The Kyrgyz of China

The Kyrgyz of China, numbering approximately 197,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are a Turkic-speaking ethnic group native to Central Asia, primarily associated with Kyrgyzstan, but also found in neighboring countries. They mostly adhere to Folk Islam and Kirghiz is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Turkic Peoples
Country: China
People Cluster: Kyrgyz
Primary Language(s): Kirghiz (kir)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Islam
Population: 197,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG001248
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Kyrgyz of China

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: Folk Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

95%
%
Folk Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kirghiz
Language Family: Turkic

100%
%
Kyrgyz Speakers

Media Resources in Kirghiz:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Bible Resources in Kirghiz:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2005 Bible Society in Kazakhstan✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Kirghiz bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 0), which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Frontier Unreached People Group, (LPI: 0), < 0.1% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Kyrgyz:
Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Pray specifically for the Kyrgyz of China

And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you."
read1 Samuel 13:13a

Pray that those who are walking in disobedience will recognize their sin and to turn to God.

“I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’ to a nation that was not called by my name."
readIsaiah 65:1

Pray that the lost will be found by God, even when they are not seeking Him. Pray that He will reveal Himself to them in a way they cannot ignore and that they will respond in faith.

For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain.
read2 Thessalonians 3:5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will persevere according to God's command, walk in faith, and be strong so that they can resist the evil one’s deception.

Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
readMatthew 6:9b-10

Pray that God will raise up Christians who are driven by a desire to see God's name worshiped, His kingdom come, and His will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Ask Him to send them to the lost in this people group and sustain them.

Kyrgyz Across Countries (ROP3 - 105550) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

10 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
KyrgyzKyrgyzKyrgyzstan6,095,000Engaged yet UnreachedKirghizSunni Islam
KyrgyzKyrgyzUzbekistan321,000Engaged yet UnreachedKirghizSunni Islam
KyrgyzKyrgyzChina197,000Unengaged and UnreachedKirghizFolk Islam
KyrgyzKyrgyzTajikistan136,000Engaged yet UnreachedKirghizSunni Islam
KyrgyzKyrgyzUnited States30,000Unengaged and UnreachedKirghizSunni Islam
KyrgyzKyrgyzKazakhstan14,500Engaged yet UnreachedKirghizFolk Islam
KyrgyzKyrgyzGermany14,000Unengaged and UnreachedKirghizSunni Islam
KyrgyzKyrgyzTurkiye1,800Engaged yet UnreachedKirghizSunni Islam
KyrgyzKyrgyzAfghanistan1,300Engaged yet UnreachedKirghizSunni Islam
KyrgyzKyrgyzCanada1,100Unengaged and UnreachedKirghizSunni 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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