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The Uzbeks of Afghanistan

The Uzbeks of Afghanistan, numbering approximately 4,480,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Turkic ethnolinguistic people of Central Asia whose identity emerged through a long process of interaction and integration among Turkic, Iranian, and Mongol populations in the region. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Southern Uzbek is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Turkic Peoples
Country: Afghanistan
People Cluster: Uzbek
Primary Language(s): Southern Uzbek (uzs)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 4,480,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG024028
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Pray for the Uzbeks 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.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

100%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Southern Uzbek
Language Family: Turkic

99%
%
Uzbek, Southern Speakers

Media Resources in Southern Uzbek:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Southern Uzbek:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Southern Uzbek bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Uzbeks 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 Uzbeks:
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 Uzbeks of Afghanistan

For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm!
readPsalm 47:7

Pray for those who live for idols that will never satisfy their hearts, asking that someone will tell them that God is the King of all the earth so that they will turn to Him in repentance and praise.

Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.
readMark 10:14b

Praise Jesus for the way He loves children, asking that many will learn the truth about Him and come to Him unhindered.

I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord, forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.
readPsalm 89:1

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will declare and record His faithfulness and love to be passed on from generation to generation.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
readMatthew 28:19-20

Ask God to bring people among this group to faith in Jesus who will be obedient to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to obey all that Christ has commanded.

Uzbek, Southern (Afghan Uzbek) Across Countries (ROP3 - 110472) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

4 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
UzbeksPG024028UzbeksAfghanistan4,480,000Engaged yet UnreachedSouthern UzbekSunni Islam
UzbeksPG024394UzbeksPakistan993,000Engaged yet UnreachedSouthern UzbekSunni Islam
UzbeksPG024602UzbeksTurkiye623,000Engaged yet UnreachedNorthern UzbekSunni Islam
UzbeksPG043674UzbeksUnited States27,000Engaged yet UnreachedSouthern UzbekSunni 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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