Sri Lanka

Country: Sri Lanka South Asia Peoples website

Number of People Groups

174

People Groups Unreached

79 (45.4%)

Progress Level

The Joshua Project Progress Scale is an estimate of the progress of church planting among a people group, people cluster, country or language. The Progress Scale is derived from people group values for percent Evangelical and percent Christian Adherent.

Level	Description	Criteria
1	Unreached - Few evangelicals and few who identify as Christians. Little, if any, history of Christianity.	Evangelicals <= 2% Professing Christians <= 5%
2	Minimally reached - Few evangelicals, but significant number who identify as Christians.	Evangelicals <= 2% Professing Christians > 5% and <= 50%
3	Superficially reached - Few evangelicals, but many who identify as Christians. In great need of spiritual renewal and commitment to biblical faith.	Evangelicals <= 2% Professing Christians > 50%
4	Partially reached - Evangelicals have a modest presence.	Evangelicals > 2% and <= 10%
5	Significantly reached - Evangelicals have a significant presence.	Evangelicals > 10%

Total
Population

21,197,000

Population in Unreached

3,413,000 (16.1%)

Largest Religion

Buddhism (68.9%)

% Christian Adherent **

7.6%

% Evangelical

Unknown

Evangelical Annual Growth Rate

2.3%

(Global Rate = 2.6%)

