The Crimean Tatars of Ukraine

The Crimean Tatars of Ukraine, numbering approximately 233,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Turkic Indigenous people of the Crimean Peninsula, with a distinct language, culture, and history rooted in the northern Black Sea region. They are an Indigenous people, in the Ural-Siberian people cluster of the Turkic Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Islam - Sunni. They primarily speak Crimean Tatar.

Crimean Tatars in Ukraine photo
Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Crimean Tatar

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Central Asian Peoples
Country: Ukraine
People Cluster: Ural-Siberian
Primary Language(s): Crimean Tatar (crh)
Primary Religion(s): Islam - Sunni
Population: 233,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG000988
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Crimean Tatars of Ukraine

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: Islam - Sunni
Religious Affiliation: Islam

%
Islam - Sunni Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Crimean Tatar
Language Family: Turkic

%
Crimean Tatar Speakers

Media Resources in Crimean Tatar:

Films:

Bible Resources in Crimean Tatar:

Or check out the Crimean Tatar bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Next steps for the Crimean Tatars

The Crimean Tatars are Unengaged and Unreached, 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.

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

Next steps for the Crimean Tatars

The Crimean Tatars 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.

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

Next steps for the Crimean Tatars

The Crimean Tatars 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.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Crimean Tatars of Ukraine

For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God?
readPsalm 18:31

As people look to their own efforts for hope, pray they will have the opportunity to learn and believe in the Lord, who is the only Rock worthy of their faith.

And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "In you shall all the nations be blessed"
readGalatians 3:8

Ask the Lord to fulfill His promise to Abraham that all nations would be blessed by advancing the gospel to every people group who has yet to receive it.

The LORD bless you and keep you.
readNumbers 6:24

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be blessed with God's grace, trusting that He will never abandon them.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
readEphesians 6:12

Ask God to give those He sends to cross cultures the discernment they need to recognize the spiritual battle they are fighting. Pray God will protect their faith as they abide in Him.

Tatar, Crimean (ROP3 - 102312) reported in the following countries:

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 Definitions page.

Scroll to Top