The Uyghurs of Uzbekistan

The Uyghurs of Uzbekistan, numbering approximately 66,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Turkic people native to Central and East Asia, with their historic homeland centered in the region they call East Turkestan and that is today the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of northwestern China. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Uighur is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Turkic Peoples
Country: Uzbekistan
People Cluster: Uyghur
Primary Language(s): Uighur (uig)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 66,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG024322
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Uyghurs 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

100%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Uighur
Language Family: Turkic

100%
%
Uyghur Speakers

Media Resources in Uighur:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Uighur:

2 entries

Or check out the Uighur bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Uyghurs 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 Uyghurs:
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 Uyghurs of Uzbekistan

"...And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold." As he said these things, he called out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
readLuke 8:8

Pray that the seeds of truth will take root in the hearts of those who are far from Jesus and that He will lead them from darkness to light.

And many nations shall join themselves to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people. And I will dwell in your midst, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.
readZechariah 2:11

Pray that many will take refuge in the Lord and be His people who share the good news of salvation in Jesus with others.

For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.
readMatthew 18:20

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be encouraged as they remember that Jesus is with them when they gather in His name.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
readEphesians 6:12

Ask God to give those He sends to cross cultures the discernment they need to recognize the spiritual battle they are fighting. Pray God will protect their faith as they abide in Him.

Uyghur Across Countries (ROP3 - 110469) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

8 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
UyghursUyghursChina9,610,000Engaged yet UnreachedUighurSunni Islam
UyghursUyghursKazakhstan294,000Engaged yet UnreachedUighurSunni Islam
UyghursUyghursUzbekistan66,500Engaged yet UnreachedUighurSunni Islam
UyghursUyghursTurkiye47,500Engaged yet UnreachedUighurSunni Islam
UyghursUyghursKyrgyzstan27,000Engaged yet UnreachedUighurSunni Islam
UyghursUyghursUnited States10,000Engaged yet UnreachedUighurSunni Islam
UyghursUyghursSaudi Arabia9,500Unengaged and UnreachedUighurSunni Islam
UyghursUyghursCanada1,700Engaged yet UnreachedUighurSunni 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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