Map Notes

Click column headings for sorting ▲▼

Progress Scale: ●●●●●
☀
= Frontier peoples
People Group ▲	Population this Country	Global Population	Indigenous	Primary Language	Primary Religion	Progress Scale	% Christian Adherent **	% Evangelical	Est. Workers Needed *
Adi Andhra	800	319,000	●	Telugu	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Agamudaiyan	17,000	909,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	13.59 %	-1	-1 -
Agamudaiyan Nattaman	8,500	678,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	14.65 %	-1	-1 -
Ahinkuntaya	60,000	60,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	6.52 %	-1	-1 -
Ambalavasi	16,000	169,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	14.98 %	-1	-1 -
Ambattan	15,000	15,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	14.49 %	-1	-1 -
Ansari	1,000	16,698,000	●	Urdu	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Arab	5,100	409,000		Arabic, Mesopotamian Spoken	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Arain (Muslim traditions)	600	11,504,000	●	Punjabi, Western	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Arayan	900	202,000	●	Malayalam	Hinduism	2 ●	11.33 %	-1	-1 -
Badahala	112,000	112,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	7.52 %	-1	-1 -
Baloch	900	8,262,000	●	Urdu	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Bania	16,000	29,630,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Bania Agarwal	20,000	4,888,000	●	Gujarati	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Bania Chetti	6,300	757,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Bania Mahajan	1,300	187,000	●	Hindi	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Bania Mahesri	1,900	367,000	●	Marwari	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Bania Porwal	1,800	330,000	●	Marwari	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Banjara (Hindu traditions)	800	6,170,000	●	Hindi	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Batgama	373,000	373,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	1 ●	1.48 %	-1	7
Berava	365,000	365,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	6.56 %	-1	-1 -
Bharathar (Christian traditions)	2,200	41,000	●	Tamil	Christianity	3 ●	100.00 %	-1	-1 -
Bharathar (Hindu traditions)	600	14,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Bintanna	6,700	6,700	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	5.05 %	-1	-1 -
Bodhivansha	15,000	15,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	6.02 %	-1	-1 -
Bohra	1,900	1,129,000	●	Gujarati	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Boya	16,000	4,080,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	14.00 %	-1	-1 -
Brahmin	101,000	63,721,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	1 ●	0.23 %	-1	2
Brahmin Indian Tamil	31,000	31,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	1 ●	0.45 %	-1	1
Burgher	50,000	50,000	●	Sinhala	Christianity	3 ●	86.78 %	-1	-1 -
Burmese	600	31,910,000		Burmese	Buddhism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Chakkiliyan (Christian traditions)	4,700	124,000	●	Tamil	Christianity	3 ●	100.00 %	-1	-1 -
Chakkiliyan (Hindu traditions)	27,000	898,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	1 ●	0.11 %	-1	1
Chinese, general	700	15,618,000		Language unknown	Ethnic Religions	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Christian	26,000	1,295,000	●	Language unknown	Christianity	3 ●	100.00 %	-1	-1 -
Couratto	6,800	6,800	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	1 ●	1.72 %	-1	1
Deaf	107,000	46,968,000	●	Sri Lankan Sign Language	Buddhism	2 ●	8.38 %	-1	-1 -
Demala Gattara	8,000	8,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	7.52 %	-1	-1 -
Dhobi (Hindu traditions)	10,000	12,476,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	1 ●	1.22 %	-1	1
Divehi	1,900	3,100	●	Maldivian	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Dodda-Weddah	37,000	37,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	6.50 %	-1	-1 -
Durava	715,000	715,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	8.12 %	-1	-1 -
Gahala	11,000	11,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	1 ●	0.78 %	-1	1
Gattara	750,000	750,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	6.74 %	-1	-1 -
Gauraykwallu	19,000	19,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	1 ●	3.88 %	-1	1
Goanese	2,200	661,000	●	Konkani	Christianity	3 ●	100.00 %	-1	-1 -
Govigama	550,000	550,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	6.90 %	-1	-1 -
Govigama Patti	27,000	27,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	5.28 %	-1	-1 -
Govigama Radala	27,000	27,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	5.27 %	-1	-1 -
Hajam	4,800	4,601,000	●	Tamil	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Hakki Pikki	1,200	27,000	●	Telugu	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Handi	1,700	1,700	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Hannali	329,000	329,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	6.85 %	-1	-1 -
Hanomoreyo	5,300	5,300	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Heeri	17,000	17,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	1 ●	1.59 %	-1	1
Henawalayo	19,000	19,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	1 ●	3.71 %	-1	1
Hinna	239,000	239,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	6.70 %	-1	-1 -
Hunna	89,000	89,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	6.49 %	-1	-1 -
Idayan	9,100	81,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	12.72 %	-1	-1 -
Ilavan	73,000	5,931,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.09 %	-1	1
Ilavan Christian	10,000	129,000	●	Tamil	Christianity	3 ●	100.00 %	-1	-1 -
Indian Tamil	9,600	9,600	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	36.16 %	-1	-1 -
Japanese	2,300	124,370,000		Japanese	Buddhism	1 ●	2.87 %	-1	1
Jat (Hindu traditions)	1,600	19,563,000	●	Punjabi, Eastern	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Jat (Muslim traditions)	1,700	33,821,000	●	Punjabi, Western	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Javanese	8,400	18,018,000		Javanese	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Kadaiyan	1,000	15,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	7.45 %	-1	-1 -
Kaikolan	78,000	2,547,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	12.52 %	-1	-1 -
Kallan	17,000	1,310,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	9.12 %	-1	-1 -
Kapu	1,300	15,177,000	●	Telugu	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Karaiyar	192,000	192,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	15.81 %	-1	-1 -
Karava	1,063,000	1,063,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	7.40 %	-1	-1 -
Kasar (Hindu traditions)	3,300	669,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	7.95 %	-1	-1 -
Kiddea	15,000	15,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	6.10 %	-1	-1 -
Kinnara	28,000	28,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	1 ●	0.46 %	-1	1
Konta Durayi	1,900	1,900	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Koviar	208,000	208,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	17.02 %	-1	-1 -
Koviyar	1,100	1,100	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	15.77 %	-1	-1 -
Kumhar (Hindu traditions)	6,200	16,022,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	9.55 %	-1	-1 -
Kuravan (Christian traditions)	500	16,000	●	Tamil	Christianity	3 ●	100.00 %	-1	-1 -
Kuravan (Hindu traditions)	4,000	436,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Kustarogiyo	15,000	15,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	5.31 %	-1	-1 -
Lohar (Hindu traditions)	900	9,779,000	●	Hindi	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Madappalli	800	800	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	12.42 %	-1	-1 -
Madari (Muslim traditions)	500	113,000	●	Urdu	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Mahishya	600	10,676,000	●	Bengali	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Malay, Javar	51,000	16,968,000		Sri Lankan Creole Malay	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Malayali	700	1,411,000	●	Malayalam	Hinduism	2 ●	11.02 %	-1	-1 -
