People group profile · PG024018
The Tajiks of Afghanistan
The Tajiks of Afghanistan, numbering about 11,460,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Persian-speaking Iranian people indigenous to Afghanistan, historically associated with settled communities in the country's northern, northeastern, western, and urban regions and organized chiefly around family and locality rather than tribes.
They are an indigenous people in the Tajik people cluster of the Persian-Median Peoples. Their primary religion is Sunni Islam, and they primarily speak Dari.
Fast facts
- Country
- Afghanistan
- Population
- 11,460,000
- Affinity group
- Central Asian Peoples
- People cluster
- Tajik
- 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
- Southern Asia, Asia
- Location
- widespread
Where they live
Gospel status
The Tajiks 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 Tajiks
- 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
98% adherents
Primary language
Dari · Indo-European family
100% speak Dari
Gospel resources in Dari
- Bible available, published 2008
- JESUS Film available
- Radio programs 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 Tajiks
- 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.
- 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.
Tajik in other countries
The same people (ROP3 109733) is reported in 10 other countries.
| People group | Country | Population | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tajiks | Tajikistan | 7,405,000 | Engaged yet Unreached |
| Tajiks | Pakistan | 1,885,000 | Engaged yet Unreached |
| Tajiks | Uzbekistan | 1,730,000 | Engaged yet Unreached |
| Tajiks | Russian Federation | 1,240,000 | Engaged yet Unreached |
| Tajiks | Kyrgyzstan | 65,500 | Unengaged and Unreached |
| Tajiks | Kazakhstan | 34,500 | Unengaged and Unreached |
| Tajiks | Germany | 25,000 | Unengaged and Unreached |
| Tajiks | Turkmenistan | 5,900 | Unengaged and Unreached |
| Tajiks | Canada | 3,100 | Unengaged and Unreached |
| Tajiks | United States | 2,400 | Unengaged and Unreached |
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