The Limbu of Bhutan

The Limbu of Bhutan, numbering approximately 4,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an indigenous community of Limbu in Bhutan They are an Indigenous people, in the South Himalayan people cluster of the Himalayan Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Other - Kirati. They primarily speak Limbu.

Limbu in Bhutan photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Copyrighted ©️ 2025 Denis Belitsky - Shutterstock Used with permission

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: Bhutan
People Cluster: South Himalayan
Primary Language(s): Limbu (lif)
Primary Religion(s): Other - Kirati
Population: 4,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG001232
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Limbu 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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Other - Kirati
Religious Affiliation: Other

%
Other - Kirati Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Limbu
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

%
Limbu Speakers

Media Resources in Limbu:

Films:

Bible Resources in Limbu:

Or check out the Limbu bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Next steps for the Limbu

The Limbu 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 Limbu

The Limbu 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 Limbu

The Limbu 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 Limbu of Bhutan

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
readPsalm 73:26

Pray that those who are lost and struggling to find hope will find their strength and hope in God, recognizing Him as their portion and deliverer forever.

And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "In you shall all the nations be blessed"
readGalatians 3:8

Ask the Lord to fulfill His promise to Abraham that all nations would be blessed by advancing the gospel to every people group who has yet to receive it.

He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken.
readIsaiah 25:8

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will rejoice in the hope of the Lord's coming, when He will swallow up death forever and wipe away their tears.

And the King will answer them, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me."
readMatthew 25:40

Ask God to raise up and send believers who will serve "the least of these" with compassion and energy because they know that in serving those in need, they are serving Christ.

Limbu (ROP3 - 105776) reported in the following countries:

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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