Malayan, caste	1,500	36,000	●	Malayalam	Hinduism	2 ●	12.08 %	-1	-1 -
Mangala	700	1,920,000	●	Telugu	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Mappila	11,000	9,257,000	●	Malayalam	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Marakkalage	8,700	8,700	●	Tamil	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Maravan	98,000	3,338,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	13.51 %	-1	-1 -
Maravar	85,000	85,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	16.49 %	-1	-1 -
Mauritian	3,800	1,077,000		Morisyen	Hinduism	2 ●	45.11 %	-1	-1 -
Memon	2,000	776,000	●	Gujarati	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Moghal	1,100	3,139,000	●	Urdu	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Mukkuvan (Hindu traditions)	1,100	157,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	1 ●	2.78 %	-1	1
Mukkuvar	41,000	41,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	18.51 %	-1	-1 -
Nadar (Christian traditions)	8,900	1,298,000	●	Tamil	Christianity	3 ●	100.00 %	-1	-1 -
Nadar (Hindu traditions)	25,000	3,055,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Nair	4,000	6,770,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	1 ●	0.51 %	-1	1
Nalavar	44,000	44,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	15.42 %	-1	-1 -
Namassej (Hindu traditions)	500	8,132,000	●	Bengali	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Navait	17,000	74,000	●	Tamil	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Navandanna	1,144,000	1,144,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	7.28 %	-1	-1 -
Navithan	21,000	822,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	13.76 %	-1	-1 -
Oli	30,000	30,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	5.20 %	-1	-1 -
Osta (Nasuva)	8,100	8,100	●	Tamil	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Palla	32,000	32,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	15.91 %	-1	-1 -
Pallan (Christian traditions)	6,700	474,000	●	Tamil	Christianity	3 ●	100.00 %	-1	-1 -
Pallan (Hindu traditions)	46,000	2,546,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Pallar	68,000	68,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	16.04 %	-1	-1 -
Palliwilli	2,200	2,200	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	15.08 %	-1	-1 -
Pamunu	30,000	30,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	5.38 %	-1	-1 -
Panar	5,000	241,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	11.96 %	-1	-1 -
Panna	32,000	32,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	16.38 %	-1	-1 -
Pannikki	240,000	240,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	6.62 %	-1	-1 -
Paraiyan (Christian traditions)	16,000	816,000	●	Tamil	Christianity	3 ●	100.00 %	-1	-1 -
Paraiyan (Hindu traditions)	101,000	2,330,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	2
Paraiyar	69,000	69,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	15.03 %	-1	-1 -
Paravan (Hindu traditions)	1,800	91,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Parsee	700	163,000		Gujarati	Other / Small	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Pashtun, Pathan	41,000	11,817,000	●	Tamil	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Pidayne Danno	8,700	8,700	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	1 ●	3.51 %	-1	1
Porowakara	58,000	58,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	5.08 %	-1	-1 -
Primanar	71,000	71,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	1 ●	3.07 %	-1	1
Pulayan	4,500	1,075,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	11.79 %	-1	-1 -
Radava	359,000	359,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	7.36 %	-1	-1 -
Radayo	1,700	1,700	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Rajaka	148,000	148,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	7.03 %	-1	-1 -
Rajput (Hindu traditions)	2,200	46,269,000	●	Hindi	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Rajput (Muslim traditions)	1,500	20,908,000	●	Punjabi, Western	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Rodiya	18,000	18,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Salagama	308,000	308,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	12.16 %	-1	-1 -
Sali, Seriyar	3,300	1,034,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	10.94 %	-1	-1 -
Samban	1,400	22,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	8.03 %	-1	-1 -
Sayyid	49,000	17,371,000	●	Tamil	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Semman, Sempadawar	1,100	6,200	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	6.25 %	-1	-1 -
Shaikh	199,000	235,487,000	●	Tamil	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	4
Silpi	3,300	210,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	10.80 %	-1	-1 -
Sindhi (Muslim traditions)	1,000	302,000	●	Sindhi	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Sinhalese	182,000	182,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	6.81 %	-1	-1 -
Siviyar	500	500	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	16.00 %	-1	-1 -
Sonar (Hindu traditions)	6,200	7,911,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	1 ●	1.00 %	-1	1
Sri Lanka Chetti	6,800	6,800	●	Tamil	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Sri Lanka Moor	673,000	673,000	●	Tamil	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	13
Sri Lankan Tamil	9,300	9,300	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	37.72 %	-1	-1 -
Syrian Christian	700	3,748,000	●	Malayalam	Christianity	3 ●	100.00 %	-1	-1 -
Tamil (Muslim traditions)	1,125,000	4,348,000	●	Tamil	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	23
Tattar	5,800	5,800	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	12.06 %	-1	-1 -
Teli (Hindu traditions)	4,700	19,436,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	6.93 %	-1	-1 -
Thacher	3,100	3,100	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	9.83 %	-1	-1 -
Thanakavar	2,400	2,400	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	9.53 %	-1	-1 -
Thimilar	21,000	21,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	15.42 %	-1	-1 -
Thurumber	1,000	1,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	13.98 %	-1	-1 -
Tondagattan	1,500	1,500	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Valluvan	3,000	121,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	9.86 %	-1	-1 -
Vaniyan	17,000	969,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	12.77 %	-1	-1 -
Vannan (Christian traditions)	3,600	144,000	●	Tamil	Christianity	3 ●	100.00 %	-1	-1 -
Vannan (Hindu traditions)	25,000	906,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Vannar	17,000	17,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	14.49 %	-1	-1 -
Vanniyan	36,000	12,909,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	12.06 %	-1	-1 -
Vanniyar	99,000	99,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	15.46 %	-1	-1 -
Vedda	300	300	●	Veddah	Christianity	2 ●	50.00 %	-1	-1 -
Velakkithalanayan	700	358,000	●	Malayalam	Hinduism	2 ●	12.08 %	-1	-1 -
Vellalan	30,000	2,616,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	12.47 %	-1	-1 -
Vellalar	1,157,000	1,157,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	14.80 %	-1	-1 -
Vellidura	1,200	1,200	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Vettar	3,000	3,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	8.86 %	-1	-1 -
Viswakarma	7,100	7,780,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	1 ●	2.80 %	-1	1
Wahumpura	8,095,000	8,095,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	7.01 %	-1	-1 -
Yadav (Hindu traditions)	7,200	60,814,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	1 ●	0.85 %	-1	1
Yamannu	76,000	76,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	1 ●	3.68 %	-1	2
Totals: 174	21,197,000					79 ●	7.57 %	0.00 %	125
Unclassified / Other Individuals	127,000
UN Country Population (2019)	21,324,000

