Among the Khambu or Rai people of Eastern Nepal, Sikkim, Darjeeling and Kalimpong in India, Bantawa is the most extensively spoken language.

[3] According to the 2001 National Census, at least 1.63% of the Nepal's total population speaks Bantawa.

About 370,000 speak Bantawa language mostly in eastern hilly regions of Nepal (2001).

Bantawa is also reportedly in use as a lingua franca among Rai minorities in Himalayan Sikkim, Darjeeling Kalimpong In India and Bhutan.

[8][9] The extinct Waling language attested from the late 19th century may have been a variety of Bantawa, or a closely related language, if not the Hatuwali dialect the Waling people speak today.