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People group profile · PG000614

The Bengali of the United Kingdom

The Bengali of the United Kingdom, numbering about 1,175,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic community originating from and culturally affiliated with the Bengal region of South Asia.

They are a diaspora people in the Bengali people cluster of the South Asian Peoples. Their primary religion is Sunni Islam, and they primarily speak Bengali.

Pray for the BengaliPrint profile

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

Fast facts

Country
United Kingdom
Population
1,175,000
Affinity group
South Asian Peoples
People cluster
Bengali
Primary language
Bengali (ben)
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
Pioneer Unreached People Group
Region
Northern Europe, Europe

Where they live

Gospel status

The Bengali 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 Yes
  • Church planting in the last two years No Churches Planted

Next steps for the Bengali

  • 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

93% adherents

Primary language

Bengali · Indo-European family

100% speak Bengali

Gospel resources in Bengali

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

Films

Bibles

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

Pray for the Bengali

  1. 2 Timothy 2:2. Pray for faithful local leaders who will teach others, so that the church multiplies.
  2. Ephesians 5:8. Pray that those walking in darkness will turn to the light and live as children of light.
  3. Romans 10:14–15. Ask God to send messengers, so that people can hear, believe and call on the name of the Lord.
  4. Matthew 9:37–38. Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest field.

Download a prayer guide

Bengali in other countries

The same people (ROP3 101254) is reported in 15 other countries.

People groupCountryPopulationStatus
BengaliIndia4,585,000Engaged yet Unreached
BengaliUnited Arab Emirates1,355,000Engaged yet Unreached
BengaliSaudi Arabia1,080,000Engaged yet Unreached
BengaliMalaysia500,000Engaged yet Unreached
BengaliPakistan393,000Engaged yet Unreached
BengaliUnited States377,000Engaged yet Unreached
BengaliMyanmar347,000Engaged yet Unreached
BengaliOman267,000Engaged yet Unreached
BengaliSingapore157,000Engaged yet Unreached
BengaliItaly134,000Engaged yet Unreached
BengaliCanada81,500Engaged yet Unreached
BengaliThailand35,500Unengaged and Unreached
BengaliSri Lanka25,500Engaged yet Unreached
BengaliGermany15,000Engaged yet Unreached
BengaliKenya1,700Engaged yet Unreached

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