Other minor groups: 51

Very small groups reported, but outside the Joshua Project Small Group Policy. Some may not be viable and/or have incorrect Progress Scale values, population, language and religion information. The groups listed below are not included in overall Joshua Project people group counts. If you have information about these groups, please contact us.

Click column headings for sorting ▲▼
People Group ▲	Progress Scale	Population	Primary Language	Primary Religion
Ahmadi	1 ●	100	Urdu	Islam
Ahmadi	1 ●	-1 Unknown	Language Unknown	Islam
Arora (Hindu traditions)	1 ●	500	Punjabi, Eastern	Hinduism
Bagdi (Hindu traditions)	1 ●	500	Bengali	Hinduism
Bairagi (Hindu traditions)	1 ●	400	Bengali	Hinduism
Bauri	1 ●	300	Bengali	Hinduism
Darzi (Hindu traditions)	1 ●	200	Hindi	Hinduism
Dhobi, Hindu	0 ●	-1 Unknown	Language Unknown	Hinduism
Goan Catholic	2 ●	400	Konkani, Goan	Christianity
Gujar (Hindu traditions)	1 ●	300	Punjabi, Eastern	Hinduism
Gujar (Muslim traditions)	1 ●	200	Punjabi, Eastern	Islam
Japanese	1 ●	200	Japanese	Other / Small
Jat (Sikh traditions)	1 ●	400	Punjabi, Eastern	Other / Small
Jat, Hindu	1 ●	400	Panjabi, Eastern	Hinduism
Javanese	1 ●	100	Language Unknown	Islam
Jew	1 ●	-1 Unknown	Malayalam	Ethnic Religions
Jogi (Hindu traditions)	1 ●	500	Bengali	Hinduism
Kayastha (Hindu traditions)	1 ●	300	Bengali	Hinduism
Khatri (Hindu traditions)	1 ●	300	Punjabi, Eastern	Hinduism
Khoja	1 ●	-1 Unknown	Gujarati	Islam
Koli (Hindu traditions)	1 ●	100	Gujarati	Hinduism
Kumhar (Hindu traditions)	2 ●	500	Tamil	Hinduism
Kunbi (Hindu traditions)	1 ●	400	Hindi	Hinduism
Kunbi, Hindu	1 ●	200	Marathi	Hinduism
Kurmi (Hindu traditions)	1 ●	400	Bengali	Hinduism
Madagascar migrant	0 ●	-1 Unknown	Malagasy, Plateau	Unknown
Madari	1 ●	400	Sindhi	Islam
Madiga (Hindu traditions)	1 ●	300	Telugu	Hinduism
Mahratta	1 ●	400	Marathi	Hinduism
Mahratta	1 ●	300	Marathi	Hinduism
Mala (Hindu traditions)	1 ●	300	Telugu	Hinduism
Malabar Catholic	3 ●	300	Malayalam	Christianity
Mappila	1 ●	500	Malayalam	Islam
Moghal	1 ●	-1 Unknown	Urdu	Islam
Persian	1 ●	100	Persian, Iranian	Islam
Persian	1 ●	-1 Unknown	Farsi, Eastern (Dari)	Islam
Pinjara	1 ●	200	Urdu	Islam
Pod	1 ●	200	Bengali	Hinduism
Rajbansi (Hindu traditions)	1 ●	200	Bengali	Hinduism
Rajput	1 ●	200	Telugu	Hinduism
Rajput (Sikh traditions)	1 ●	200	Hindi	Other / Small
Sayyid	1 ●	-1 Unknown	Urdu	Islam
Shaikh	1 ●	100	Tamil	Islam
Sindh Muslim	1 ●	400	Sindhi	Islam
Somali	1 ●	-1 Unknown	Somali	Islam
Somalia	1 ●	100	Somali	Islam
Syrian Christian	2 ●	100	Malayalam	Christianity
Tai Shan, Buddhist	1 ●	-1 Unknown	Language Unknown	Buddhism
Tanti (Hindu traditions)	1 ●	300	Bengali	Hinduism
Tili	1 ●	200	Bengali	Hinduism
Vaddar (Hindu traditions)	1 ●	200	Telugu	Hinduism
Totals: 51

