Unreached people groups
An overview of the country's people groups, focusing on those who still have little or no access to the gospel in their own language and culture.
Overview
Italy has 23 people groups considered unreached, according to Joshua Project, mostly Muslim immigrant communities from North Africa (Moroccans, Tunisians, Algerians), the Middle East and South Asia. These groups, who arrived in migratory waves starting in the 1970s, are concentrated in the major cities of the north, such as Milan and Turin, and in coastal regions. Most live in closed communities with little contact with the gospel. There are also groups of Romani origin (Roma and Sinti) historically marginalized. Most of the Italian population is classified as significantly reached by historic evangelicalism, but deep secularization makes the country an urgent field for re-evangelization.
In the country i
82.3%Christians
1%evangelicals
By population i
2.6%unreached
0.6%significantly reached
- 1.6M Unreached 2.6%
- 464K Minimally reached 0.8%
- 54.6M Superficially reached 92.3%
- 2.2M Partially reached 3.6%
- 353K Significantly reached 0.6%
By people groups i
103people groups
23unreached · 22.3%
- 23 Unreached 22.3%
- 2 Minimally reached 1.9%
- 47 Superficially reached 45.6%
- 22 Partially reached 21.4%
- 9 Significantly reached 8.7%
Source of people group data: Joshua Project (joshuaproject.net). Estimates, may vary.
Source: Joshua Project. Estimates, may vary.
Unreached people groups · 103
| People | Population | Language | Evang. | Chr. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wolof Frontier | 7.1M | Wolof | < 0.1% | 0.1% |
| Tcheco | 10.5M | Czech | 0.7% | 26% |
| Italian Jew | 25K | Judeo-Italian | 0.1% | 0.5% |
| Somali Frontier | 28.9M | Somali | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Southern Pashtun Frontier | 9.6M | Southern Pashto | < 0.1% | < 0.1% |
| Japanese | 119.7M | Japanese | 0.5% | 1.6% |
| Central Thai | 22.4M | Thai | 0.9% | 1.6% |
| Bosniak Frontier | 3.1M | Bosnian | < 0.1% | 0.3% |
| Tunisian Arab | 11.9M | Tunisian Arabic | 0% | 0.2% |
| Pomak | 106K | Bulgarian | 0.4% | 1.5% |
| Moroccan Arab Frontier | 31.5M | Moroccan Arabic | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| Kurmanji Kurd Frontier | 16.5M | Northern Kurdish | < 0.1% | 0.1% |
| Arabic-Speaking Algerian Frontier | 38.2M | Algerian Arabic | < 0.1% | < 0.1% |
| Mocheno | 2K | Mòcheno | 0% | 60% |
| Shawiya Berber Frontier | 2.8M | Tachawit | 0% | 0% |
| Turk Frontier | 66.8M | Turkish | < 0.1% | < 0.1% |
| Egyptian Arab | 73.6M | Egyptian Arabic | 0.5% | 1.4% |
| Afghan | 1.3M | Dari | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| Albanian | 5.8M | Gheg Albanian | 0.5% | 24.3% |
| Bengali-speaking South Asian | 5.5M | Bengali | 0.2% | 0.8% |
| Mashhadi Persian Jew Frontier | 22K | Hebrew | 0% | 0% |
| Western Punjabi Frontier | 998K | Western Punjabi | 0% | < 0.1% |
| Friulian | 276K | Friulian | 0.1% | 83% |
| Macedonian | 1.8M | Macedonian | 0.2% | 84.8% |
| Polish | 42.9M | Polish | 0.3% | 90% |
| Italian Roma | 24K | Italian | 0.3% | 70% |
| Montenegrin | 399K | Montenegrin | 0.3% | 83.4% |
| Greek | 10M | Greek | 0.3% | 94.4% |
| Croat | 5M | Croatian | 0.3% | 93.5% |
| Bavarian Austrians | 14.4M | Bavarian | 0.4% | 76.4% |
| Franco-Provençal | 145K | Arpitan | 0.5% | 69.8% |
| Corsican | 176K | Corsican | 0.5% | 84.8% |
| Cimbrians | 2K | Cimbrian | 0.5% | 88% |
| Serb | 7.9M | Serbian | 0.5% | 81.1% |
