-18

Pray that God, in accordance with His good character, will give justice to those who are oppressed by sin and that they will know that His offer of salvation is for everyone.

And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us.
readActs 17:26-27

Pray that the lost will seek God and find Him, for He is not far from each one of us. Pray that they will have opportunities to access the gospel, learn God's purpose for their lives, and believe in Him.

But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.
read1 Peter 3:15

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will always be prepared to share the reason for the hope that they have in Jesus with gentleness and respect.

O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill? He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart.
readPsalm 15:1-2

Ask God to send believers who will go and, with integrity, walk blamelessly and do what is right, speaking truth about the Lord with those who need to learn about His redemption plan.

Sinhalese Across Countries (ROP3 - 109305) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

11 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress Index ▼LanguageReligion
SinhaleseSinhaleseMalaysia36,500No Longer UnreachedSinhalaTheravada Buddhism
SinhaleseSinhaleseMaldives4,000No Longer UnreachedSinhalaTheravada Buddhism
SinhaleseSinhaleseUnited States30,500Engaged yet UnreachedSinhalaTheravada Buddhism
SinhaleseSinhaleseQatar56,500Engaged yet UnreachedSinhalaTheravada Buddhism
SinhaleseSinhaleseOman53,500Engaged yet UnreachedSinhalaTheravada Buddhism
SinhaleseSinhaleseCanada18,000Engaged yet UnreachedSinhalaTheravada Buddhism
SinhaleseSinhaleseUnited Arab Emirates179,000Engaged yet UnreachedSinhalaTheravada Buddhism
SinhaleseSinhaleseSri Lanka17,690,000Engaged yet UnreachedSinhalaTheravada Buddhism
Sri LankenSri LankenItaly115,000Unengaged and UnreachedSinhalaTheravada Buddhism
SinhaleseSinhaleseThailand8,200Unengaged and UnreachedSinhalaTheravada Buddhism
SinhaleseSinhaleseSingapore23,500Unengaged and UnreachedSinhalaTheravada 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.

Scroll to Top