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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Wakhi of Tajikistan

The Wakhi of Tajikistan, numbering approximately 17,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an Eastern Iranian ethnic group native to the Pamir Mountains and surrounding high-altitude regions of Central Asia. They are an Indigenous people, in the Tajik people cluster of the Persian-Median Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Islam - Shia. They primarily speak Wakhi.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Central Asian Peoples
Country: Tajikistan
People Cluster: Tajik
Primary Language(s): Wakhi (wbl)
Primary Religion(s): Islam - Shia
Population: 17,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG024517
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Pray for the Wakhi of Tajikistan

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Islam - Shia
Religious Affiliation: Islam

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Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Wakhi
Language Family: Indo-European

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Media Resources in Wakhi:

Films:

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Bible Resources in Wakhi:

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Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Wakhi bible resources at Bible.com

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Next steps for the Wakhi

The Wakhi are Unengaged and Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Next steps for the Wakhi

The Wakhi 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.

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

Next steps for the Wakhi

The Wakhi are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Wakhi of Tajikistan

These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self- made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.
readColossians 2:23

Pray for those without Christ, that they will see the emptiness of human traditions and turn to the truth and grace found in Jesus.

Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.
readPsalm 25:5

Pray that the gospel will advance and that God will lead people in His truth, bringing many to salvation.

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
readJohn 10:27

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will hear God's voice and will have the great assurance that no one can snatch them from the Father’s hand.

And through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
readColossians 1:20

As believers cross cultures to tell others about Jesus, praise God for allowing them to be a part of His reconciling all things to Himself, asking Him to help them remember their role in His beautiful plan of salvation for others.

Khik (Wakhi) (ROP3 - 103535) reported in the following countries:

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 Definitions page.

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