Overview: Turkic peoples form a diverse linguistic and cultural bloc spanning from Turkey and the Caucasus through Central Asia to western China and Siberia. United by related Turkic languages, major populations include Turks, Azerbaijanis, Uzbeks, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Turkmen, Uyghurs, and Tatars. The overwhelming majority practice Islam, which became deeply intertwined with Turkic identity following centuries of Islamic influence and the Ottoman Empire. The collapse of the Ottoman Empire in 1920 and the Soviet Union in 1991 significantly reshaped the political and religious landscape, creating new opportunities for Christian engagement. Christianity has limited presence among Turkic peoples, with less than 1% identifying as Christian. Most are nominally Orthodox, often descendants of communities that converted under Russian influence. For centuries, Christianity has been perceived as foreign to Turkic cultural identity, presenting ongoing challenges for Gospel witness in these communities.

  -- ROP Editor

People clusters: Altaic; Azerbaijani; Kazakh; Kyrgyz; Turkic; Turkmen; Ural-Siberian; Uyghur; Uzbek

Countries where they are found: Afghanistan; Australia; Austria; Azerbaijan; Belgium; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Bulgaria; Canada; China; Cyprus; Denmark; Egypt; France; Georgia; Germany; Greece; India; Iran; Iraq; Italy; Japan; Jordan; Kazakhstan; Kosovo; Kyrgyzstan; Lebanon; Moldova; Mongolia; Netherlands; North Macedonia; Norway; Pakistan; Romania; Russian Federation; Saudi Arabia; Sweden; Switzerland; Syria; Tajikistan; Türkiye; Turkmenistan; Ukraine; United Arab Emirates; United Kingdom; United States; Uzbekistan