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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Pray for the Kazakh of Turkmenistan

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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 those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.
read1 Timothy 6:9

Pray for those, rich and poor, who have put their trust in worldly things, and ask that they will be honest with themselves, acknowledge their need for God and turn to Him.

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.
readPsalm 1:1-2

Pray that God will call out many sons and daughters from among them and give them a deep love for His Word.

For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
read1 Peter 2:25

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will proclaim the good news and the lost will recognize their need for the Shepherd and turn to Jesus Christ in faith.

Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith. But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.
read2 Thessalonians 3:1-3

Pray that the Word of God will spread throughout this people group and be honored. Ask God to establish His people and guard them from the evil one, testifying to this whole people group of His great faithfulness.

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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