The Tatars of Uzbekistan

The Tatars of Uzbekistan, numbering approximately 867,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Turkic ethnic group indigenous to the Tatarstan region of Russia and Ukraine. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Tatar is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Turkic Peoples
Country: Uzbekistan
People Cluster: Ural-Siberian
Primary Language(s): Tatar (tat)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 867,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG024316
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Tatars 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

98%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Tatar
Language Family: Turkic

100%
%
Tatar Speakers

Media Resources in Tatar:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Bible Resources in Tatar:

2 entries

Or check out the Tatar bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Tatars 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 Tatars:
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 Tatars of Uzbekistan

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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 28:16-20

Pray that those who don't yet know Him will encounter the risen Savior and be transformed by the power of His resurrection, becoming disciples who make disciples.

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
readMatthew 11:28-29

Please pray for them to lift their eyes to Jesus and find rest for their souls, lasting peace, and hope in Him.

Jesus said, ‘Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.
readMark 10:29-30

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will know that when they make sacrifices to follow Jesus, He is there with them and will bless them abundantly in this life and in the life to come.

And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.
readMatthew 10:14-15

Pray for God to raise up and send out believers to share the gospel with those in this people group who do not yet follow Christ. Pray that they will be welcomed with open arms so that the people they share with will hear and receive the good news with joy.

Tatar Across Countries (ROP3 - 109874) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

11 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress Index ▲LanguageReligion
TatarsTatarsAzerbaijan15,500Unengaged and UnreachedTatarSunni Islam
TatarsTatarsTurkmenistan73,000Unengaged and UnreachedTatarSunni Islam
TatarsTatarsUnited States7,000Unengaged and UnreachedTatarSunni Islam
TatarsTatarsCanada5,300Unengaged and UnreachedTatarSunni Islam
TatarsTatarsBulgaria6,100Engaged yet UnreachedCrimean TatarEthnoreligion
TatarsTatarsKazakhstan259,000Engaged yet UnreachedRussianSunni Islam
TatarsTatarsUzbekistan867,000Engaged yet UnreachedTatarSunni Islam
TatarsTatarsKyrgyzstan7,900Engaged yet UnreachedTatarSunni Islam
TatarsTatarsRussian Federation7,085,000Engaged yet UnreachedTatarSunni Islam
TatarsTatarsTajikistan7,200Engaged yet UnreachedTatarSunni Islam
TatarsTatarsTurkiye31,500Engaged yet UnreachedTatarSunni 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