Pray for Syria

• Full Name: Syrian Arab Republic
• Government Type: Republic under an authoritarian regime
• Leader(s): Bashar al-Assad (president)
• Population: 22,517,750 (July 2010 est.)
• People Groups: 24
• Religions:
• Islam> 90% (20,265,975)
• Other (Christianity, Ethnic Religions, & Judaism)> 10% (2,251,775)
• Average Annual Income (GNI per capita): $2,640
• Population Below Poverty Line: 11.9% (2006 est.)
• Some Prayer Requests:
• “Syria has been involved in wars and confrontations with surrounding states for over 50 years. Pray that there would be greater political freedom in Syria.”
• “Although Christians are tolerated in Syria and can meet together, any attempts to witness to Muslims is seen as a threat to the government. Pray for wisdom to know how best to share their faith in this environment.”
• The Adyghe (54,911), the Alawite (1,740,724), the Deaf Syrian (104,847), the Lomavren (457,039), and the Shiite (1,243,374) people groups are still not reached. The Druze (951,181), the Iraqi Arab (93,253), the Levantine Bedawi (87,036), the Levantine Bedawi Spoken Arabic (96,095), the Palestinian Arab (432,973), the Syrian Arab (14,504,587), and the Turk (55,952) people groups are still not engaged. ‘Pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.’

[Click to view sources used]

Pray for Tanzania

• Full Name: United Republic of Tanzania
• Government Type: Republic
• Leader(s): Jakaya Kikwete (president)
• Population: 42,746,620 (2011 est.)
• People Groups: 132
• Religions:
• Tanganyika (Mainland):
• Islam> 35%
• Other> (including Ethnic Religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, & Baha’i Faith)> 35%
• Christianity> 30%
• Zanzibar (Island)
• Islam> more than 99%
• Average Annual Income (GNI per capita): $500 (USD)
• Population Below Poverty Line (2002 est.): 36% (15,388,783)
• Some Prayer Requests:
• “AIDS continues to spread across Tanzania – over 1.3 million people are infected and more than a million children are orphaned. Pray that churches can be active in addressing the needs of those who are suffering or losing their families and in teaching people about the disease.”
• The Machinga people group (69,360) is still not reached, and the Deaf Tanzanian (228,159), the Konongo (88,777), and Mambwe-Lungu (171,213) people groups are still not engaged. ‘Pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.’
• ‘Tanzania hosts more than a half-million refugees, more than any other African country.’ Pray for the church’s ministry to these refugees, and for God’s provision and protection.
• ‘Tanzania is a source, transit, and destination country for forced labor and sex trafficking.’ Pray for God’s justice to prevail, and for the protection and the safety of these victims.

[Click to view sources used]

Pray for Tonga

• Full Name: Kingdom of Tonga
• Government Type: Constitutional monarchy
• Leader(s): King George Tupou V (head of state); Feleti Sevele (outgoing prime minister)
• Population: 105,916 (2011 est.)
• People Groups: 6
• Religions:
• Christianity> 93.08% (98,587)
• Baha’i Faith> 6.7% (7,096)
• Buddhism> 0.12% (127)
• Hinduism> 0.1% (106)
• Average Annual Income (GNI per capita): $3,260 (USD)
• Population Below Poverty Line: 24% (25,420)
• Some Prayer Requests:
• “Tonga is a relatively ‘reached’ country, with a relatively large protestant makeup, with an existent relationship between church and state. Indeed, the constitution decrees by law that a sabbath be observed, with all commercial activity stopping at midnight Saturday, and does not commence again until midnight Sunday. However, Catholicism, the Church of Latter Day Saints, and the institutionalized Free Church of Tonga have many adherents. Pray that the people might not fall in the trap of religiosity, and might come to understand what it means to have a true relationship with Christ.”
• “Pray the Tongan Church would continue to develop a passion for mission.”
• “The growing Chinese community is the only unreached people group on the islands. Pray that Christians would develop friendships with people immigrating from Hong Kong and China and be able to share Jesus with them.”

[Click to view sources used]

Pray for Turkey

• Full Name: Republic of Turkey
• Government Type: Republican parliamentary democracy
• Leader(s): Abdullah Gul (president); Recep Tayyip Erdogan (prime minister)
• Population: 78,785,548 (2011 est.)
• People Groups: 49
• Religions:
• Islam> 99.8% (78,627,977)
• Other (including Christianity, Judaism, and Non-religious)> 0.2% (157,571)
• Average Annual Income (GNI per capita): $8,720 (USD)
• Population Below Poverty Line: 17.11% (13,480,207)
• Some Prayer Requests:
• ‘Turkey remains the largest unreached nation in the world. Few of the 66 million Muslims have ever heard the gospel and only 15 of Turkey’s 80 provinces have a Christian church.’
• ‘To be a Turk is to be a Muslim, so people who decide to follow Jesus are threatened, intimidated and can be rejected by their families. There is a deep seated hostility towards Christians, who are identified with foreign invaders, who invaded the Turkish empire during the crusades. Pray that these misconceptions would be shattered by the truth and love of Jesus.’
• “After 20 years of work by the Bible Society, a new modern Turkish translation of the Bible was published in 2001. Pray that these Bibles would bring fresh revelation and excitement and reach the people who need them.”
• “Pray for an end to the trouble and hostility between the Turkish army and Kurdish separatists, who are fighting for their independence from Turkey.”
• The Balkan Romani (66,167), the Han Chinese (50,039), the Karakalpak (73,725), the Karapapakh (66,521), the Levantine Arab (1,397,347), the Pushtun (58,766), and the Tosk (100,962) people groups are still not engaged. ‘Pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.’

