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The Sherpa of Bhutan

The Sherpa of Bhutan, numbering approximately 3,800 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Tibetan ethnic group native to the most mountainous regions of Nepal, Tingri County in the Tibet Autonomous Region and the Himalayas. They mostly adhere to Tibetan Buddhism and Sherpa is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Tibetan Peoples
Country: Bhutan
People Cluster: Tibetan
Primary Language(s): Sherpa (xsr)
Primary Religion(s): Tibetan Buddhism
Population: 3,800
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG048796
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Pray for the Sherpa of Bhutan

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: Tibetan Buddhism
Religious Affiliation: Buddhism

100%
%
Tibetan Buddhism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Sherpa
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

100%
%
Sherpa Speakers

Media Resources in Sherpa:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Sherpa:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2015 Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc✓✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Sherpa bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Sherpa 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 Sherpa:
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 Sherpa of Bhutan

The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.
readProverbs 4:19

Pray that lost people will accept salvation through Christ, turn from destruction, and experience joy in the way of righteousness.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
readJohn 3:16

Pray that the lost will seek God and learn that they have a heavenly Father who loves them and wants them to live eternally with Him.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
readJames 1:2-3

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will consider it pure joy when they face trials of many kinds, trusting in God's promise that the testing of their faith produces perseverance.

And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven."
readMatthew 16:17

Pray that God who is in heaven will place believers in the lives of people who need to encounter the gospel and that He will reveal to them the truth of what they hear.

Sherpa Across Countries (ROP3 - 108938) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

3 people groups

PhotoPeople Group ID ▲NameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
SherpaPG006291SherpaNepal203,000Engaged yet UnreachedSherpaTibetan Buddhism
SherpaPG041803SherpaIndia64,000Engaged yet UnreachedSherpaTibetan Buddhism
SherpaPG048796SherpaBhutan3,800No Longer UnreachedSherpaTibetan 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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