For more information see the Joshua Project Small Group Policy

* An estimate of the number of pioneer workers needed for initial church planting among unreached people groups by country. Estimates are calculated only for unreached people groups and are based on ratio of 1 worker for every 50,000 individuals living in an unreached people group by country. Some workers may already be onsite. Many more workers are needed beyond this initial estimate.

** Religion values from Sri Lanka census data. Current values may differ.

Download Data Data Sources Definitions

Prayer Cards

Click column headings for sorting ▲▼
State ▲	Population	People Groups	Unreached Groups	% Unreached Peoples	Population in Unreached	% Population Unreached	Districts
Central	2,628,000	154	69	44.8 %	659,000	25.1 %	3
Eastern	1,595,000	131	52	39.7 %	632,000	39.6 %	3
North Central	1,292,000	89	35	39.3 %	168,000	13.0 %	2
North Western	2,431,000	116	49	42.2 %	398,000	16.4 %	2
Northern	1,112,000	99	39	39.4 %	103,000	9.3 %	5
Sabaragamuwa	1,977,000	134	58	43.3 %	280,000	14.2 %	2
Southern	2,535,000	120	44	36.7 %	101,000	4.0 %	3
Uva	1,299,000	137	57	41.6 %	211,000	16.2 %	2
Western	6,196,000	153	65	42.5 %	834,000	13.5 %	3
Country:	21,197,000	174	79	45.4 %	3,413,000	16.1 %	25

Click column headings for sorting ▲▼
Class ▲	Population	% Popl	% Hindu	% Muslim	% Christian	% Buddhist	% Sikh	% Other
Forward Caste (FC)	289,167,000	1,364.2 %	97.4 %	0.0 %	1.1 %	0.0 %	0.0 %	1.5 %
Other Backward Classes (OBC)	753,926,000	3,556.8 %	70.9 %	24.0 %	1.7 %	0.2 %	2.5 %	0.8 %
Scheduled Caste (SC)	200,921,000	947.9 %	94.4 %	0.0 %	0.5 %	2.8 %	2.3 %	0.0 %
Scheduled Tribe (ST)	116,285,000	548.6 %	81.8 %	1.5 %	9.2 %	0.8 %	0.0 %	6.7 %
	21,197,000

Why Use Caste to Define Peoples?

South Asia Communities / Castes: An Overview

A History of South Asia People Group Lists

Why Include Religion When Defining South Asia Peoples?

