The Uzbeks of Uzbekistan

The Uzbeks of Uzbekistan, numbering approximately 28,570,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Turkic ethnolinguistic people of Central Asia whose identity emerged through a long process of interaction and integration among Turkic, Iranian, and Mongol populations in the region. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Northern Uzbek is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Uzbek

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Turkic Peoples
Country: Uzbekistan
People Cluster: Uzbek
Primary Language(s): Northern Uzbek (uzn)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 28,570,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, Dispersed CP Activity
People Group ID: PG024324
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Uzbeks of Uzbekistan

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

88%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Northern Uzbek
Language Family: Turkic

98%
%
Uzbek, Northern Speakers

Media Resources in Northern Uzbek:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Bible Resources in Northern Uzbek:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Institute for Bible Translation, Sweden✓✓
Muqaddas Kitob, 2019✓✓✓

2 entries

Or check out the Northern Uzbek bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Uzbeks are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Next steps for the Uzbeks:
Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Pray specifically for the Uzbeks of Uzbekistan

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.
readRevelation 3:20

Pray that those who have not opened their hearts to Jesus will hear His knock and invite Him in as their Savior and Lord.

He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.
readIsaiah 40:11

Pray that the lost will come to know the tender care of the Good Shepherd, who gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart.

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
readRomans 8:15

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember the God who has given them freedom from fear so that they will trust Him completely as their good Father who meets all their needs.

Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.”
readActs 17:32

Ask God to give those He sends to cross cultures wisdom and discernment as they engage in spiritual conversations with those who are curious about the gospel.

Uzbek, Northern Across Countries (ROP3 - 107469) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

7 people groups

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Data Standards section.

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