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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Urdu of Pakistan

The Urdu of Pakistan, numbering approximately 17,570,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a diverse Urdu-speaking community of Pakistan descended largely from Muslim migrants who settled in the country after the 1947 Partition, maintaining a distinct cultural identity rooted in North Indian urban traditions. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Urdu is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: Pakistan
People Cluster: Urdu
Primary Language(s): Urdu (urd)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 17,570,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG006413

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Pray for the Urdu of Pakistan

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

95%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Urdu
Language Family: Indo-European

95%
%
Urdu Speakers

Media Resources in Urdu:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
The SaviorView Film
The SaviorView Film

4 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Urdu:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Easy-to-Read Version✓✓
Geo Version✓✓
Geo Version✓✓
Geo Version✓✓
Pakistan Bible Society✓
Revised✓

6 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Urdu bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Urdu 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 Urdu:
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 Urdu of Pakistan

The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.
readProverbs 4:19

Pray that lost people will accept salvation through Christ, turn from destruction, and experience joy in the way of righteousness.

Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick in it and say to them, "the kingdom of God has come near to you."
readLuke 10:8-9

Pray that the lost will receive messengers of the gospel with joy, turn from their sins, and be healed.

I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.
readMatthew 25:36

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will honor Jesus and find joy as they take care of those in need.

Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.
read3 John 1:2

Ask God to grant protection and good health — both physical and spiritual — to those He sends cross-culturally to share the gospel.

Urdu Across Countries (ROP3 - 110423) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

22 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▲Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
UrduPG016370UrduGuyana4,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG011809UrduKuwait4,200Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG011725UrduIraq4,600Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
PakistaniPG010932PakistaniThailand5,600Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG000304UrduIreland9,400Unengaged and UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG042368UrduBelgium9,900Unengaged and UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG019330UrduMalaysia17,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG024025UrduAfghanistan20,500Unengaged and UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG000100UrduDenmark26,500Unengaged and UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG024601UrduTurkiye27,000Unengaged and UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG011308UrduBahrain78,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
PakistaniPG042350PakistaniSpain92,500Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG000277UrduGermany96,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG042482UrduFrance110,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG011895UrduOman137,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG011911UrduQatar180,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG043498UrduCanada221,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG012261UrduUnited Arab Emirates253,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
PakistaniPG043672PakistaniUnited States668,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG000693UrduUnited Kingdom1,220,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG011938UrduSaudi Arabia2,150,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG006413UrduPakistan17,570,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni 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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