The Crimean Tatars of Ukraine

The Crimean Tatars of Ukraine, numbering approximately 231,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Turkic Indigenous people of the Crimean Peninsula, with a distinct language, culture, and history rooted in the northern Black Sea region. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Crimean Tatar is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Crimean Tatar

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Turkic Peoples
Country: Ukraine
People Cluster: Ural-Siberian
Primary Language(s): Crimean Tatar (crh)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 231,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG000988
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Crimean Tatars of Ukraine

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

80%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Crimean Tatar
Language Family: Turkic

90%
%
Crimean Tatar Speakers

Media Resources in Crimean Tatar:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Crimean Tatar:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Institute for Bible Translation, Moscow✓✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Crimean Tatar bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Crimean Tatars are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Next steps for the Crimean Tatars:
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

Pray specifically for the Crimean Tatars of Ukraine

For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption.
readPsalm 130:7b

Pray for those who are unaware of God's steadfast love that is offered to them through Jesus Christ to learn the truth and experience His plentiful redemption.

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth.
readPsalm 67:4

Pray that God will use ways from in-person witnesses to digital gospel resources to bring the joy of His salvation to everyone so that they can be glad in Him and sing for joy.

And many nations shall join themselves to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people. And I will dwell in your midst, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.
readZechariah 2:11

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have a heart that longs to see all people from all parts of the world worshiping Jesus as He deserves.

The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way.
readPsalm 37:23

Pray that believers from near and far will serve here and trust in the Lord's timing as He establishes their steps.

Tatar, Crimean Across Countries (ROP3 - 102312) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

4 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▲Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Crimean TatarsCrimean TatarsKyrgyzstan7,900Unengaged and UnreachedCrimean TatarSunni Islam
Crimean TatarsCrimean TatarsTurkiye116,000Engaged yet UnreachedTurkishSunni Islam
Crimean TatarsCrimean TatarsUzbekistan207,000Unengaged and UnreachedCrimean TatarSunni Islam
Crimean TatarsCrimean TatarsUkraine231,000Engaged yet UnreachedCrimean TatarSunni Islam

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Data Standards section.

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