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The Gagauzes of Turkiye

The Gagauzes of Turkiye, numbering approximately 17,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Turkic-speaking people who are predominantly Eastern Orthodox Christians, a combination that makes them quite distinctive among the world's Turkic peoples, most of whom are traditionally Muslim. They mostly adhere to Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Gagauz is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Turkic Peoples
Country: Turkiye
People Cluster: Turkic
Primary Language(s): Gagauz (gag)
Primary Religion(s): Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Population: 17,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG024594
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Pray for the Gagauzes of Turkiye

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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

80%
%
Eastern Orthodox Christia… Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Gagauz
Language Family: Turkic

100%
%
Gagauz Speakers

Media Resources in Gagauz:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Gagauz:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Institute for Bible Translation, Moscow✓✓✓
Institute for Bible Translation, Moscow✓✓✓

2 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Gagauz bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Gagauzes 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 Gagauzes:
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 Gagauzes of Turkiye

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
readJohn 3:17

Pray for those who are living under the burdens of man-made religion to learn about the freedom Jesus offers them and turn to Him in faith.

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.
read1 Timothy 2:1-2

Pray that leaders and those in authority will not thwart the spread of the gospel but put their faith in Christ, have hearts that are soft toward their people, and be freed from the temptations that power can bring.

And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness.
readActs 4:29

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and face rejection by unbelievers in their communities, God will give them discernment, boldness, and encouragement to speak His Word.

But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.
readJeremiah 29:7

Pray that God will lead the lost among them to followers of Jesus who will share the gospel with them so that they may believe and take the message of hope to their families and friends.

Gagauz Across Countries (ROP3 - 103132) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

4 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
GagauzesPG000862GagauzesMoldova146,000Engaged yet UnreachedGagauzEastern Orthodox Christianity
GagauzesPG024594GagauzesTurkiye17,500Engaged yet UnreachedGagauzEastern Orthodox Christianity
GagauzesPG000736GagauzesBulgaria9,400Engaged yet UnreachedGagauzEastern Orthodox Christianity
GagauzesPG024300GagauzesKazakhstan1,200Unengaged and UnreachedGagauzEastern Orthodox Christianity

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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