The Tibetans of United States

The Tibetans of United States, numbering approximately 12,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an indigenous community of Tibeto-Burman people inhabiting the Trans-Himalaya region that divides India and Nepal from Tibet. They mostly adhere to Tibetan Buddhism and Tibetan is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Tibetan Peoples
Country: United States
People Cluster: Tibetan
Primary Language(s): Tibetan (bod)
Primary Religion(s): Tibetan Buddhism
Population: 12,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG047305
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Tibetans of United States

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: Tibetan Buddhism
Religious Affiliation: Buddhism

100%
%
Tibetan Buddhism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Tibetan
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

100%
%
Tibetan, Central Speakers

Media Resources in Tibetan:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Tibetan:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2016-2021 New Tibetan Bible Committee✓✓✓
Central Tibetan Bible✓✓✓

2 entries

Or check out the Tibetan bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Tibetans 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 Tibetans:
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 Tibetans of United States

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
readIsaiah 53:6

Pray that those who have wandered far from God will be drawn back to Him, recognizing their need for a Savior and finding forgiveness and new life in Christ.

Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness!
readPsalm 150:2

Pray for the gospel to advance among those who are living in darkness. Pray that they will come to know Jesus and praise Him for all that He has done.

And he brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be.”
readGenesis 15:5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will trust God to keep His promises.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
readPsalm 23:6

Ask God to raise up believers who will share the hope that, for those who trust in Christ, goodness and love will follow them all the days of their lives, and they will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Tibetan, Central Across Countries (ROP3 - 110033) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

8 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress Index ▲LanguageReligion
TibetansTibetansSweden1,000Unengaged and UnreachedTibetanTibetan Buddhism
TibetansTibetansBhutan5,900Unengaged and UnreachedTibetanTibetan Buddhism
TibetansTibetansTaiwan400Unengaged and UnreachedTibetanTibetan Buddhism
TibetansTibetansCanada5,300Unengaged and UnreachedTibetanTibetan Buddhism
TibetansTibetansNepal161,000Engaged yet UnreachedTibetanTibetan Buddhism
Central TibetansCentral TibetansChina1,195,000Engaged yet UnreachedTibetanTibetan Buddhism
TibetansTibetansIndia153,000Engaged yet UnreachedTibetanTibetan Buddhism
TibetansTibetansUnited States12,000Engaged yet UnreachedTibetanTibetan 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.

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