The Punjabis of United Arab Emirates

The Punjabis of United Arab Emirates, numbering approximately 333,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as an ethnolinguistic group characterized by their rich cultural heritage, agricultural prowess, and vibrant traditions, originating from the Punjab region of South Asia, currently divided between Pakistan and India They are an Diaspora people, with Punjabi as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Punjabi people cluster of the South Asian Peoples. Their primary religion is Sunni Islam. They primarily speak Panjabi.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: United Arab Emirates
People Cluster: Punjabi
Primary Language(s): Panjabi (pan)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 333,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG012249
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Punjabis of United Arab Emirates

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

55%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Panjabi
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Punjabi, Eastern Speakers

Media Resources in Panjabi:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
The SaviorView Film

3 films

Bible Resources in Panjabi:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2000 Bible League International✓
Indian Revised Version✓✓

2 entries

Or check out the Panjabi bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Punjabis 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 Punjabis:
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 Punjabis of United Arab Emirates

And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
readExodus 14:22

Pray that the God who split the sea so that the Israelites might pass through would do another great work among these people, softening the hearts of those who remain lost to the good news and saving them from their sins.

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
readRomans 5:1

Pray that the gospel will advance and that many who are far from God will receive the good news of salvation with joy and have peace with God through faith in His Son Jesus Christ.

Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the LORD has comforted his people and will have compassion on his afflicted.
readIsaiah 49:13

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and suffer for their faith, they will sing for joy and be glad in their hearts because the Lord has compassion on them.

Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.
readLuke 10:3

Ask God to raise up and send humble believers who will depend on Him as they go out like lambs among wolves to share the good news with those who need to hear it.

Punjabi, Eastern Across Countries (ROP3 - 108182) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

18 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Eastern PunjabisEastern PunjabisUnited Kingdom815,000Engaged yet UnreachedPanjabiSikhism
PunjabisPunjabisUnited States606,000Engaged yet UnreachedPanjabiSikhism
PunjabisPunjabisUnited Arab Emirates333,000Engaged yet UnreachedPanjabiSunni Islam
PunjabisPunjabisMalaysia172,000Engaged yet UnreachedPanjabiSikhism
PunjabisPunjabisOman134,000Engaged yet UnreachedPanjabiSunni Islam
Eastern PunjabisEastern PunjabisMyanmar78,000Unengaged and UnreachedPanjabiFolk Hinduism
PunjabisPunjabisTanzania71,000Engaged yet UnreachedPanjabiHinduism
SikhsSikhsKenya42,500Engaged yet UnreachedPanjabiSikhism
PunjabisPunjabisKuwait21,000Engaged yet UnreachedPanjabiSunni Islam
PunjabisPunjabisNepal16,500Engaged yet UnreachedPanjabiFolk Hinduism
SikhsSikhsFrance16,000Engaged yet UnreachedPanjabiSikhism
PunjabisPunjabisSingapore15,000No Longer UnreachedPanjabiSikhism
PunjabisPunjabisSri Lanka13,000Engaged yet UnreachedPanjabiSikhism
SikhsSikhsThailand11,500Engaged yet UnreachedPanjabiSikhism
PunjabisPunjabisDenmark10,000Unengaged and UnreachedPanjabiSikhism
PunjabisPunjabisFiji9,600Unengaged and UnreachedPanjabiFolk Hinduism
PunjabisPunjabisAfghanistan8,900Unengaged and UnreachedPanjabiSunni Islam
Punjabi SikhsPunjabi SikhsBangladesh80Unengaged and UnreachedPanjabiSikhism

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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