Afghanistan people groups, languages and religions

Country: Afghanistan

Number of People Groups

People Groups Unreached

68 (97.1%)

Progress Level

The Joshua Project Progress Scale is an estimate of the progress of church planting among a people group, people cluster, country or language. The Progress Scale is derived from people group values for percent Evangelical and percent Christian Adherent.

Level	Description	Criteria
1	Unreached - Few evangelicals and few who identify as Christians. Little, if any, history of Christianity.	Evangelicals <= 2% Professing Christians <= 5%
2	Minimally reached - Few evangelicals, but significant number who identify as Christians.	Evangelicals <= 2% Professing Christians > 5% and <= 50%
3	Superficially reached - Few evangelicals, but many who identify as Christians. In great need of spiritual renewal and commitment to biblical faith.	Evangelicals <= 2% Professing Christians > 50%
4	Partially reached - Evangelicals have a modest presence.	Evangelicals > 2% and <= 10%
5	Significantly reached - Evangelicals have a significant presence.	Evangelicals > 10%

Total
Population

39,637,000

Population in Unreached

39,635,000 (100.0%)

Largest Religion

Islam (99.8%)

% Christian Adherent

0.02%

% Evangelical

0.02%

Evangelical Annual Growth Rate

0.0%

(Global Rate = 2.6%)

