Here’s a list of unreached people groups (UPGs) that have little to no access to the Gospel. A people group is generally considered unreached when less than 2% of the population is Evangelical Christian and there is no indigenous community of believing Christians with adequate resources to evangelize their own people.
Key Terms First:
- Unreached People Group (UPG): A group with less than 2% evangelical Christians and little to no access to the gospel.
- Unengaged UPG: No known active church-planting strategy exists for that group.
How Many Countries?
Nearly every country in the world has had some gospel witness—but that doesn’t mean every people group or person has heard it.
Instead of countries, we often look at people groups within countries:
Current Estimates:
- There are 195 countries in the world.
- Every country has at least some access to the gospel (e.g., churches, Bibles, missionaries).
- But over 7,400 unreached people groups still exist worldwide.
- These groups total over 3 billion people.
So, while no country is completely unreached, many ethnic groups within countries are.
Major Unreached People Groups (as of recent data from Joshua Project and other missions sources):
1.
Shaikh (India, Bangladesh, Nepal)
- Population: Over 300 million
- Religion: Islam
- Gospel Access: Very limited; few believers and almost no churches
2.
Yadav (India, Nepal)
- Population: 60+ million
- Religion: Hinduism
- Gospel Access: Minimal, especially in rural areas
3.
Turks (Turkey)
- Population: 60+ million
- Religion: Islam (Sunni)
- Gospel Access: Very limited; less than 0.01% Christian
4.
Pashtun (Afghanistan, Pakistan)
- Population: 50+ million
- Religion: Islam
- Gospel Access: Extremely restricted; missionary work is dangerous
5.
Brahmin (India, Nepal)
- Population: 60+ million
- Religion: Hinduism
- Gospel Access: Strong social and religious resistance to the Gospel
6.
Japanese (Japan)
- Population: 120+ million
- Religion: Shintoism, Buddhism
- Gospel Access: Some, but very low Christian response (less than 1%)
7.
Fulani (West Africa)
- Population: 38+ million across multiple countries (Nigeria, Niger, Mali, etc.)
- Religion: Islam
- Gospel Access: Very low; few known believers
8.
Bengali Muslim (Bangladesh, India)
- Population: 160+ million
- Religion: Islam
- Gospel Access: Very limited; few churches or believers
9.
Berber (North Africa)
- Population: 30+ million
- Religion: Islam
- Gospel Access: Some increase in recent years, but still largely unreached
10.
Uighur (China)
- Population: 12+ million
- Religion: Islam
- Gospel Access: Extremely restricted; high government persecution
Important Truth:
The gospel has gone to all nations (in a broad sense), but not yet to all peoples (Matthew 24:14).
What You Can Do:
- Pray for unreached people groups (e.g., use the Joshua Project app or website).
- Support missionaries working in unreached areas.
- Learn about a specific group and advocate for gospel efforts there.
