The Newar of India

The Newar of India, numbering approximately 233,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as a Kathmandu Valley people descended from ancient Kirati and Licchavi civilizations, whose renowned architects and artisans built the valley's historic temples before communities also settled India's Darjeeling, Kalimpong, and Sikkim नेवार, नेवा They are an Indigenous people, with Newar / Newah as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Other Tibeto-Burmese people cluster of the Tibetan Peoples. Their primary religion is Hinduism. They primarily speak Nepali (individual language).

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Tibetan Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Other Tibeto-Burmese
Primary Language(s): Nepali (individual language) (npi)
Primary Religion(s): Hinduism
Population: 233,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, Dispersed CP Activity
People Group ID: PG041726
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Newar 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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Hinduism
Religious Affiliation: Hinduism

85%
%
Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Nepali (individual language)
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Nepali Speakers

Media Resources in Nepali (individual language):

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
The SaviorView Film

4 films

Bible Resources in Nepali (individual language):

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
New Revised Version✓✓
New Revised Version - LUMO Christmas Film✓

2 entries

Or check out the Nepali (individual language) bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Newar 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 Newar:
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 Newar of India

Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.
readRomans 11:22

Pray that God will transform those who persist in unbelief and, in His everlasting kindness, graft them into His family.

Sing to the LORD, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day.
readPsalm 96:2

Pray that gospel resources will reach this generation so that they will receive the good news and sing to the LORD, bless His name, and tell of His salvation each day.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
readJames 1:5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will ask God for wisdom when they lack it, trusting that He will generously give it to them.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
readMatthew 28:19-20

Ask God to bring people among this group to faith in Jesus who will be obedient to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to obey all that Christ has commanded.

Newar Across Countries (ROP3 - 107217) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

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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