Map Notes

Click column headings for sorting ▲▼

Progress Scale: ●●●●●
☀
= Frontier peoples
People Group ▲	Population this Country	Global Population	Indigenous	Primary Language	Primary Religion	Progress Scale	% Christian Adherent	% Evangelical	Est. Workers Needed *
Afghan, Tajik	10,831,000	11,237,000	●	Dari	Islam	0 ☀	0.01 %	0.01 %	217
Afshari	15,000	398,000		Azerbaijani, South	Islam	0 ☀	0.04 %	0.04 %	1
Aimaq	1,632,000	2,130,000	●	Aimaq	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	33
Americans, U.S.	500	193,448,000		English	Christianity	5 ●	84.50 %	30.00 %	-1 -
Ansari	2,500	17,104,000		Urdu	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Arab, Tajiki	18,000	20,000		Arabic, Tajiki Spoken	Islam	1 ●	0.20 %	0.20 %	1
Arora (Hindu traditions)	1,600	4,777,000		Saraiki	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Azerbaijani	13,000	10,046,000		Azerbaijani, North	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Baloch, Western	478,000	1,294,000	●	Balochi, Western	Islam	0 ☀	0.01 %	0.01 %	10
Bania (Muslim traditions)	6,600	6,600		Urdu	Islam	1 ●	0.23 %	0.20 %	1
Brahmin	3,800	34,394,000		Urdu	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Brahui	330,000	647,000	●	Brahui	Islam	1 ●	0.10 %	0.10 %	7
Changgar	3,100	363,000		Urdu	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Darwazi, Badakhshani	16,000	16,000	●	Dari	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Deaf	398,000	48,207,000	●	Afghan Sign Language	Islam	0 ☀	0.05 %	-1	8
Garwi, Kohistani	2,000	2,000	●	Gawri	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Gujar (Muslim traditions)	19,000	5,433,000	●	Gujari	Islam	0 ☀	0.03 %	0.03 %	1
Hazara	3,981,000	4,757,000	●	Hazaragi	Islam	0 ☀	0.03 %	0.03 %	80
Ishkashimi	3,200	4,900	●	Ishkashimi	Islam	0 ☀	0.06 %	0.06 %	1
Kalash (Chitrali)	10,000	36,000		Khowar	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Karakalpak	3,300	885,000		Karakalpak	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Kazakh	3,300	17,574,000		Kazakh	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Khatri (Sikh traditions)	2,800	353,000		Punjabi, Eastern	Other / Small	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Khik (Wakhi)	21,000	118,000	●	Wakhi	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Kurd, Central	4,100	8,242,000		Kurdish, Central	Islam	0 ☀	0.01 %	0.01 %	1
Kyrgyz	1,300	5,801,000		Kyrgyz	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Moghal	2,300	3,354,000	●	Dari	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Munji	7,100	7,100	●	Munji	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Mussali	3,300	2,563,000		Punjabi, Eastern	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Narisati, Arandui	40,000	40,000	●	Gawar-Bati	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Nuristani, Ashkuni	49,000	49,000	●	Ashkun	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Nuristani, Grangali	12,000	12,000	●	Grangali	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Nuristani, Kamviri	22,000	22,000	●	Kamviri	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Nuristani, Malakhel	3,300	3,300	●	Dari	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Nuristani, Narisati	148,000	190,000	●	Kati	Islam	1 ●	0.10 %	0.00 %	3
Nuristani, Prasuni	9,900	9,900	●	Prasuni	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Nuristani, Tregami	4,300	4,300	●	Tregami	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Nuristani, Waigeli	32,000	32,000	●	Waigali	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Ormuri	3,300	3,300	●	Pashto, Southern	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Pahlavani	3,800	3,800	●	Dari	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Parachi	8,200	8,200	●	Parachi	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Parsee	2,400	167,000	●	Dari	Other / Small	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Parya, Laghmani	400	6,200	●	Parya	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Pashayi	48,000	72,000	●	Kohistani, Indus	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Pashayi, Northeast	94,000	94,000	●	Pashai, Northeast	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	2
Pashayi, Northwest	98,000	98,000	●	Pashai, Northwest	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	2
Pashayi, Southeast	560,000	560,000	●	Pashai, Southeast	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	11
Pashayi, Southwest	124,000	124,000	●	Pashai, Southwest	Islam	0 ☀	0.01 %	0.00 %	2
Pashtun, Northern	2,813,000	33,811,000	●	Pashto, Northern	Islam	0 ☀	0.01 %	0.01 %	56
Pashtun, Southern	9,881,000	10,284,000	●	Pashto, Southern	Islam	0 ☀	0.02 %	0.02 %	198
Persian	678,000	42,530,000		Persian, Iranian	Islam	1 ●	0.12 %	0.10 %	14
Punjabi	6,100	2,095,000	●	Punjabi, Eastern	Islam	1 ●	1.00 %	0.30 %	1
Punjabi, Western	38,000	107,000	●	Punjabi, Western	Islam	1 ●	0.20 %	0.10 %	1
Qizilbash	306,000	311,000	●	Dari	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	6
Romani, Balkan	17,000	1,237,000		Romani, Balkan	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Romani, Domari	11,000	3,554,000		Domari	Islam	0 ☀	0.02 %	0.00 %	1
Russian	900	135,564,000		Russian	Non-Religious	2 ●	31.00 %	0.30 %	-1 -
Sanglechi	2,800	4,800	●	Sanglechi	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Sau	4,900	4,900	●	Savi	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Shughni	46,000	134,000	●	Shughni	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Shumashti	1,600	1,600	●	Shumashti	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Sindhi	25,000	178,000		Sindhi	Islam	0 ☀	0.08 %	0.08 %	1
Tangshuri	16,000	16,000	●	Dari	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Tirahi	5,900	5,900	●	Pashto, Southern	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Turk	11,000	65,256,000		Turkish	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Turkmen	2,222,000	8,067,000	●	Turkmen	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	44
Uyghur	3,500	12,453,000		Uyghur	Islam	0 ☀	0.05 %	0.05 %	1
Uzbek, Southern	4,460,000	4,499,000	●	Uzbek, Southern	Islam	0 ☀	0.01 %	0.01 %	89
Warduji	8,200	8,200	●	Dari	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Wotapuri-Katarqalai	3,500	3,500	●	Pashto, Northern	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Totals: 70	39,637,000					68 ●	0.02 %	0.02 %	833
Unclassified / Other Individuals	198,000
UN Country Population (2021)	39,835,000

Other minor groups: 2

Afghanistan

Very small groups reported, but outside the Joshua Project Small Group Policy. Some may not be viable and/or have incorrect Progress Scale values, population, language and religion information. The groups listed below are not included in overall Joshua Project people group counts. If you have information about these groups, please contact us.

Click column headings for sorting ▲▼
People Group ▲	Progress Scale	Population	Primary Language	Primary Religion
Mongolian	1 ●	300	Mongolian, Peripheral	Buddhism
Tatar	1 ●	500	Tatar	Islam
Totals: 2

For more information see the Joshua Project Small Group Policy

* An estimate of the number of pioneer workers needed for initial church planting among unreached people groups by country. Estimates are calculated only for unreached people groups and are based on ratio of 1 worker-unit (single person or married couple) per 50,000 living in an unreached people group by country, or for example one team of four worker-units per 200,000 people. Some workers may already be onsite. Many more workers are needed beyond this initial estimate.

