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People group profile · PG042401

The Afghans of the United Kingdom

The Afghans of the United Kingdom, numbering about 51,000 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.

Pray for the AfghansPrint profile

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

Fast facts

Country
United Kingdom
Population
51,000
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
Northern 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

100% 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

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

Pray for the Afghans

  1. John 17:3. Pray that many will come to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent.
  2. Psalm 27:1. Pray that new believers will be strengthened in the face of persecution, with the Lord as their stronghold.
  3. Romans 12:4–5. Pray that believers from many cultures will work together as one body so that the church is built up.
  4. Revelation 7:9. Pray for the day when people from this group stand before the throne with every nation, tribe, people and language.

Download a prayer guide

Afghan, general in other countries

The same people (ROP3 115238) is reported in 11 other countries.

People groupCountryPopulationStatus
AfghansIran2,570,000Engaged yet Unreached
AfghansTurkiye259,000Engaged yet Unreached
AfghansGermany253,000Engaged yet Unreached
AfghansUnited States167,000Engaged yet Unreached
AfghansCanada90,000Engaged yet Unreached
AfghansFrance40,000Engaged yet Unreached
AfghansGreece36,000Engaged yet Unreached
AfghansNetherlands34,500Engaged yet Unreached
AfghansBelgium25,500Engaged yet Unreached
AfghansTajikistan6,000Engaged yet Unreached
AfghansItaly2,200Engaged yet Unreached

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