The Kalmyk-Oirats of Mongolia

The Kalmyk-Oirats of Mongolia, numbering approximately 190,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are described as an indigenous community of Mongolia; a dialect subgroup of Kalmyk-Oirat (xal) They are an Indigenous people, with Kalmyk / Oirot as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Mongolian people cluster of the East Asian Peoples. Their primary religion is Chinese Folk Religion. They primarily speak Kalmyk-Oirat.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Kalmyk-Oirat

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: East Asian Peoples
Country: Mongolia
People Cluster: Mongolian
Primary Language(s): Kalmyk-Oirat (xal)
Primary Religion(s): Chinese Folk Religion
Population: 190,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG007495
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Chinese Folk Religion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

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Chinese Folk Religion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kalmyk-Oirat
Language Family: Mongolic-Khitan

100%
%
Kalmyk-Oirat Speakers

Media Resources in Kalmyk-Oirat:

Films:

Bible Resources in Kalmyk-Oirat:

Or check out the Kalmyk-Oirat bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 0), 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.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Expanding Unreached People Group, (LPI: 2), 0.5% to 2% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Kalmyk-Oirats:
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

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Kalmyk-Oirats 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 Kalmyk-Oirats:
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

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Kalmyk-Oirats 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 Kalmyk-Oirats:
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 Kalmyk-Oirats of Mongolia

You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide their grain, for so you have prepared it.
readPsalm 65:9

Give thanks for God's provision in nature, and pray that those who don't know Him will recognize His hand, desire to know their Creator, and hear the truth that Jesus is the solution to the world's greatest need.

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
readMatthew 6:10

Pray that God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven, and that people will seek His kingdom and righteousness above all else, trusting in His provision.

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
readRomans 6:4

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, God will lead those who might hesitate in getting baptized to trust Him as they obey His command, even when obedience is hard.

Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
readIsaiah 43:19

Praise the God who is able to make a way forward, even when it seems impossible. Ask Him to do a new thing among this people group specifically and among the nations, raising up believers to go and share the gospel with individuals and places where it has not flourished before.

Oirat, Western Mongul Across Countries (ROP3 - 107607) 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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