24 Unreached People Groups to Pray For (With a Prayer for Each)

Jesus did not send us to the nations as countries on a map but to the peoples — the ethnē. Thousands of them still have no church of their own. Here are some of the largest, each with a name, a story, and one thing to ask God for.

Why people groups, not just countries

A single country can hold hundreds of distinct peoples, each with its own language, identity and barriers to the Gospel. India alone has thousands. That is why mission researchers count people groups: Joshua Project counts about 10,423 in the world, of which 4,490 are unreached — without a church able to reach the rest of its people unaided — and 3,214 are frontier groups, with virtually no believers at all.

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in him whom they have not heard? How will they hear without a preacher?

Romans 10:14 (WEB)

The 24 peoples, largest first

21 of these 24 are frontier peoples. Each name links to a full profile — their story, where the Gospel is breaking through, and more ways to pray.

• Shaikh — 250 million · Islam (Sunni) · South Asia · Frontier
  Pray for the largest unreached people group on earth — that Christ would be known among the Shaikh.
• Bengali Muslim — 150 million · Islam (Sunni) · South Asia · Frontier
  Pray for Bengali Muslim-background believers meeting quietly in homes.
• Japanese — 123 million · Shinto and Buddhism · East Asia · Unreached
  Pray for Japan — free, wealthy, and still barely reached after 150 years of work.
• Turk — 60 million · Islam (Sunni) · Middle East / Europe · Frontier
  Pray for the small Turkish church in the land where much of the New Testament was written.
• Yadav — 60 million · Hinduism · South Asia · Frontier
  Pray for Yadav families to meet Jesus together, as households.
• Brahmin — 60 million · Hinduism · South Asia · Frontier
  Pray for Brahmin seekers to encounter Jesus in the Scriptures they can already read.
• Persian — 50 million · Islam (Shia) · Middle East · Frontier
  Praise God for what He is doing among Persians against every human expectation.
• Hausa — 50 million · Islam (Sunni) · West Africa · Unreached
  Pray for Hausa Muslims to encounter Jesus through the Hausa Scriptures.
• Rajput — 45 million · Hinduism (most), Islam (some) · South Asia · Frontier
  Pray for Rajput families to see Jesus as the King worth their loyalty.
• Sundanese — 40 million · Islam (Sunni) · Southeast Asia · Frontier
  Pray for the Sundanese — around forty million people, with very few known believers.
• Fulani — 40 million · Islam (Sunni) · West Africa · Frontier
  Pray for the Fulani, scattered across more than a dozen nations.
• Uzbek — 35 million · Islam (Sunni) · Central Asia · Frontier
  Pray for the Uzbek church to grow in courage and maturity.
• Bamar — 35 million · Buddhism (Theravada) · Southeast Asia · Unreached
  Pray for the Bamar people to encounter Jesus.
• Malay — 30 million · Islam (Sunni) · Southeast Asia · Frontier
  Pray for the Malay people, one of the largest unreached peoples in Southeast Asia.
• Yemeni Arab — 30 million · Islam (Sunni and Zaydi Shia) · Middle East · Frontier
  Pray for an end to the war in Yemen and relief for the suffering.
• Somali — 25 million · Islam (Sunni) · East Africa / Horn · Frontier
  Pray for the small number of Somali believers, many at genuine risk of death.
• Central Thai — 25 million · Theravada Buddhism · Southeast Asia · Frontier
  Pray for the Central Thai — a large people almost untouched after two centuries.
• Moroccan Arab — 25 million · Islam (Sunni) · North Africa · Frontier
  Pray for Moroccan believers meeting in homes with no legal protection.
• Northern Kurd — 20 million · Islam (Sunni) · Middle East · Frontier
  Pray for Kurdish believers in northern Iraq and across the diaspora.
• Saudi Arab — 20 million · Islam (Sunni) · Middle East · Frontier
  Pray for secret Saudi believers, for courage, wisdom and fellowship.
• Southern Pashtun — 16 million · Islam (Sunni) · Central and South Asia · Frontier
  Pray for Pashtun believers, who very often cannot go home.
• Uyghur — 12 million · Islam (Sunni) · East Asia · Frontier
  Pray for justice and mercy for Uyghurs suffering detention and surveillance.
• Hui — 11 million · Islam (Sunni) · East Asia · Frontier
  Pray for the Hui — Chinese-speaking, surrounded by the church, and still unreached.
• Madurese — 8 million · Islam (Sunni) · Southeast Asia · Frontier
  Pray for the Madurese, among the least reached peoples of Indonesia.

A six-month rhythm

Take one people a week, top to bottom, and you will have prayed through all 24 in about six months.

• Monday: read their profile — who they are and what they face.
• Tuesday to Friday: pray the prayer above, and one more from their profile each day.
• Weekend: tell someone which people you are praying for. Shared prayer lasts.

All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to Yahweh. All the relatives of the nations shall worship before you.

Psalm 22:27 (WEB)

What to ask for, for any people

• Scripture in the language of their heart, in print, audio and video.
• Workers — near-culture believers and cross-cultural ones — the request Jesus told us to make.
• The first believers to stand firm, and to find each other.
• Dreams and encounters that open hearts where no messenger can go.
• A church of their own, led by their own people, that can reach the rest.

People-group figures: Joshua Project. Populations are rounded estimates.

Questions people ask