Afghanistan

Country: Afghanistan

Number of People Groups

People Groups Unreached

67 (93.1%)

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

38,809,000

Population in Unreached

38,789,000 (99.9%)

Largest Religion

Islam (99.8%)

% Christian Adherent

0.1%

% Evangelical

0.03%

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	10,485,000	10,886,000	●	Dari	Islam	0 ☀	0.01 %	0.01 %	210
Afshari	15,000	393,000		Azerbaijani, South	Islam	0 ☀	0.04 %	0.04 %	1
Aimaq	1,595,000	2,086,000	●	Aimaq	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	32
Americans, U.S.	13,000	192,805,000		English	Christianity	5 ●	84.50 %	30.00 %	-1 -
Ansari	2,400	16,580,000		Urdu	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Arab, Tajiki	18,000	19,000		Arabic, Tajiki Spoken	Islam	1 ●	0.20 %	0.20 %	1
Arora (Hindu traditions)	1,500	4,079,000		Saraiki	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Baloch, Western	467,000	1,274,000	●	Balochi, Western	Islam	0 ☀	0.01 %	0.01 %	9
Bania (Muslim traditions)	6,400	6,400		Urdu	Islam	1 ●	0.23 %	0.20 %	1
Brahmin	3,700	62,809,000		Urdu	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Brahui	322,000	3,070,000	●	Brahui	Islam	1 ●	0.10 %	0.10 %	6
British	1,100	53,901,000		English	Christianity	4 ●	72.00 %	6.00 %	-1 -
Changar	3,100	364,000		Urdu	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Chitrali, Kho	10,000	36,000		Khowar	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Darwazi, Badakhshani	16,000	16,000	●	Dari	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Deaf	389,000	47,601,000	●	Afghan Sign Language	Islam	0 ☀	0.05 %	-1	8
Garwi, Kohistani	1,900	1,900	●	Gawri	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
German	2,900	66,308,000		German, Standard	Christianity	4 ●	78.00 %	5.00 %	-1 -
Gujar (Muslim traditions)	18,000	5,534,000	●	Gujari	Islam	0 ☀	0.03 %	0.03 %	1
Hazara	3,891,000	4,654,000	●	Hazaragi	Islam	0 ☀	0.03 %	0.03 %	78
Ishkashimi	3,100	4,800	●	Ishkashimi	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Italian	1,900	38,270,000		Italian	Christianity	3 ●	77.00 %	0.20 %	-1 -
Karakalpak	3,200	874,000		Karakalpak	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Kazakh	3,200	15,659,000		Kazakh	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Khatri (Sikh traditions)	2,700	304,000		Punjabi, Eastern	Other / Small	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Kohistani	47,000	71,000	●	Kohistani, Indus	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Kurd, Central	270,000	8,324,000		Kurdish, Central	Islam	0 ☀	0.01 %	0.01 %	5
Kyrgyz	1,300	5,669,000		Kyrgyz	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Moghal	2,300	3,084,000	●	Dari	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Munji	7,000	7,000	●	Munji	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Mussali	3,200	2,643,000		Punjabi, Eastern	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Narisati, Arandui	39,000	39,000	●	Gawar-Bati	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Nuristani, Ashkuni	48,000	48,000	●	Ashkun	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Nuristani, Grangali	11,000	11,000	●	Grangali	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Nuristani, Kamviri	22,000	22,000	●	Kamviri	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Nuristani, Malakhel	3,200	3,200	●	Dari	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Nuristani, Narisati	144,000	187,000	●	Kati	Islam	1 ●	0.10 %	0.00 %	3
Nuristani, Prasuni	9,700	9,700	●	Prasuni	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Nuristani, Tregami	4,200	4,200	●	Tregami	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Nuristani, Waigeli	32,000	32,000	●	Waigali	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Ormuri	3,200	3,200	●	Pashto, Southern	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Pahlavani	3,700	3,700	●	Dari	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Parachi	8,100	8,100	●	Parachi	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Parsee	2,300	159,000	●	Dari	Other / Small	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Parya, Laghmani	400	6,100	●	Parya	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Pashayi, Northeast	92,000	92,000	●	Pashai, Northeast	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	2
Pashayi, Northwest	96,000	96,000	●	Pashai, Northwest	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	2
Pashayi, Southeast	547,000	547,000	●	Pashai, Southeast	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	11
Pashayi, Southwest	121,000	121,000	●	Pashai, Southwest	Islam	0 ☀	0.01 %	0.00 %	2
Pashtun, Northern	2,749,000	32,638,000	●	Pashto, Northern	Islam	0 ☀	0.01 %	0.01 %	55
Pashtun, Southern	9,556,000	9,955,000	●	Pashto, Southern	Islam	0 ☀	0.02 %	0.02 %	191
Persian	663,000	41,801,000	●	Persian, Iranian	Islam	1 ●	0.12 %	0.10 %	13
Punjabi	6,000	2,261,000	●	Punjabi, Eastern	Islam	1 ●	1.00 %	0.30 %	1
Punjabi, Western	37,000	105,000	●	Punjabi, Western	Islam	1 ●	0.20 %	0.10 %	1
Qizilbash	299,000	304,000	●	Dari	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	6
Romani, Balkan	17,000	1,239,000		Romani, Balkan	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Romani, Domari	11,000	3,505,000		Domari	Islam	0 ☀	0.02 %	0.00 %	1
Russian	900	133,971,000		Russian	Non-Religious	2 ●	31.00 %	0.30 %	-1 -
Sanglechi	2,800	4,700	●	Sanglechi	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Sau	4,800	4,800	●	Savi	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Shughni	45,000	84,000	●	Shughni	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Shumashti	1,600	1,600	●	Shumashti	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Sindhi	24,000	126,000		Sindhi	Islam	0 ☀	0.08 %	0.08 %	1
Tangshuri	16,000	16,000	●	Dari	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Tirahi	5,700	5,700	●	Pashto, Southern	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Turk	11,000	63,339,000		Turkish	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Turkmen	2,171,000	7,881,000	●	Turkmen	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	43
Uyghur	4,800	12,351,000		Uyghur	Islam	0 ☀	0.05 %	0.05 %	1
Uzbek, Southern	4,358,000	4,395,000	●	Uzbek, Southern	Islam	0 ☀	0.01 %	0.01 %	87
Wakhi	21,000	111,000	●	Wakhi	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Warduji	8,100	8,100	●	Warduji	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Wotapuri-Katarqalai	3,500	3,500	●	Pashto, Northern	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Totals: 72	38,809,000					67 ●	0.06 %	0.03 %	812
Unclassified / Other Individuals	119,000
UN Country Population (2020)	38,928,000

