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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.

Pray Now!
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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:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

3 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Turkmen:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
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

For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the LORD made the heavens.
readPsalm 96:5

Pray that those who are seeking after worthless idols will not be satisfied until they seek the truth and find it in Christ.

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise).
readEphesians 6:1-2

Pray that God will bring young men and women to faith in Jesus and that the fruit of their faith will be a powerful testimony as they honor their parents.

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.

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
readIsaiah 58:7

As believers cross cultures to share the good news of Christ, pray that God will sustain them and grow their faith as He gives them the compassion necessary to minister well to those in need.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

9 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
TurkmenPG024639TurkmenTurkmenistan5,360,000Engaged yet UnreachedTurkmenSunni Islam
TurkmenPG042249TurkmenIran2,785,000Engaged yet UnreachedTurkmenSunni Islam
TurkmenPG024023TurkmenAfghanistan2,105,000Engaged yet UnreachedTurkmenSunni Islam
TurkmenPG024598TurkmenTurkiye800,000Engaged yet UnreachedTurkishFolk Islam
TurkmenPG024320TurkmenUzbekistan227,000Unengaged and UnreachedTurkmenSunni Islam
TurkmenPG006410TurkmenPakistan15,000Engaged yet UnreachedTurkmenSunni Islam
TurkmenPG024533TurkmenTajikistan15,000Engaged yet UnreachedTurkmenSunni Islam
TurkmenPG024372TurkmenKyrgyzstan2,500Unengaged and UnreachedTurkmenSunni Islam
TurkmenPG047222TurkmenUnited States200Unengaged and UnreachedTurkmenSunni 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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