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The Yakha of India

The Yakha of India, numbering approximately 7,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Kirati people related to the Rai and Limbu, descended from Nepal's Kirat dynasty that ruled Kathmandu Valley some 1,100 years under 29 kings, with a small Indian population in Sikkim beside their Nepal homeland, practicing the Kirati nature religion. They mostly adhere to Kirati and Yakha is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Yakha

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: South Asian Tribal
Primary Language(s): Yakha (ybh)
Primary Religion(s): Kirati
Population: 7,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG049481
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Pray for the Yakha of India

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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Kirati
Religious Affiliation: Other

99%
%
Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Yakha
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

74%
%
Yakkha Speakers

Media Resources in Yakha:

Films:
Title Link
JESUS View Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Yakha:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Yakha bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Yakha 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 Yakha:
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 Yakha of India

Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?
readJames 2:5

Pray for those living in despair to experience the riches of God's love and the hope of eternal life through faith in Christ.

Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth!
readPsalm 96:9

Pray that many who do not yet know Jesus will come to know Him and worship Him in the splendor of His holiness.

But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated.
readHebrews 10:32-33

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember the day of their salvation and persevere in their faith despite hardships and suffering.

For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods.
readPsalm 96:4

Pray that God will raise up believers to declare His glory among the lost, so that they may know that He is great and greatly to be praised, that He is exalted above all gods.

Yakha Across Countries (ROP3 - 110935) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index

All

2 people groups

Photo People Group ID Name Country Population ▲ Strategic Progress Index Language Religion
Yakha PG049481 Yakha India 7,500 Engaged yet Unreached Yakha Kirati
Yakha PG006317 Yakha Nepal 22,500 No Longer Unreached Yakha Kirati

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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