The ten countries with the most unreached peoples
Counted from the nation profiles on this site, which follow Joshua Project's people-group data. A people group is unreached when it has no indigenous community of believers able to evangelise the rest of the group without outside help.
| Rank | Nation | Unreached groups | Of all groups | Share unreached |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India | 2,100 | 2,600 | 81% |
| 2 | China | 427 | 545 | 78% |
| 3 | Pakistan | 400 | 460 | 87% |
| 4 | Bangladesh | 340 | 395 | 86% |
| 5 | Nepal | 290 | 350 | 83% |
| 6 | Indonesia | 230 | 780 | 29% |
| 7 | Sudan | 120 | 150 | 80% |
| 8 | Russia | 110 | 230 | 48% |
| 9 | Nigeria | 100 | 560 | 18% |
| 10 | Afghanistan | 92 | 106 | 87% |
Why India's number is so large
Joshua Project counts peoples in South Asia largely by caste and community, so India's population of well over a billion divides into thousands of distinct groups — most of them Hindu or Muslim communities with no church of their own. A country with a large church can still contain hundreds of unreached peoples, which is why this site profiles peoples as well as nations.
Most unreached, by share
Measured as a share of all the groups in a country rather than a raw count, the least-reached nations profiled here are Yemen (93%), Somalia (92%), Saudi Arabia (89%) and Türkiye (88%).
Related questions
Why does India have so many unreached people groups?
Because peoples in South Asia are counted largely by caste and community, India's population divides into thousands of distinct groups, most without a church of their own.