Other minor groups: 2

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 for every 50,000 individuals living in an unreached people group by country. Some workers may already be onsite. Many more workers are needed beyond this initial estimate.

Download Data Data Sources Definitions

Prayer Cards

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Provinces ▲	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	38,928,000

Afghanistan Prayer Cards
	Afghanistan prayer cards. All Unreached

Afghanistan Links
Operation World
Open Doors Persecution Ranking
World Factbook
God Reports (stories from the field)
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)	287,022,000	739.6 %	97.3 %	0.0 %	1.1 %	0.1 %	0.0 %	1.4 %
Other Backward Classes (OBC)	765,853,000	1,973.4 %	70.6 %	24.5 %	1.7 %	0.1 %	2.3 %	0.8 %
Scheduled Caste (SC)	206,239,000	531.4 %	93.4 %	0.0 %	0.5 %	3.4 %	2.6 %	0.0 %
Scheduled Tribe (ST)	114,756,000	295.7 %	81.8 %	1.5 %	9.2 %	0.7 %	0.0 %	6.7 %
	38,809,000

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?

Count People Groups: 72

Progress Scale

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%

Click column headings for sorting ▲▼
Language ▲	Code	# Peoples Primary Language	# Unreached 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, 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	8	8	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	1
Domari	rmt	1	1	3 Bible Portions	-1	-1	1	1	-1
English	eng	2	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	4 New Testament	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1
German, Standard	deu	1	0	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	1
Grangali	nli	1	1	0 Unspecified	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Gujari	gju	1	1	3 Bible Portions	-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
Italian	ita	1	0	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	1
Kamviri	xvi	1	1	1 Translation Needed	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Karakalpak	kaa	1	1	4 New Testament	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	0 Unspecified	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Kohistani, Indus	mvy	1	1	0 Unspecified	-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	1 Translation Needed	-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	4 New Testament	-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
Warduji	wrd	1	1	1 Translation Needed	-1	-1	-1	1	-1
Totals:	56	72	67		16	16	28	50	9

MAJOR RELIGIONS ▲	Percent
Buddhism	0.0 %
Christianity (Evangelical 0.0 %)	0.1 %
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	0.5 %
Independent	39.0 %
Orthodox	2.2 %
Other Christian	12.1 %
Protestant	17.8 %
Roman Catholic	22.6 %

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	72
Unreached People Groups	67 (93.1%)
Population	38,809,000
Population Annual Growth Rate	2.4%
Population in Unreached	38,789,000 (99.9%)
Primary Religion	Islam
Percent Christian Adherent	0.1%
Percent Evangelical	0.0%
Evangelical Annual Growth Rate	0.0%
Pioneer Workers Needed *	812
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	32%
Estimated Illiterate Population	26,390,000
Persecution Ranking	2 (1=High to 50=Low OD)

Afghanistan Prayer Cards
	Afghanistan prayer cards. All Unreached

Afghanistan Links
Operation World
Open Doors Persecution Ranking
World Factbook
God Reports (stories from the field)
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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