People group profile · PG000388
The Afghans of the Netherlands
The Afghans of the Netherlands, numbering about 34,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a multiethnic community united primarily by shared national origin and collective ties to Afghanistan. The community includes people from numerous ethnolinguistic backgrounds, including Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Turkmen, and others.
They are a diaspora people in the Pashtun people cluster of the Persian-Median Peoples. Their primary religion is Sunni Islam, and they primarily speak Dari.
Fast facts
- Country
- Netherlands
- Population
- 34,500
- Affinity group
- Central Asian Peoples
- People cluster
- Pashtun
- Primary language
- Dari (prs)
- Primary religion
- Sunni Islam
- 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
- Western Europe, Europe
Where they live
Gospel status
The Afghans 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 Afghans
- 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
Sunni Islam · Islam
99% adherents
Primary language
Dari · Indo-European family
80% speak Dari
Gospel resources in Dari
- Bible available
- JESUS Film available
- Radio programs not available
- Gospel recordings available
- Audio resources available
- Bible stories not available
Films
Bibles
- Good News for a New Age · video, audio, text
Find more at the JESUS Film Project, Bible.com and Faith Comes by Hearing.
Pray for the Afghans
- Matthew 9:37–38. Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest field.
- 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.
Afghan, general in other countries
The same people (ROP3 115238) is reported in 11 other countries.
| People group | Country | Population | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Afghans | Iran | 2,570,000 | Engaged yet Unreached |
| Afghans | Turkiye | 259,000 | Engaged yet Unreached |
| Afghans | Germany | 253,000 | Engaged yet Unreached |
| Afghans | United States | 167,000 | Engaged yet Unreached |
| Afghans | Canada | 90,000 | Engaged yet Unreached |
| Afghans | United Kingdom | 51,000 | Engaged yet Unreached |
| Afghans | France | 40,000 | Engaged yet Unreached |
| Afghans | Greece | 36,000 | Engaged yet Unreached |
| Afghans | Belgium | 25,500 | Engaged yet Unreached |
| Afghans | Tajikistan | 6,000 | Engaged yet Unreached |
| Afghans | Italy | 2,200 | Engaged yet Unreached |
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