People group profile · PG046926
The Kok Nur Oirat of China
The Kok Nur Oirat of China, numbering about 105,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Khoshut Mongol people descended from Western Mongol conquerors who seized central Tibet in the seventeenth century and installed the Fifth Dalai Lama as ruler, later losing their autonomy after an unsuccessful 1724 revolt against the Qing dynasty.
They are an indigenous people in the Mongolian people cluster of the East Asian Peoples. Their primary religion is Mahayana Buddhism, and they primarily speak Kalmyk.

Fast facts
- Country
- China
- Population
- 105,000
- Affinity group
- Asian Pacific Rim Peoples
- People cluster
- Mongolian
- Primary language
- Kalmyk (xal)
- Primary religion
- Mahayana Buddhism
- Strategic Progress Index
- Engaged yet Unreached
- Evangelical
- Less than 2%
- GSEC
- Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
- Lostness priority
- Frontier Unreached People Group
- Region
- Eastern Asia, Asia
Where they live
Gospel status
The Kok Nur Oirat are Engaged yet Unreached, which means fewer than 2% are evangelical Christians, but there are sustained efforts to establish self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. In GSEC terms, 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.
- Congregations exist No
- Church planting in the last two years No Churches Planted
Next steps for the Kok Nur Oirat
- 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
Primary religion
Mahayana Buddhism · Buddhism
99% adherents
Primary language
Kalmyk · Mongolic-Khitan family
100% speak Kalmyk
Gospel resources in Kalmyk
- Bible available
- JESUS Film available
- Radio programs not available
- Gospel recordings available
- Audio resources available
- Bible stories not available
Films
- JESUS (Kalmyk-Oirat)
Bibles
- 2002 Institute for Bible Translation, Moscow · video, audio, text
Find more at the JESUS Film Project, Bible.com and Faith Comes by Hearing.
Pray for the Kok Nur Oirat
- 2 Timothy 2:2. Pray for faithful local leaders who will teach others, so that the church multiplies.
- Ephesians 5:8. Pray that those walking in darkness will turn to the light and live as children of light.
- Romans 10:14–15. Ask God to send messengers, so that people can hear, believe and call on the name of the Lord.
- Matthew 9:37–38. Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest field.
Oirat, Western Mongul in other countries
The same people (ROP3 107607) is reported in 5 other countries.
| People group | Country | Population | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kalmyk-Oirats | Mongolia | 191,000 | Unengaged and Unreached |
| Kalmyk-Oirats | Russian Federation | 183,000 | Engaged yet Unreached |
| Kalmyk-Oirats | Kyrgyzstan | 8,200 | Unengaged and Unreached |
| Oirat | United States | 1,900 | Engaged yet Unreached |
| Kalmyk-Oirats | Uzbekistan | 1,000 | Unengaged and Unreached |
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