The Kazakh of Turkmenistan

The Kazakh of Turkmenistan, numbering approximately 165,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are a Turkic people of Central Asia whose historic homeland is the vast steppe region of present-day Kazakhstan. They are the largest ethnic group in Kazakhstan and also have significant communities in China (Xinjiang), Mongolia, Uzbekistan, and Russia. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Kazakh is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Turkic Peoples
Country: Turkmenistan
People Cluster: Kazakh
Primary Language(s): Kazakh (kaz)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 165,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG024620
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

94%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kazakh
Language Family: Turkic

100%
%
Kazakh Speakers

Media Resources in Kazakh:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Bible Resources in Kazakh:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Kiyeli kitap 2010✓✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Kazakh bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 0), 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.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Frontier Unreached People Group, (LPI: 0), < 0.1% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Kazakh:
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

Pray specifically for the Kazakh of Turkmenistan

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.
readEphesians 2:4-5

Pray that those who have not yet received new life will be made alive together with Christ, saved by grace and raised up with Him to newness of life.

Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.’ In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.
readJob 1:20-22

Pray that those who mourn will worship God in the midst of their suffering and loss, recognizing He is the source of all good things and that He is worthy of their praise and trust.

Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered.
readPsalm 105:5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will rejoice as they remember His wonders, miracles, and perfect judgements.

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.

Kazakh Across Countries (ROP3 - 104791) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

12 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▲Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
KazakhKazakhUnited States2,100Engaged yet UnreachedKazakhSunni Islam
KazakhKazakhIran6,100Unengaged and UnreachedKazakhSunni Islam
KazakhKazakhCanada7,900Engaged yet UnreachedKazakhSunni Islam
KazakhKazakhTurkiye9,600Engaged yet UnreachedKazakhSunni Islam
KazakhKazakhKyrgyzstan26,500Unengaged and UnreachedKazakhSunni Islam
KazakhKazakhGermany40,500Unengaged and UnreachedKazakhSunni Islam
KazakhKazakhMongolia161,000Engaged yet UnreachedKazakhSunni Islam
KazakhKazakhTurkmenistan165,000Unengaged and UnreachedKazakhSunni Islam
KazakhKazakhRussian Federation807,000Engaged yet UnreachedKazakhSunni Islam
KazakhKazakhUzbekistan905,000Engaged yet UnreachedKazakhSunni Islam
KazakhKazakhChina1,400,000Engaged yet UnreachedKazakhSunni Islam
KazakhKazakhKazakhstan12,530,000Engaged yet UnreachedKazakhSunni 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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