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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

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.
readGenesis 3:15

Pray that those without Christ will hear the words of Genesis 1-3 in their own language, and desire to know their Creator and His provision of salvation.

For I will proclaim the name of the LORD; ascribe greatness to our God!
readDeuteronomy 32:3

Pray that believers will proclaim the Lord’s name and declare the greatness of our God so that others might believe in Him.

For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.
readActs 17:23

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have a deep desire to know God more fully and to make Him known in creative ways to others who are still searching for truth.

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."
readMatthew 9:37-38

Pray that the Lord of the harvest will raise up believers to send out into His harvest field, which is ripe and ready.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

3 people groups

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