The Balkan Romani of Bulgaria

The Balkan Romani of Bulgaria, numbering approximately 267,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are the Balkan branch of the Roma people, defined mainly by their shared dialects and regional history rather than a single unified ethnic identity. They mostly adhere to Unaffiliated and Balkan Romani is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Eurasian Peoples
Country: Bulgaria
People Cluster: Romani
Primary Language(s): Balkan Romani (rmn)
Primary Religion(s): Unaffiliated
Population: 267,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG000737
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Balkan Romani of Bulgaria

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: Unaffiliated
Religious Affiliation: Unaffiliated

50%
%
Unaffiliated Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Balkan Romani
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Romani, Balkan Speakers

Media Resources in Balkan Romani:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Bible Resources in Balkan Romani:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Balkan Romani bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Balkan Romani are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Next steps for the Balkan Romani:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Balkan Romani of Bulgaria

"For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." Those who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?" But he said "What is impossible with man is possible with God."
readLuke 18:25-27

Pray that the lost who think they have everything they need will recognize their spiritual poverty apart from Jesus and turn to Him in faith.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
readMatthew 13: 45-46

Pray that they will recognize the treasure of knowing Christ Jesus and be willing to give up everything else to gain Him.

And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.
readActs 16:15

Pray that God will bring entire families and households to faith in Him and raise up servant-leaders from among them.

The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.
readJohn 1:9-10

Pray for those God might send to share the gospel here. Ask that they will grow closer to Jesus and be compelled to share His good news with people who don't know it.

Roma, Balkan Across Countries (ROP3 - 108397) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

12 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress Index ▼LanguageReligion
Balkan RomaniBalkan RomaniBulgaria267,000No Longer UnreachedBalkan RomaniUnaffiliated
Balkan RomaniBalkan RomaniItaly2,500No Longer UnreachedBalkan RomaniEthnoreligion
Balkan RomaniBalkan RomaniFrance10,500No Longer UnreachedBalkan RomaniEthnoreligion
Balkan RomaniBalkan RomaniSerbia273,000Engaged yet UnreachedBalkan RomaniEthnoreligion
Balkan RomaniBalkan RomaniSlovenia10,000Engaged yet UnreachedBalkan RomaniEthnoreligion
Balkan RomaniBalkan RomaniUkraine300,000Engaged yet UnreachedBalkan RomaniEastern Orthodox Christianity
Balkan RomaniBalkan RomaniMoldova47,000Engaged yet UnreachedBalkan RomaniUnaffiliated
Balkan RomaniBalkan RomaniNorth Macedonia105,000Engaged yet UnreachedBalkan RomaniSunni Islam
Balkan RomaniBalkan RomaniGreece11,500Engaged yet UnreachedBalkan RomaniUnaffiliated
Balkan RomaniBalkan RomaniTurkiye80,500Unengaged and UnreachedBalkan RomaniSunni Islam
Balkan RomaniBalkan RomaniIran35,000Unengaged and UnreachedBalkan RomaniSunni Islam
Balkan RomaniBalkan RomaniAfghanistan18,500Unengaged and UnreachedBalkan RomaniSunni 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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