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The Kok Nur Oirat of China

The Kok Nur Oirat of China, numbering approximately 105,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Khoshut Mongol people descended from Western Mongol conquerors who seized central Tibet in the seventeenth century and installed the Fifth Dalai Lama as ruler, later losing their autonomy after an unsuccessful 1724 revolt against the Qing dynasty. They mostly adhere to Mahayana Buddhism and Kalmyk is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Oirat, Kok Nur

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: East Asian Peoples
Country: China
People Cluster: Mongolian
Primary Language(s): Kalmyk (xal)
Primary Religion(s): Mahayana Buddhism
Population: 105,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG046926
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Pray for the Kok Nur Oirat of China

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!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Mahayana Buddhism
Religious Affiliation: Buddhism

99%
%
Mahayana Buddhism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kalmyk
Language Family: Mongolic-Khitan

100%
%
Kalmyk-Oirat Speakers

Media Resources in Kalmyk:

Films:
Title Link
JESUS View Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Kalmyk:

Bible Name (Translation) Video Audio Text
2002 Institute for Bible Translation, Moscow ✓ ✓ ✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Kalmyk bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Kok Nur Oirat 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 Kok Nur Oirat:
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 Kok Nur Oirat of China

And he said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many."
readMark 14:23-24

Pray for those who may have heard the gospel but have not yet submitted their lives to Christ, that they will finally see the sacrifice which He made for them and surrender their lives to Him.

Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized.
readActs 18:8

Pray that rulers and leaders will access the gospel, respond in faith, and be baptized, uniting with Christ and His Church, and influence others to follow Him.

Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.
readExodus 4:12

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, God will equip them with the words and wisdom to proclaim His message effectively.

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.

Oirat, Western Mongul Across Countries (ROP3 - 107607) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index

All

6 people groups

Photo People Group ID Name Country Population ▲ Strategic Progress Index Language Religion
Kalmyk-Oirats PG024678 Kalmyk-Oirats Uzbekistan 1,000 Unengaged and Unreached Kalmyk Mahayana Buddhism
Oirat PG043577 Oirat United States 1,900 Engaged yet Unreached Kalmyk Tibetan Buddhism
Kalmyk-Oirats PG024352 Kalmyk-Oirats Kyrgyzstan 8,200 Unengaged and Unreached Kalmyk Tibetan Buddhism
Kok Nur Oirat PG046926 Kok Nur Oirat China 105,000 Engaged yet Unreached Kalmyk Mahayana Buddhism
Kalmyk-Oirats PG000914 Kalmyk-Oirats Russian Federation 183,000 Engaged yet Unreached Kalmyk Tibetan Buddhism
Kalmyk-Oirats PG007495 Kalmyk-Oirats Mongolia 191,000 Unengaged and Unreached Kalmyk Chinese Folk Religion

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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