The Tatars of Russian Federation

The Tatars of Russian Federation, numbering approximately 7,080,000 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: Russian Federation
People Cluster: Ural-Siberian
Primary Language(s): Tatar (tat)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 7,080,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, Concentrated CP Activity
People Group ID: PG024481
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Tatars of Russian Federation

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: Tatar
Language Family: Turkic

88%
%
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 Russian Federation

All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.
readRomans 3:12

Pray that those who are enslaved to sin will admit their need for a Savior, acknowledging that no one is righteous.

Moses said, "Please show me your glory." And he said, "I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name 'The LORD.' And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy."
readExodus 33:18-19

Pray that many will come to know the glory of God, which is revealed in Jesus Christ, and that they will rejoice in the mercy He offers them.

"...I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
readMatthew 16:18b

Pray that God will build and grow His Church among this people.

And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
readRomans 10:15

Pray that God will call many believers who will obediently go and share the gospel with those who desperately need it.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

11 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDName ▲CountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
TatarsTatarsBulgaria6,100Engaged yet UnreachedCrimean TatarEthnoreligion
TatarsTatarsAzerbaijan15,500Unengaged and UnreachedTatarSunni Islam
TatarsTatarsKazakhstan259,000Engaged yet UnreachedRussianSunni Islam
TatarsTatarsUzbekistan868,000Engaged yet UnreachedTatarSunni Islam
TatarsTatarsKyrgyzstan7,900Engaged yet UnreachedTatarSunni Islam
TatarsTatarsRussian Federation7,080,000Engaged yet UnreachedTatarSunni Islam
TatarsTatarsTajikistan7,200Engaged yet UnreachedTatarSunni Islam
TatarsTatarsTurkiye31,500Engaged yet UnreachedTatarSunni Islam
TatarsTatarsTurkmenistan73,000Unengaged and UnreachedTatarSunni Islam
TatarsTatarsUnited States7,000Unengaged and UnreachedTatarSunni Islam
TatarsTatarsCanada5,300Unengaged and 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.

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