Download the People Group List (16 languages .csv)

Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
Hindi - हिन्दी | Indonesian - Bahasa Indonesia
Korean - 한국어 | Nepali - नेपाली
Portuguese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Español | Tagalog / Filipino
Be sure to use the data import function in your favorite app for working with data.
If you'd like to help improve these translations, Contact Us.

The Urdu of Malaysia

The Urdu of Malaysia, numbering approximately 17,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a diaspora community of Urdu-speaking migrants and their descendants, primarily of Pakistani and North Indian Muslim heritage, who maintain a distinct Urdu linguistic and cultural identity within Malaysian society. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Urdu is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Urdu

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: Malaysia
People Cluster: Urdu
Primary Language(s): Urdu (urd)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 17,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG019330
View on Joshua Project

Print Profile
Submit Updates

Pray for the Urdu of Malaysia

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!
Download Prayer Guide

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

99%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Urdu
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
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 Malaysia

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.

Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
readIsaiah 43:19

Pray that the lost will see the new thing God can do in their lives and trust in His plan and purpose for them.

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
readJohn 10:27

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will hear God's voice and will have the great assurance that no one can snatch them from the Father’s hand.

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
readEphesians 6:11

Pray that those God sends to cross cultures will put on the full armor of God so that they will be able to stand against the schemes of the enemy.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

21 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
UrduPG006413UrduPakistan17,590,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG011938UrduSaudi Arabia2,150,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG000693UrduUnited Kingdom1,220,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
PakistaniPG043672PakistaniUnited States668,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG012261UrduUnited Arab Emirates253,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG043498UrduCanada221,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG011911UrduQatar180,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG011895UrduOman137,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG042482UrduFrance110,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG000277UrduGermany96,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
PakistaniPG042350PakistaniSpain92,500Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG011308UrduBahrain78,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG000100UrduDenmark27,000Unengaged and UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG024601UrduTurkiye27,000Unengaged and UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG024025UrduAfghanistan20,500Unengaged and UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG019330UrduMalaysia17,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG042368UrduBelgium9,900Unengaged and UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG000304UrduIreland9,400Unengaged and UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
PakistaniPG010932PakistaniThailand5,600Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG011725UrduIraq4,600Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG011809UrduKuwait4,200Engaged 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.

Scroll to Top