| Lombard | 3.5M | Lombard | 0.5% | 86% |
| Catalan | 4.4M | Catalan | 0.6% | 82.6% |
| Rhaeto-Romansh | 68K | Romansh | 0.7% | 93% |
| Sardinian | 178K | Italian | 0.7% | 84% |
| Provençal | 3.1M | French | 0.7% | 70.4% |
| Ligurian | 508K | Ligurian | 0.7% | 83.9% |
| Sassarese Sardinian | 105K | Sassarese Sardinian | 0.8% | 80% |
| Arbereshe | 100K | Arbereshe Albanian | 0.8% | 83% |
| Dolomite Ladin | 35K | Ladin | 0.8% | 82% |
| Bergamasque | 137K | Lombard | 0.8% | 80% |
| Tempiese Sardinian | 105K | Gallurese Sardinian | 0.8% | 80% |
| Tigrayans and Tigrinyas | 10.5M | Tigrinya | 0.9% | 95.8% |
| Persian | 48.4M | Iranian Persian | 1.5% | 1.8% |
| Slavomolisano | 2K | Slavomolisano | 1% | 90% |
| Sinhalese | 715K | Sinhala | 1.3% | 3.6% |
| Balkan Roma | 946K | Balkan Romani | 1.9% | 59.4% |
| Hausa | 59.1M | Hausa | 1.4% | 1.7% |
| Deaf Frontier | 27.5M | Pakistan Sign Language | 1.8% | 3.7% |
| Logudorese Sardinian | 525K | Logudorese Sardinian | 1% | 80% |
| South Asian | 10.8M | Hindi | 1.2% | 4.3% |
| French | 52M | French | 1.1% | 66.7% |
| Campidanese Sardinian | 502K | Campidanese Sardinian | 1.1% | 80% |
| Piedmontese | 688K | Piedmontese | 1.1% | 80% |
| Ethiopian Amhara | 29.3M | Amharic | 1.2% | 96.6% |
| Venetian | 3.8M | Venetian | 1.2% | 82.1% |
| Emilian | 2.1M | Italian | 1.2% | 82% |
| Spaniard | 30.1M | Spanish | 1.3% | 77.7% |
| Italian | 37.4M | Italian | 1.3% | 86.2% |
| Maltese | 699K | Maltese | 1.4% | 97.7% |
| Slovak | 5.1M | Slovak | 1.4% | 93.8% |
| Lithuanian | 2.9M | Lithuanian | 1.4% | 85.7% |
| Walser | 33K | Walser | 1.5% | 94.3% |
| Georgian | 3.2M | Georgian | 1.5% | 86.2% |
| Russian | 134.2M | Russian | 1.5% | 64.9% |
| Sicilian Italian | 4.6M | Sicilian | 1.6% | 81% |
| Moldovan | 2.5M | Romanian | 1.6% | 73.7% |
| Calabrian | 5.6M | Neapolitan | 1.7% | 83% |
| Belarusian | 8.6M | Belarusian | 1.8% | 69.6% |
| Sinte Roma | 223K | Sinte Romani | 2.1% | 67.9% |
| Bulgarian | 6.7M | Bulgarian | 2.1% | 91.5% |
| German | 66.7M | Standard German | 2.5% | 64.3% |
| Hindu Tamil | 3.6M | Tamil | 3.4% | 6.7% |
| Hungarians | 11.5M | Hungarian | 3.1% | 88.2% |
| Ukrainian | 33.8M | Ukrainian | 4% | 75.1% |
| Dutch | 14.4M | Dutch | 4.4% | 48% |
| Vlax Roma Frontier | 1.2M | Vlax Romani | 6% | 71.3% |
| Swiss German | 4.8M | Swiss German | 5.1% | 78.1% |
| Romanian | 20.8M | Romanian | 6.3% | 95.1% |
| Cape Verdean | 791K | Kabuverdianu | 8% | 96.8% |
| Mandarin Han Chinese | 925.1M | Mandarin Chinese | 8.3% | 9.9% |
| British | 55M | English | 8.9% | 60.4% |
| Dominicanos | 9.5M | Spanish | 10.4% | 94% |
| Colombian Mestizo | 37.2M | Spanish | 10.7% | 96.2% |
| Mauriciano | 1.1M | Morisyen | 11.6% | 35% |
| Cuban | 8.9M | Spanish | 11.1% | 56.2% |
| Ecuadorian Mestizo | 14.5M | Spanish | 11.4% | 93.9% |
| White Argentinian | 36.5M | Spanish | 12.4% | 96.9% |
| Venezuelanos | 26.8M | Spanish | 12.8% | 85% |
| Filipino tagalo | 40.4M | Tagalog | 14.7% | 97.8% |
| Mossi | 14.7M | Moore | 17.7% | 31.5% |
| Peruano | 26.6M | Spanish | 18.2% | 96% |
| Brazilians abroad | 1.1M | Portuguese | 18.8% | 91.8% |
| Bolivian Mestizo | 8.6M | Spanish | 19% | 93.9% |
| Black African (general) | 1.2M | Swahili | 25% | 74% |
| Baule | 8.8M | Baoule | 27% | 55% |
| US Americans | 202.4M | English | 32.9% | 81% |
| Akan | 6.3M | Akan | 39.2% | 69.8% |
| Salvadorenho | 7M | Spanish | 44.5% | 94.6% |
| Yoruba | 49.6M | Yoruba | 53% | 60% |
Intercede for Italy and its peoples
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