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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Punjabis of Afghanistan

The Punjabis of Afghanistan, numbering approximately 9,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic group characterized by their rich cultural heritage, agricultural prowess, and vibrant traditions, originating from the Punjab region of South Asia, currently divided between Pakistan and India. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Panjabi is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: Afghanistan
People Cluster: Punjabi
Primary Language(s): Panjabi (pan)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 9,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG024006
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Pray for the Punjabis of Afghanistan

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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

50%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Panjabi
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Punjabi, Eastern Speakers

Media Resources in Panjabi:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
The SaviorView Film

3 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Panjabi:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2000 Bible League International✓
Indian Revised Version✓✓

2 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Panjabi bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

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 Punjabis:
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 Punjabis of Afghanistan

O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.
readPsalm 10:17-18

Pray that God, in accordance with His good character, will give justice to those who are oppressed by sin and that they will know that His offer of salvation is for everyone.

And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
readMatthew 24:14

Pray that the gospel of God's kingdom will reach more people and that they will respond in faith, becoming disciples of Jesus Christ.

And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!"
readMark 7:9

Pray that as men, women, boys, and girls place their faith in Christ, they will let go of any traditions that do not honor Him.

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
readJohn 12:24

Pray that God will raise up men and women who are willing to die to their own desires, bearing much fruit for the kingdom among individuals and in places where His gospel has not been proclaimed.

Punjabi, Eastern Across Countries (ROP3 - 108182) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

18 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountry ▲PopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
PunjabisPG024006PunjabisAfghanistan9,000Unengaged and UnreachedPanjabiSunni Islam
Punjabi SikhsPG001198Punjabi SikhsBangladesh80Unengaged and UnreachedPanjabiSikhism
PunjabisPG000094PunjabisDenmark10,000Unengaged and UnreachedPanjabiSikhism
PunjabisPG008234PunjabisFiji9,600Unengaged and UnreachedPanjabiFolk Hinduism
SikhsPG048144SikhsFrance16,000Engaged yet UnreachedPanjabiSikhism
SikhsPG048148SikhsKenya42,500Engaged yet UnreachedPanjabiSikhism
PunjabisPG011805PunjabisKuwait21,000Engaged yet UnreachedPanjabiSunni Islam
PunjabisPG018234PunjabisMalaysia172,000Engaged yet UnreachedPanjabiSikhism
Eastern PunjabisPG009504Eastern PunjabisMyanmar78,000Unengaged and UnreachedPanjabiFolk Hinduism
PunjabisPG006280PunjabisNepal16,500Engaged yet UnreachedPanjabiFolk Hinduism
PunjabisPG011888PunjabisOman134,000Engaged yet UnreachedPanjabiSunni Islam
PunjabisPG010717PunjabisSingapore15,000No Longer UnreachedPanjabiSikhism
PunjabisPG006439PunjabisSri Lanka13,000Engaged yet UnreachedPanjabiSikhism
PunjabisPG015024PunjabisTanzania71,000Engaged yet UnreachedPanjabiHinduism
SikhsPG010910SikhsThailand11,500Engaged yet UnreachedPanjabiSikhism
PunjabisPG012249PunjabisUnited Arab Emirates333,000Engaged yet UnreachedPanjabiSunni Islam
Eastern PunjabisPG000673Eastern PunjabisUnited Kingdom815,000Engaged yet UnreachedPanjabiSikhism
PunjabisPG043605PunjabisUnited States606,000Engaged yet UnreachedPanjabiSikhism

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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