The Punjabis of Afghanistan

The Punjabis of Afghanistan, numbering approximately 8,900 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: 8,900
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
View on Joshua Project

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.

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

Bible Resources in Panjabi:

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

2 entries

Or check out the Panjabi bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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

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.

O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.
readPsalm 8:1

Pray that those who have yet to believe will soon recognize the majesty of God's name and raise their voices in praise to the Lord Almighty.

Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.
readEphesians 6:18

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be alert and persistent in prayer for all believers, offering their requests with thanksgiving.

And he said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."
readLuke 10:2

Ask God to send out laborers into His harvest field, raising up believers from around the world to go and proclaim the kingdom of God with those who need to hear it.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

18 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDName ▼CountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
SikhsSikhsKenya42,500Engaged yet UnreachedPanjabiSikhism
SikhsSikhsFrance16,000Engaged yet UnreachedPanjabiSikhism
SikhsSikhsThailand11,500Engaged yet UnreachedPanjabiSikhism
PunjabisPunjabisKuwait21,000Engaged yet UnreachedPanjabiSunni Islam
PunjabisPunjabisUnited States606,000Engaged yet UnreachedPanjabiSikhism
PunjabisPunjabisAfghanistan8,900Unengaged and UnreachedPanjabiSunni Islam
PunjabisPunjabisMalaysia172,000Engaged yet UnreachedPanjabiSikhism
PunjabisPunjabisTanzania71,000Engaged yet UnreachedPanjabiHinduism
PunjabisPunjabisUnited Arab Emirates333,000Engaged yet UnreachedPanjabiSunni Islam
PunjabisPunjabisOman134,000Engaged yet UnreachedPanjabiSunni Islam
PunjabisPunjabisDenmark10,000Unengaged and UnreachedPanjabiSikhism
PunjabisPunjabisSingapore15,000No Longer UnreachedPanjabiSikhism
PunjabisPunjabisFiji9,600Unengaged and UnreachedPanjabiFolk Hinduism
PunjabisPunjabisSri Lanka13,000Engaged yet UnreachedPanjabiSikhism
PunjabisPunjabisNepal16,500Engaged yet UnreachedPanjabiFolk Hinduism
Punjabi SikhsPunjabi SikhsBangladesh80Unengaged and UnreachedPanjabiSikhism
Eastern PunjabisEastern PunjabisMyanmar78,000Unengaged and UnreachedPanjabiFolk Hinduism
Eastern PunjabisEastern PunjabisUnited Kingdom815,000Engaged 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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