Click column headings for sorting ▲▼
Language ▲	Code	# Peoples Primary Language	# Unreached Primary Language	Scripture Status	NT Text Online	NT Audio Online	Jesus Film Online	Audio Recordings Online	Gospel Tract Online
Arabic, Mesopotamian Spoken	acm	1	1	4 New Testament	-1	1	1	1	-1
Bengali	ben	2	2	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	1
Burmese	mya	1	1	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	1
Gujarati	guj	4	4	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	1
Hindi	hin	4	4	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	1
Japanese	jpn	1	1	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	1
Javanese	jav	1	1	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	1
Konkani	knn	1	0	5 Complete Bible	-1	-1	1	1	1
Malayalam	mal	6	1	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	1
Maldivian	div	1	1	3 Bible Portions	-1	-1	1	1	-1
Marwari	rwr	2	2	4 New Testament	-1	-1	1	1	-1
Morisyen	mfe	1	0	4 New Testament	1	1	1	1	-1
Punjabi, Eastern	pan	1	1	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	-1
Punjabi, Western	pnb	3	3	4 New Testament	-1	-1	1	1	1
Sindhi	snd	1	1	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	-1
Sinhala	sin	45	16	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	1
Sri Lankan Creole Malay	sci	1	1	1 Translation Needed	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1
Sri Lankan Sign Language	sqs	1	0	0 Unspecified	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1
Tamil	tam	86	30	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	-1
Telugu	tel	4	4	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	1
Unknown	xxx	2	1	Unspecified	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1
Urdu	urd	4	4	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	1
Veddah	ved	1	0	0 Unspecified	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1
Totals:	23	174	79		14	15	19	19	12

Click column headings for sorting ▲▼
State ▲	Population	Hindu	Muslim	Christian	Buddhist	Other	% Christian Adherent
Central	2,628,000	579,000	269,000	97,100	1,683,000	230	3.69 %
Eastern	1,595,000	563,000	583,000	84,700	362,000	340	5.31 %
North Central	1,292,000	10,600	103,000	15,200	1,163,000	70	1.17 %
North Western	2,431,000	46,600	273,000	314,000	1,798,000	170	12.91 %
Northern	1,112,000	834,000	33,800	215,000	30,500	40	19.30 %
Sabaragamuwa	1,977,000	164,000	90,000	34,200	1,688,000	50	1.73 %
Southern	2,535,000	36,100	81,300	18,600	2,399,000	90	0.74 %
Uva	1,299,000	180,000	57,500	21,700	1,040,000	120	1.67 %
Western	6,196,000	302,000	723,000	797,000	4,371,000	4,260	12.87 %
Country:	21,197,000	2,715,000	2,214,000	1,598,000	14,535,000	5,400	7.54 %

Networking Possibilities

Search the Web
There are many agencies and churches looking for additional staff to help them in their mission and calling in Sri Lanka. Internet searches are probably the best way to find these organizations. The following are some example search topics you might try:

Church planting agencies in Sri Lanka
Christian ministry in Sri Lanka
Business as mission
Christian literature distribution
Evangelism agencies
Christian discipleship
Short term Christian missions

Long term Christian missions
Urban ministries
Christian media opportunities
Bible translation opportunities
Relief and development agencies
Clean water projects
Christian medical outreaches

Sri Lanka Statistics
People Groups	174
Unreached People Groups	79 (45.4%)
Population	21,197,000
Population Annual Growth Rate	0.5%
Population in Unreached	3,413,000 (16.1%)
Pioneer Workers Needed *	125
Primary Religion	Buddhism
Percent Christian Adherent	7.6%
Percent Evangelical	Unknown
Evangelical Annual Growth Rate	2.3%
Country Progress Level	2 ●
Urbanization	19%
Continent	Asia
Region	Asia, South
10/40 Window	Yes
Country Code	CE
Official Language(s)	Sinhala \| English
Literacy Rate	95%
Estimated Illiterate Population	1,060,000
Persecution Ranking	46 (1=High to 50=Low OD)

Sri Lanka Prayer Cards
	Sri Lanka prayer cards. All Unreached

Sri Lanka Links
Operation World
Window International Country Profile
World Factbook
Ethnologue Language Listing
National Bible Society
God Reports (stories from the field)
Religious Freedom Report

Sri Lanka Maps
Political Map (UN)
Language Map (Ethnologue)
Perry-Castaneda Map Collection

Sri Lanka Videos
Sri Lanka Prayercast Video

* An estimate of the number of pioneer workers needed for initial church planting among unreached people groups. Estimates are calculated only for unreached people groups and are based on ratio of 1 worker for every 50,000 individuals living in an unreached people group. Some workers may already be onsite. The country estimate is a summation of the unreached people group estimates. Many more workers are needed beyond this initial estimate.

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