The Urdu of Malaysia

The Urdu of Malaysia, numbering approximately 17,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a diaspora community of Urdu-speaking migrants and their descendants, primarily of Pakistani and North Indian Muslim heritage, who maintain a distinct Urdu linguistic and cultural identity within Malaysian society. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Urdu is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: Malaysia
People Cluster: Urdu
Primary Language(s): Urdu (urd)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 17,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG019330
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Urdu of Malaysia

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

99%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Urdu
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Urdu Speakers

Media Resources in Urdu:

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

4 films

Bible Resources in Urdu:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Easy-to-Read Version✓✓
Geo Version✓✓
Geo Version✓✓
Geo Version✓✓
Pakistan Bible Society✓
Revised✓

6 entries

Or check out the Urdu bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Urdu 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 Urdu:
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 Urdu of Malaysia

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
readMatthew 11:28

Pray for those who are tired, weary, and burdened by the weight of sin to encounter Jesus and experience the rest that only He can give.

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
readMatthew 11:28-29

Please pray for them to lift their eyes to Jesus and find rest for their souls, lasting peace, and hope in Him.

In God, whose word I praise, in the LORD, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?
readPsalm 56:10-11

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will trust in the Lord's promises, knowing that He will uphold them with His righteous right hand.

For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.
read2 Corinthians 1:8-9

Pray that as people hear and believe the gospel, they will be faithful as they walk through trials and will have an opportunity to be a witness to others in this people group of the goodness of God.

Urdu Across Countries (ROP3 - 110423) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

22 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
UrduUrduPakistan17,570,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduUrduSaudi Arabia2,150,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduUrduUnited Kingdom1,220,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
PakistaniPakistaniUnited States668,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduUrduUnited Arab Emirates253,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduUrduCanada221,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduUrduQatar180,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduUrduOman137,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduUrduFrance110,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduUrduGermany96,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
PakistaniPakistaniSpain92,500Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduUrduBahrain78,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduUrduTurkiye27,000Unengaged and UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduUrduDenmark26,500Unengaged and UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduUrduAfghanistan20,500Unengaged and UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduUrduMalaysia17,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduUrduBelgium9,900Unengaged and UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduUrduIreland9,400Unengaged and UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
PakistaniPakistaniThailand5,600Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduUrduIraq4,500Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduUrduKuwait4,200Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduUrduGuyana4,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni 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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