Boundary between three faiths
Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Islam have divided the region since the days of the Byzantine and Ottoman empires.
Region
Balkans
9
Countries
75
Peoples
30
Unreached
0.5%
Evangelicals (weighted)
Peoples overview
9Countries
75people groups
30unreached
0.5%evangelicals (weighted average)
- 24 Unreached 32%
- 6 Minimally reached 8%
- 31 Superficially reached 41.3%
- 12 Partially reached 16%
- 2 Significantly reached 2.7%
Compiled from the data of each country in this region.
143Language
92With complete Bible
51Without complete Bible
Compiled from the data of each country in this region.
What it is
Overview
The Balkans comprise 9 countries in southeastern Europe, including Greece, Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Kosovo and Albania. It is a region of ancient religious boundaries, where Orthodox Christianity, Catholicism and Islam have existed side by side since the Byzantine and Ottoman empires, often divided within the same ethnic group.
This mixture has made the Balkans a religious mosaic unique in Europe: Greece is one of the cradles of Christian Orthodoxy, while countries such as Albania and Kosovo have Muslim majorities, and Bosnia and Herzegovina divides its population among the three major traditions. The result is a region where faith is strong as a group identity, but where the pure gospel, personally lived, finds little room.
The figures reveal this challenge: only 0.4% of the Balkans’ population is evangelical, the lowest rate among all European blocs. Of the 75 peoples living in the region, 30 are unreached, including Muslim and Roma minorities that have never had a church of their own. There are already 143 languages with some cataloged biblical translation, but 51 still have no part of Scripture.
Pray for a region historically marked by wars between ethnicities and religions, that the gospel may find paths of reconciliation rather than merely another dividing line.
Context and characteristics
Cradle of Greek Orthodoxy
Greece carries one of the world's oldest Christian traditions, directly linked to the New Testament.
Europe's lowest evangelical rate
With 0.4% evangelicals, the Balkans have the lowest proportion among all the continent's blocs.
Muslim and Roma minorities
Peoples such as Muslim Albanians, Bosnian Muslims and Roma communities without churches of their own live in the region.
Memory of recent wars
Ethnic and religious conflicts in recent decades have left deep scars on relations among the region's peoples.
Countries in this region
Unreached peoples of this region 24 in total
Mission indicators
30
Unreached peoples
Combined from the countries in the region
51
Languages with no Bible translation at all
Combined from the countries in the region
What to pray for
Intercession
For peace among the peoples and religions that divide the Balkans' recent history.
For the 30 unreached people groups living in the region, many of them Muslim or Roma.
For Bible translation into the 51 languages that still have no part of Scripture.
For evangelical churches to grow despite being a small minority among ancient religious traditions.
For the Greek Orthodox Church to rediscover the power of the gospel personally lived.
Against the use of religion as a weapon of ethnic division in the region.
For true reconciliation among communities wounded by recent wars.