The Punjabis of United Arab Emirates

The Punjabis of United Arab Emirates, numbering approximately 333,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are 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 mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Panjabi is their primary language.

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

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

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

For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
readPsalm 1:6

As many look for hope in worldly pleasures, pray they will hear and accept salvation through Christ, turn from destruction, and experience joy in the way of righteousness.

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.
read1 Timothy 2:5-6

Pray for the truth about Jesus Christ to spread among the lost so that many will accept His ransom for their sin and experience freedom in a relationship with Him.

Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!
readPsalm 100:3-4

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be in awe of the Lord God, their Creator, and will give Him thanksgiving and praise.

For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.
read2 Corinthians 1:5

When any who might believe suffer for the sake of the gospel, ask God to deepen their understanding of His grace so that they may share it freely with those who have not received 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
PunjabisPunjabisAfghanistan9,000Unengaged 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.

Scroll to Top