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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Yoruk of Turkiye

The Yoruk of Turkiye, numbering approximately 321,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Turkish ethnographic subgroup of Oghuz Turkic origin, known historically for their nomadic or semi‑nomadic pastoral lifestyle in Anatolia and parts of the Balkans. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Balkan Gagauz Turkish is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Yoruk

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Turkic Peoples
Country: Turkiye
People Cluster: Turkic
Primary Language(s): Balkan Gagauz Turkish (bgx)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 321,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG024597
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Pray for the Yoruk of Turkiye

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

70%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Balkan Gagauz Turkish
Language Family: Turkic

5%
%
Balkan Gagauz Turkish Speakers

Media Resources in Balkan Gagauz Turkish:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Balkan Gagauz Turkish:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Balkan Gagauz Turkish bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Yoruk 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 Yoruk:
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 Yoruk of Turkiye

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.
readIsaiah 40:8

Pray that those who don't know Jesus will be freed from the emptiness of fading hopes and find lasting life and truth in the unchanging Word of God.

“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread."
readMatthew 6:10-11

As people go about their daily lives, pray they will have the opportunity to encounter Jesus-followers, receive the gospel, and respond with joy. Pray that, as God provides for their daily needs, He will also bring many into His beautiful kingdom.

Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.
readEphesians 6:18

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be alert and persistent in prayer for all believers, offering their requests with thanksgiving.

Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.”
readActs 17:32

Ask God to give those He sends to cross cultures wisdom and discernment as they engage in spiritual conversations with those who are curious about the gospel.

Yoruk (Balkan Turkish) Across Countries (ROP3 - 111096) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▲Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
YorukPG024597YorukTurkiye321,000Engaged yet UnreachedBalkan Gagauz TurkishSunni 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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