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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Khen of Bhutan

The Khen of Bhutan, numbering approximately 65,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Bhutan and can also be known as Ken, Khenkha, Keng, Khengkha, Kenka. They are an Indigenous people, in the South Asian Buddhist people cluster of the South Asian Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Buddhism - Tibetan. They primarily speak Khengkha.

Khen in Bhutan photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Copyrighted ©️ 2025 Inside_bhutan - Shutterstock Used with permission

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: Bhutan
People Cluster: South Asian Buddhist
Primary Language(s): Khengkha (xkf)
Primary Religion(s): Buddhism - Tibetan
Population: 65,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG001229

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Buddhism - Tibetan
Religious Affiliation: Buddhism

%
Buddhism - Tibetan Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Khengkha
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

%
Khengkha Speakers

Media Resources in Khengkha:

Films:

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Bible Resources in Khengkha:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Khengkha bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Khen

The Khen are Unengaged and Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Next steps for the Khen

The Khen 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.

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

Next steps for the Khen

The Khen 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.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Khen of Bhutan

Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.
readJerremiah 32:17

Pray that the God who made the heavens and the earth by the power of His outstretched arm, the One who is able to save those who are lost, will show His great love and mercy to those who are walking in darkness.

And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.
readIsaiah 30:21

As the lost in this people group seek to know the truth of who God is, pray that the Spirit of God will draw them to Himself and guide them in the way they should go.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
readPsalm 119:105

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will meditate daily on the Word of God so that, through it, they might have wisdom for the big and small decisions they face every day.

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. 

Kheng reported in the following countries (ROP3):

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 Definitions page.

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