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

"I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world."
readJohn 16:33

Pray that those who don't have peace with God will find peace in Christ, even amid the troubles of this world.

The mountains rose, the valleys sank down to the place that you appointed for them.
readPsalm 104:8

Pray that they will see the hand of God in the beauty and order of the natural world, and that they will worship Him as the Creator and Sustainer of all things.

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.
readIsaiah 26:3

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, the Lord will keep them in perfect peace as they trust in Him.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
readJohn 3:16

Pray that God will send and sustain believers to cross cultures and share the gospel with the lost. Ask that He will give them His heart for the lost and that many will believe in Him and not perish but have eternal life.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

4 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress Index ▼LanguageReligion
Crimean TatarsCrimean TatarsTurkiye116,000Engaged yet UnreachedTurkishSunni Islam
Crimean TatarsCrimean TatarsUkraine231,000Engaged yet UnreachedCrimean TatarSunni Islam
Crimean TatarsCrimean TatarsUzbekistan207,000Unengaged and UnreachedCrimean TatarSunni Islam
Crimean TatarsCrimean TatarsKyrgyzstan7,900Unengaged and 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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