Download the People Group List (16 languages .csv)

Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
Hindi - हिन्दी | Indonesian - Bahasa Indonesia
Korean - 한국어 | Nepali - नेपाली
Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Bengali of United Arab Emirates

The Bengali of United Arab Emirates, numbering approximately 1,355,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a South Asian diaspora people of Bengali heritage, descended from migrants from Bangladesh and the Bengal region who maintain a shared identity rooted in Bengali language, culture, and historical traditions. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Bengali is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Bengali

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: United Arab Emirates
People Cluster: Bengali
Primary Language(s): Bengali (ben)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 1,355,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG012225
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Pray for the Bengali of United Arab Emirates

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.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

78%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Bengali
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Bengali Speakers

Media Resources in Bengali:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
MagdalenaView Film
The SaviorView Film

5 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Bengali:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Common Language Version✓✓✓
Mussolmani✓✓
Re-edit Bangla Version✓✓

3 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Bengali bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Bengali 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 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

Pray specifically for the Bengali of United Arab Emirates

But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven"
readMatthew 9:14

Pray that those who are spiritually dead will recognize their need for spiritual nourishment and turn to the One who offers true fulfillment.

Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth!
readPsalm 96:9

Pray that many who do not yet know Jesus will come to know Him and worship Him in the splendor of His holiness.

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
read2 Corinthians 9:8

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will trust God in all things, especially in times of persecution.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
readJohn 1:5

Pray that when discouraging days come, those who cross cultures for the sake of the gospel will be comforted as they remember that the light of Christ is stronger than the darkness that surrounds them.

Bengali Across Countries (ROP3 - 101254) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

16 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress Index ▲LanguageReligion
BengaliPG010826BengaliThailand35,500Unengaged and UnreachedBengaliSunni Islam
BengaliPG000614BengaliUnited Kingdom1,175,000Engaged yet UnreachedBengaliSunni Islam
BengaliPG006332BengaliPakistan393,000Engaged yet UnreachedBengaliSunni Islam
BengaliPG006430BengaliSri Lanka25,500Engaged yet UnreachedBengaliSunni Islam
BengaliPG009409BengaliMyanmar347,000Engaged yet UnreachedBengaliSunni Islam
BengaliPG010689BengaliSingapore157,000Engaged yet UnreachedBengaliSunni Islam
BengaliPG011915BengaliSaudi Arabia1,080,000Engaged yet UnreachedBengaliSunni Islam
BengaliPG012225BengaliUnited Arab Emirates1,355,000Engaged yet UnreachedBengaliSunni Islam
BengaliPG014766BengaliKenya1,700Engaged yet UnreachedBengaliSunni Islam
BengaliPG033519BengaliItaly134,000Engaged yet UnreachedBengaliSunni Islam
BengaliPG042451BengaliGermany15,000Engaged yet UnreachedBengaliSunni Islam
BengaliPG043360BengaliCanada81,500Engaged yet UnreachedBengaliSunni Islam
BengaliPG043534BengaliUnited States377,000Engaged yet UnreachedBengaliSunni Islam
BengaliPG046408BengaliOman267,000Engaged yet UnreachedBengaliSunni Islam
BengaliPG046931BengaliMalaysia500,000Engaged yet UnreachedBengaliSunni Islam
BengaliPG048197BengaliIndia4,585,000Engaged yet UnreachedBengaliSunni 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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