The Bengali of Canada

The Bengali of Canada, numbering approximately 81,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic community originating from and culturally affiliated with the Bengal region of South Asia. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Bengali is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Bengali

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: Canada
People Cluster: Bengali
Primary Language(s): Bengali (ben)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 81,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG043360
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Bengali of Canada

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

95%
%
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

Bible Resources in Bengali:

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

3 entries

Or check out the Bengali bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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 Canada

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
readMatthew 5:6

Pray for those who are lost to desire righteousness and to be filled with the peace and purpose that only comes from following Jesus.

...And that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
readLuke 24:47

Pray that the message of repentance and forgiveness through Jesus will reach everyone.

And many nations shall join themselves to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people. And I will dwell in your midst, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.
readZechariah 2:11

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have a heart that longs to see all people from all parts of the world worshiping Jesus as He deserves.

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
read2 Peter 3:9

Pray that those God sends to cross cultures will patiently endure hardships as they share the gospel, knowing that the Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

16 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguage ▲Religion
BengaliBengaliUnited Kingdom1,175,000Engaged yet UnreachedBengaliSunni Islam
BengaliBengaliPakistan393,000Engaged yet UnreachedBengaliSunni Islam
BengaliBengaliSri Lanka25,500Engaged yet UnreachedBengaliSunni Islam
BengaliBengaliMyanmar347,000Engaged yet UnreachedBengaliSunni Islam
BengaliBengaliSingapore157,000Engaged yet UnreachedBengaliSunni Islam
BengaliBengaliThailand35,500Unengaged and UnreachedBengaliSunni Islam
BengaliBengaliSaudi Arabia1,085,000Engaged yet UnreachedBengaliSunni Islam
BengaliBengaliUnited Arab Emirates1,360,000Engaged yet UnreachedBengaliSunni Islam
BengaliBengaliKenya1,700Engaged yet UnreachedBengaliSunni Islam
BengaliBengaliItaly134,000Engaged yet UnreachedBengaliSunni Islam
BengaliBengaliGermany15,000Engaged yet UnreachedBengaliSunni Islam
BengaliBengaliCanada81,500Engaged yet UnreachedBengaliSunni Islam
BengaliBengaliUnited States377,000Engaged yet UnreachedBengaliSunni Islam
BengaliBengaliOman268,000Engaged yet UnreachedBengaliSunni Islam
BengaliBengaliMalaysia500,000Engaged yet UnreachedBengaliSunni Islam
BengaliBengaliIndia4,590,000Engaged 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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