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
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Kazakh of Turkmenistan

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

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

For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption.
readPsalm 130:7b

Pray for those who are unaware of God's steadfast love that is offered to them through Jesus Christ to learn the truth and experience His plentiful redemption.

Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near.
readIsaiah 55:6

Pray that the lost will seek the Lord while He may be found and call upon Him while He is near, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

"...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.

Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father sends me, even so I am sending you."
readJohn 20:21

Ask God to raise up and send out believers cross-culturally who will go out in His authority and be sustained by His peace as they share the gospel with the lost.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

12 people groups

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