Download Data Data Sources Definitions

Prayer Cards

Click column headings for sorting ▲▼
Province ▲	Estimated Population
Badakhshan	1,303,000
Badghis	680,000
Baghlan	1,252,000
Balkh	1,849,000
Bamyan	612,000
Daykundi	639,000
Farah	696,000
Faryab	1,371,000
Ghazni	1,685,000
Ghor	945,000
Hilmand	1,788,000
Hirat	2,628,000
Jawzjan	743,000
Kabul	6,228,000
Kandahar	1,713,000
Kapisa	605,000
Khost	788,000
Kunar	618,000
Kunduz	1,398,000
Laghman	611,000
Logar	537,000
Nangarhar	2,096,000
Nimroz	227,000
Nuristan	202,000
Paktika	960,000
Paktya	707,000
Panjshir	210,000
Parwan	912,000
Samangan	532,000
Sari Pul	767,000
Takhar	1,061,000
Uruzgan	496,000
Wardak	817,000
Zabul	475,000
Provinces: 34	38,151,000
UN Country Population	39,835,000

Afghanistan Prayer Cards
	Afghanistan prayer cards. All Unreached

Afghanistan Links
Operation World
Open Doors Persecution Ranking
World Factbook
Religious Freedom Report
UN Human Development Report
Ethnologue Language Listing

Afghanistan Maps
Political Map (UN)
Language Map (Ethnologue)
Ethnolinguistic Map (Univ of Texas)
East Afghanistan Tribal Map (Source: NPS)
South Afghanistan Tribal Map (Source: NPS)
Perry-Castaneda Map Collection

Click column headings for sorting ▲▼
Class ▲	Population	% Popl	% Hindu	% Muslim	% Christian	% Buddhist	% Sikh	% Other
Forward Caste (FC)	282,458,000	712.6 %	97.2 %	0.0 %	1.2 %	0.1 %	0.0 %	1.4 %
Other Backward Classes (OBC)	778,555,000	1,964.2 %	70.6 %	24.5 %	1.8 %	0.1 %	2.3 %	0.8 %
Scheduled Caste (SC)	207,795,000	524.2 %	93.3 %	0.0 %	0.4 %	3.6 %	2.6 %	0.0 %
Scheduled Tribe (ST)	118,286,000	298.4 %	81.3 %	1.5 %	9.4 %	0.8 %	0.0 %	6.8 %
	39,637,000

Why Use Caste to Define Peoples?

South Asia Communities / Castes: An Overview

A History of South Asia People Group Lists

Why Include Religion When Defining South Asia Peoples?

Click column headings for sorting ▲▼
Language ▲	Code	# Peoples w/ this Primary Language	# Unreached w/ this Primary Language	Scripture Status	NT Text Online	NT Audio Online	Jesus Film Online	Audio Recordings Online	Gospel Tract Online
Afghan Sign Language	afg	1	1	1 Translation Needed	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1
Aimaq	aiq	1	1	1 Translation Needed	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1
Arabic, Tajiki Spoken	abh	1	1	1 Translation Needed	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Ashkun	ask	1	1	0 Unspecified	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Azerbaijani, North	azj	1	1	5 Complete Bible	-1	1	1	1	-1
Azerbaijani, South	azb	1	1	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	-1
Balochi, Western	bgn	1	1	3 Bible Portions	-1	-1	1	1	-1
Brahui	brh	1	1	4 New Testament	-1	-1	1	1	-1
Dari	prs	9	9	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	-1
Domari	rmt	1	1	3 Bible Portions	-1	-1	1	1	-1
English	eng	1	0	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	-1
Gawar-Bati	gwt	1	1	1 Translation Needed	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Gawri	gwc	1	1	3 Bible Portions	-1	-1	1	-1	-1
Grangali	nli	1	1	0 Unspecified	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Gujari	gju	1	1	0 Unspecified	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Hazaragi	haz	1	1	3 Bible Portions	-1	-1	1	1	-1
Ishkashimi	isk	1	1	0 Unspecified	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Kamviri	xvi	1	1	1 Translation Needed	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Karakalpak	kaa	1	1	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	-1
Kati	bsh	1	1	0 Unspecified	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Kazakh	kaz	1	1	5 Complete Bible	-1	1	1	1	-1
Khowar	khw	1	1	3 Bible Portions	-1	-1	1	1	-1
Kohistani, Indus	mvy	1	1	3 Bible Portions	-1	-1	1	-1	-1
Kurdish, Central	ckb	1	1	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	-1
Kyrgyz	kir	1	1	5 Complete Bible	-1	1	1	1	-1
Munji	mnj	1	1	0 Unspecified	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Parachi	prc	1	1	0 Unspecified	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Parya	paq	1	1	0 Unspecified	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1
Pashai, Northeast	aee	1	1	1 Translation Needed	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Pashai, Northwest	glh	1	1	0 Unspecified	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Pashai, Southeast	psi	1	1	0 Unspecified	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Pashai, Southwest	psh	1	1	1 Translation Needed	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Pashto, Northern	pbu	2	2	5 Complete Bible	-1	1	1	1	-1
Pashto, Southern	pbt	3	3	3 Bible Portions	-1	1	1	1	-1
Persian, Iranian	pes	1	1	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	-1
Prasuni	prn	1	1	0 Unspecified	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Punjabi, Eastern	pan	3	3	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	-1
Punjabi, Western	pnb	1	1	4 New Testament	-1	-1	1	1	-1
Romani, Balkan	rmn	1	1	5 Complete Bible	1	-1	1	1	-1
Russian	rus	1	0	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	-1
Sanglechi	sgy	1	1	1 Translation Needed	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Saraiki	skr	1	1	3 Bible Portions	-1	-1	1	1	-1
Savi	sdg	1	1	0 Unspecified	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Shughni	sgh	1	1	3 Bible Portions	-1	-1	1	1	-1
Shumashti	sts	1	1	1 Translation Needed	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Sindhi	snd	1	1	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	-1
Tregami	trm	1	1	1 Translation Needed	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1
Turkish	tur	1	1	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	-1
Turkmen	tuk	1	1	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	-1
Urdu	urd	4	4	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	-1
Uyghur	uig	1	1	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	-1
Uzbek, Southern	uzs	1	1	3 Bible Portions	-1	-1	1	1	-1
Waigali	wbk	1	1	0 Unspecified	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Wakhi	wbl	1	1	3 Bible Portions	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Totals:	54	70	68		14	18	30	48	0

