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

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
readRomans 1:20

As God's creation declares His glory, pray that multitudes who don't know Him will see the works of His hands and desire to know more about the Creator.

Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near.
readIsaiah 55:6

Pray that the lost will seek the Lord while He may be found and call upon Him while He is near, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
readRomans 10:15

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be eager to proclaim the good news of peace, knowing that the Lord has called them to this task.

Come, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD, who stand by night in the house of the LORD!
readPsalm 134:1

Pray that God will raise up believers among them who are in awe of Him and that, in service to Him, they will share the gospel with others so that they too may bless the Lord!

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

8 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountry ▼PopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
TibetansTibetansUnited States12,000Engaged yet UnreachedTibetanTibetan Buddhism
TibetansTibetansTaiwan400Unengaged and UnreachedTibetanTibetan Buddhism
TibetansTibetansSweden1,000Unengaged and UnreachedTibetanTibetan Buddhism
TibetansTibetansNepal161,000Engaged yet UnreachedTibetanTibetan Buddhism
TibetansTibetansIndia153,000Engaged yet UnreachedTibetanTibetan Buddhism
Central TibetansCentral TibetansChina1,195,000Engaged yet UnreachedTibetanTibetan Buddhism
TibetansTibetansCanada5,300Unengaged and UnreachedTibetanTibetan Buddhism
TibetansTibetansBhutan5,900Unengaged and 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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