The Rumelian Turks of Greece

The Rumelian Turks of Greece, numbering approximately 160,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Turkish Muslim community that traces its roots to Rumelia, the Ottoman Empire name for its European territories, largely corresponding to today’s Balkans. Rumelian Turks are the main ethnically Turkish community in Greece today. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Turkish is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3 Flash: Rumelian Turk

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Turkic Peoples
Country: Greece
People Cluster: Turkic
Primary Language(s): Turkish (tur)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 160,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG046763
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Rumelian Turks of Greece

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

100%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Turkish
Language Family: Turkic

100%
%
Turkish Speakers

Media Resources in Turkish:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
The SaviorView Film

3 films

Bible Resources in Turkish:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Halk Dilinde 2012✓✓
Kutsal Kitap 2009✓✓
New Turkish Bible Translation✓
Yeni Antlaşma 1987, 1994✓✓

4 entries

Or check out the Turkish bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Rumelian Turks 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 Rumelian Turks:
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 Rumelian Turks of Greece

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
readRomans 8:1

Pray that God will reassure those who may be struggling with the cost of following Jesus that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
readPsalm 47:6

Pray that believers will have a heart to invite others to trust in Christ alone so that they might sing praises to His name.

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
readJames 1:12

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be encouraged when they persevere under trial, knowing that when they have stood the test, they will receive the crown of life.

Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
readIsaiah 43:19

Praise the God who is able to make a way forward, even when it seems impossible. Ask Him to do a new thing among this people group specifically and among the nations, raising up believers to go and share the gospel with individuals and places where it has not flourished before.

Turk Across Countries (ROP3 - 113818) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

27 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguage ▲Religion
TurksTurksAustralia59,500Engaged yet UnreachedTurkishSunni Islam
TurksTurksItaly40,000Unengaged and UnreachedTurkishSunni Islam
TurksTurksUnited Arab Emirates44,500Engaged yet UnreachedTurkishSunni Islam
TurksTurksNorway21,000Unengaged and UnreachedTurkishSunni Islam
TurksTurksKosovo13,000Unengaged and UnreachedTurkishSunni Islam
Rumelian TurksRumelian TurksGreece160,000Engaged yet UnreachedTurkishSunni Islam
TurksTurksUnited States147,000Engaged yet UnreachedTurkishSunni Islam
TurksTurksCanada30,000Engaged yet UnreachedTurkishSunni Islam
TurksTurksUnited Kingdom62,500Engaged yet UnreachedTurkishSunni Islam
TurksTurksTurkiye64,290,000Engaged yet UnreachedTurkishSunni Islam
TurksTurksKazakhstan92,000Unengaged and UnreachedTurkishSunni Islam
TurksTurksSaudi Arabia37,000Unengaged and UnreachedTurkishSunni Islam
TurksTurksLebanon6,300Unengaged and UnreachedTurkishSunni Islam
TurksTurksEgypt57,500Unengaged and UnreachedTurkishSunni Islam
TurksTurksAustria227,000Engaged yet UnreachedTurkishSunni Islam
TurksTurksPakistan2,500Unengaged and UnreachedTurkishSunni Islam
TurksTurksRomania56,500Engaged yet UnreachedTurkishSunni Islam
TurksTurksNorth Macedonia69,500Unengaged and UnreachedTurkishSunni Islam
TurksTurksBulgaria508,000Engaged yet UnreachedTurkishSunni Islam
TurksTurksBosnia and Herzegovina9,800Engaged yet UnreachedTurkishSunni Islam
TurksTurksSwitzerland138,000Engaged yet UnreachedTurkishSunni Islam
TurksTurksSweden58,000Unengaged and UnreachedTurkishSunni Islam
TurksTurksNetherlands761,000Engaged yet UnreachedTurkishSunni Islam
TurksTurksGermany2,205,000Engaged yet UnreachedTurkishSunni Islam
TurksTurksFrance394,000Engaged yet UnreachedTurkishSunni Islam
TurksTurksDenmark107,000Engaged yet UnreachedTurkishSunni Islam
TurksTurksBelgium83,500Engaged yet UnreachedTurkishSunni 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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