MAJOR RELIGIONS ▲	Percent
Buddhism	0.0 %
Christianity (Evangelical 0.0 %)	0.0 %
Ethnic Religions	0.0 %
Hinduism	0.0 %
Islam	99.8 %
Non-Religious	0.0 %
Other / Small Religions	0.1 %
Unknown	0.0 %

CHRISTIAN SEGMENTS ▲	Percent
Anglican	0.1 %
Independent	85.1 %
Orthodox	4.0 %
Other Christian	1.3 %
Protestant	1.6 %
Roman Catholic	1.4 %

Notes:

Major Religions: Religion percentages are derived from summing Joshua Project's data for all people groups who live in each country. The number of individuals who practice each religion, by people group, are summed. This number is divided by the country's total population to derive the religion's percentage.

Christianity Segments: Christian segment percentages are derived from summing Joshua Project's data for all the people groups who live in each country. The number of individuals who practice each segment of Christianity, by people group, are summed. This number is divided by the country's total number of Christians to derive the Christian segment's percentage.

Networking Possibilities

Search the Web
There are many agencies and churches looking for additional staff to help them in their mission and calling in Afghanistan. Internet searches are probably the best way to find these organizations. The following are some example search topics you might try:

Church planting agencies in Afghanistan
Christian ministry in Afghanistan
Business as mission
Christian literature distribution
Evangelism agencies
Christian discipleship
Short term Christian missions

Long term Christian missions
Urban ministries
Christian media opportunities
Bible translation opportunities
Relief and development agencies
Clean water projects
Christian medical outreaches

Afghanistan Statistics
People Groups	70
Unreached People Groups	68 (97.1%)
Population	39,637,000
Population Annual Growth Rate	2.4%
Population in Unreached	39,635,000 (100.0%)
Primary Religion	Islam
Percent Christian Adherent	0.0%
Percent Evangelical	0.0%
Evangelical Annual Growth Rate	0.0%
Pioneer Workers Needed *	833
Country Progress Level	1 ●
Urbanization	27%
Continent	Asia
Region	Asia, Central
10/40 Window	Yes
Country Code	AF
Official Language(s)	Pashto, Southern \| Dari
Literacy Rate	43%
Estimated Illiterate Population	22,593,000
Persecution Ranking	1 (1=Highest) Open Doors

Afghanistan Prayer Cards / Guide
Prayer Cards All Unreached	Prayer Guide

Afghanistan Links
Operation World
Stratus Earth Index
Prosperity Index
Social Progress Index
Open Doors Persecution Ranking
World Factbook
Religious Freedom Report
UN Human Development Report
Ethnologue Language Listing

Afghanistan Maps
Political Map (UN)
Language Map (Ethnologue)
Ethnolinguistic Map (Univ of Texas)
East Afghanistan Tribal Map (Source: NPS)
South Afghanistan Tribal Map (Source: NPS)
Perry-Castaneda Map Collection

Afghanistan Videos
Afghanistan Prayercast Video

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