The Tajiks of Uzbekistan

The Tajiks of Uzbekistan, numbering approximately 1,730,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an Iranian ethnic group that has lived in Central Asia for centuries. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Tajik is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2025). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Tajik

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Persian-Median Peoples
Country: Uzbekistan
People Cluster: Tajik
Primary Language(s): Tajik (tgk)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 1,730,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG024315
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Tajiks of Uzbekistan

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

96%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Tajik
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Tajik Speakers

Media Resources in Tajik:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
MagdalenaView Film

4 films

Bible Resources in Tajik:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1992, 1999 Institute for Bible Translation - Stockholm✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Tajik bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Tajiks 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 Tajiks:
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 Tajiks of Uzbekistan

For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.
readIsaiah 48:11

Pray that those who have been living for their own glory will turn to the One who is worthy of all praise and find their true identity in Him.

Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
readPsalm 2:10-11

Pray for the rulers and authorities here to seek the Lord and serve Him only. Pray that the people they lead will be amazed by the work of God in their lives.

Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.
readColossians 4:5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be wise in the way they walk with the lost and manage their time and other resources in a way that honors God.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
readRomans 1:16

Pray that God will raise up sons and daughters who, like Paul, will be bold to share the gospel across cultural barriers so that many might receive salvation.

Tajik Across Countries (ROP3 - 109733) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

11 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress Index ▼LanguageReligion
TajiksTajiksRussian Federation1,240,000Engaged yet UnreachedTajikSunni Islam
TajiksTajiksTajikistan7,410,000Engaged yet UnreachedTajikSunni Islam
TajiksTajiksPakistan1,885,000Engaged yet UnreachedDariSunni Islam
TajiksTajiksUzbekistan1,730,000Engaged yet UnreachedTajikSunni Islam
TajiksTajiksAfghanistan11,470,000Engaged yet UnreachedDariSunni Islam
TajiksTajiksGermany25,000Unengaged and UnreachedTajikSunni Islam
TajiksTajiksCanada3,100Unengaged and UnreachedTajikSunni Islam
TajiksTajiksUnited States2,400Unengaged and UnreachedTajikSunni Islam
TajiksTajiksTurkmenistan5,900Unengaged and UnreachedTajikSunni Islam
TajiksTajiksKyrgyzstan65,500Unengaged and UnreachedTajikSunni Islam
TajiksTajiksKazakhstan34,500Unengaged and UnreachedTajikSunni 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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