Prototype rebuild by the IMB Innovation Team. The official site is peoplegroups.org.

People group profile · PG041407

The Saora of India

The Saora of India, numbering about 1,205,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Scheduled Tribe of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar, their Sanskrit name meaning mountaineer, among the oldest documented tribes of the subcontinent. Shifting and settled cultivation remain primary.

They are an indigenous people in the Munda-Santal people cluster of the South Asian Peoples. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion, and they primarily speak Sora.

Pray for the SaoraPrint profile

AI-generated illustration representing the Saora people
AI-generated illustration, not a photograph. Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite: Saora

Fast facts

Country
India
Population
1,205,000
Affinity group
South Asian Peoples
People cluster
Munda-Santal
Primary language
Sora (srb)
Primary religion
Ethnoreligion
Strategic Progress Index ?
No Longer Unreached
Evangelical
5% or Greater but Less than 10%
GSEC ?
5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
Lostness priority ?
Moderately Reached People Group
Region
Southern Asia, Asia
Location
Andhra Pradesh: Vishakhapatnam district; Chhattisgarh: Bastar, Raigarh, and Raipur districts; Jharkhand: Ranchi and Singhbhum districts; West Bengal: Medinipur (Midnapore) district; Assam and Odisha states

Where they live

Gospel status

The Saora are No Longer Unreached, which means 2% or more are evangelical Christians. In GSEC terms, this people group is greater than or equal to 5% evangelical.

  • Congregations exist Yes
  • Church planting in the last two years No Churches Planted

Next steps for the Saora

  • Pray for the churches among this group to grow in faithfulness and maturity
  • Equip believers to reach the unreached peoples around them
  • Send out laborers from this people to the nations

Primary religion

Ethnoreligion

100% adherents

Primary language

Sora · Austroasiatic family

100% speak Sora

Gospel resources in Sora

  • Bible available, published 2004
  • JESUS Film available
  • Radio programs available
  • Gospel recordings available
  • Audio resources available
  • Bible stories not available

Find more at the JESUS Film Project, Bible.com and Faith Comes by Hearing.

Pray for the Saora

  1. Revelation 7:9. Pray for the day when people from this group stand before the throne with every nation, tribe, people and language.
  2. John 17:3. Pray that many will come to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent.
  3. Psalm 27:1. Pray that new believers will be strengthened in the face of persecution, with the Lord as their stronghold.
  4. Romans 12:4–5. Pray that believers from many cultures will work together as one body so that the church is built up.

Download a prayer guide

Know something we don't? Submit updates to IMB Global Research.