Turkmen of Turkmenistan (PGID: PG024639)

The Turkmen of Turkmenistan

The Turkmen of Turkmenistan, numbering approximately 5,360,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Turkic ethnic group indigenous to Central Asia, living mainly in Turkmenistan, northern and northeastern Iran, and northwestern Afghanistan. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Turkmen is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Turkic Peoples
Country: Turkmenistan
People Cluster: Turkmen
Primary Language(s): Turkmen (tuk)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 5,360,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, Dispersed CP Activity
People Group ID: PG024639
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Pray for the Turkmen 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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

90%

Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Turkmen
Language Family: Turkic

85%

Turkmen Speakers

Media Resources in Turkmen:

Films:

Title	Link
JESUS	View Film
JESUS	View Film
Magdalena	View Film

3 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Turkmen:

Bible Name (Translation)	Video	Audio	Text
2016 Institute for Bible Translation, Moscow	✓	✓	✓
2016 Turkmen Truth	✓	✓	✓

2 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Turkmen bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Turkmen 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 Turkmen:

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 Turkmen of Turkmenistan

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Matthew 5:6

Pray for those who are lost to desire righteousness and to be filled with the peace and purpose that only comes from following Jesus.

Moses said, "Please show me your glory." And he said, "I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name 'The LORD.' And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy."
Exodus 33:18-19

Pray that many will come to know the glory of God, which is revealed in Jesus Christ, and that they will rejoice in the mercy He offers them.

Sanctify them in the truth, your word is truth.
John 17:17

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will experience freedom from sin as God sanctifies them in the truth of His Word.

For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.
2 Corinthians 1:8-9

Pray that as people hear and believe the gospel, they will be faithful as they walk through trials and will have an opportunity to be a witness to others in this people group of the goodness of God.

Turkmen Across Countries (ROP3 - 110306) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index

All

Engaged yet Unreached UUPG No Longer Unreached

CountryReligion

9 people groups

People Group ID	Name	Country	Population ▲	Strategic Progress Index	Language	Religion
PG047222	Turkmen	United States	200	Unengaged and Unreached	Turkmen	Sunni Islam
PG024372	Turkmen	Kyrgyzstan	2,500	Unengaged and Unreached	Turkmen	Sunni Islam
PG006410	Turkmen	Pakistan	15,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Turkmen	Sunni Islam
PG024533	Turkmen	Tajikistan	15,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Turkmen	Sunni Islam
PG024320	Turkmen	Uzbekistan	227,000	Unengaged and Unreached	Turkmen	Sunni Islam
PG024598	Turkmen	Turkiye	800,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Turkish	Folk Islam
PG024023	Turkmen	Afghanistan	2,105,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Turkmen	Sunni Islam
PG042249	Turkmen	Iran	2,785,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Turkmen	Sunni Islam
PG024639	Turkmen	Turkmenistan	5,360,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Turkmen	Sunni 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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