The Azerbaijani of Uzbekistan

The Azerbaijani of Uzbekistan, numbering approximately 82,500 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are an Azerbaijani-speaking Turkic diaspora community whose identity is rooted in shared language, cultural heritage, and historical connections to Azerbaijan. They mostly adhere to Shia Islam and North Azerbaijani is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Turkic Peoples
Country: Uzbekistan
People Cluster: Azerbaijani
Primary Language(s): North Azerbaijani (azj)
Primary Religion(s): Shia Islam
Population: 82,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG024657
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Pray for the Azerbaijani of Uzbekistan

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Shia Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

70%
%
Shia Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: North Azerbaijani
Language Family: Turkic

100%
%
Azerbaijani, North Speakers

Media Resources in North Azerbaijani:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Bible Resources in North Azerbaijani:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Kitab Shirketi/Müqəddəs Kitab✓✓✓
Kitab Shirketi/Müqəddəs Kitab✓✓✓

2 entries

Or check out the North Azerbaijani 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 Azerbaijani:
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 Azerbaijani of Uzbekistan

Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
readLuke 15:7

Pray that God will convict the lost of their sin, give them an urgency to run to Him for forgiveness, and feel His welcoming arms around them when they turn to Him.

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.
readIsaiah 40:8

Pray that everyone has access to God's Word and that those who hear the good news will turn from their sins and put their faith in Jesus the Messiah.

Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
readColossians 4:6

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, their speech will always be gracious and ready to answer for the hope which is within them.

And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
readIsaiah 51:11

Pray that, as God sends people to cross cultures and share the good news of Jesus, many will turn to the Lord in repentance and faith and start a personal relationship with Him that will bring them everlasting joy.

Azerbaijani, Northern Across Countries (ROP3 - 100675) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

9 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguage ▼Religion
AzerbaijaniAzerbaijaniNetherlands7,500Unengaged and UnreachedNorth AzerbaijaniShia Islam
AzerbaijaniAzerbaijaniGeorgia259,000Engaged yet UnreachedNorth AzerbaijaniShia Islam
AzerbaijaniAzerbaijaniAzerbaijan9,615,000Engaged yet UnreachedNorth AzerbaijaniShia Islam
AzerbaijaniAzerbaijaniKazakhstan95,000Unengaged and UnreachedNorth AzerbaijaniShia Islam
AzerbaijaniAzerbaijaniKyrgyzstan17,500Unengaged and UnreachedNorth AzerbaijaniShia Islam
AzerbaijaniAzerbaijaniTurkmenistan62,000Unengaged and UnreachedNorth AzerbaijaniShia Islam
AzerbaijaniAzerbaijaniUzbekistan82,500Unengaged and UnreachedNorth AzerbaijaniShia Islam
AzerbaijaniAzerbaijaniGermany15,000Engaged yet UnreachedNorth AzerbaijaniSunni Islam
AzerbaijaniAzerbaijaniUnited States26,000Engaged yet UnreachedNorth AzerbaijaniShia 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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