[Click to view sources used]

Pray for Belarus

• Full Name: Republic of Belarus
• Government Type: Republic in name, although in fact a dictatorship (Source: CIA.gov)
• Leader(s): Alexander Lukashenko (President)
• Population: 9,612,632 (2010 est.)
• People Groups: 4
• Religions: (1997 est.)
• Eastern Orthodox> 80% (7,690,106)
• Other (including Roman Catholics, Protestants, Judaism, Islam, and Ethnic Religions)> 20% (1,922,526)
• Average Annual Income (GNI per capita): $5,560 (USD)
• Population Below Poverty Line: 27.1% (2,605,023)
• Some Prayer Requests:
• ‘Radiation pollution from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster affects 70% of the country. The government spends a quarter of all its money on repairing the environment and treating people who have suffered long-term health problems.’
• ‘Belarus has received far less attention from Christian missions than its neighbours - pray that more people would be called to serve the people of Belarus.’
• “Protestant and evangelical Christians face some persecution and hassles from the authorities. Pray that churches would still grow despite all the problems they face.”
• The Deaf Belarusian people group (53,917) is still unreached.

[Click to view sources used]

Pray for Bangladesh

• Full Name: People's Republic of Bangladesh
• Government Type: Parliamentary democracy
• Leader(s): Sheikh Hasina Wajed (Prime Minister); Zillur Rahman (President)
• Population: 156,118,464 (2010 est.)
• People Groups: 46
• Religions: (2004)
• Islam> 89.5% (139,726,025)
• Hinduism> 9.6% (14,987,373)
• Other (including Christianity, Buddhism, & Ethnic Religions)> 0.9% (1,405,066)
• Average Annual Income (GNI per capita): $580 (USD)
• Population Below Poverty Line: 36.3% (56,671,002)
• Some Prayer Requests:
• ‘Bangladesh is massively over-populated and suffers from natural disasters like flood and cyclones which kill thousands of people.’
• ‘Over 230 million Bengali people live around the world. They are by far the largest unreached people group in the world and most live in Bangladesh and India. Pray that many more Bengali would have an opportunity to hear about the gospel.’
• ‘The majority of population cannot read, get enough food or decent medical care. Pray that the leadership of the nation will take a stand against corruption and make decisions will improve the quality of life for all.’

[Click to view sources used]

Pray for Ukraine

• Full Name: Ukraine
• Government Type: Republic
• Leader(s): Viktor Yanukovych (President); Mykola Azarov (Prime Minister)
• Population: 45.4 million (2010 est.)
• People Groups: 7
• Religions: (2000)
• Ukrainian Orthodox - Kyiv Patriarchate> 50.4% (22,889,460)
• Ukrainian Orthodox - Moscow Patriarchate> 26.1% (11,853,471)
• Other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Islam, Judaism, Non-Religious, & Ethnic Religions)> 8.3% (3,769,494)
• Ukrainian Greek Catholic> 8% (3,633,248)
• Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox> 7.2% (3,269,923)
• Average Annual Income (GNI per capita): $2,800 (USD)
• Population Below Poverty Line: 35% (15,895,459)
• Some Prayer Requests:
• Radiation pollution for the Chernobyl disaster still affects much of the country. People have weaker immune systems and are more at risk from disease.
• The Hutsul (521,024) and the Deaf Ukranian (232,677) people groups are still unreached.

[Click to view sources used]

Pray for the UAE

• Full Name: United Arab Emirates
• Government Type: Federation with specified powers delegated to the UAE federal government and other powers reserved to member emirates
• Leader(s): Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed (President, ruler of Abu Dhabi); Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum (Vice president and PM, ruler of Dubai)
• Population: 4.6 million (2009)
• People Groups: 33
• Religions: (1995 est.)
• Islam> 96% (4,414,656)
• Other (including Christianity, Hinduism, Baha’i Faith, Buddhism, Sikhism, & Ethnic Religions)> 4% (183,944)
• Average Annual Income (GNI per capita): $26,370 (USD)
• Population Below Poverty Line: 19.5% (896,727)
• Some Prayer Requests:
• The Omani (95,607) and the Palestinian (76,956) people groups are still unreached.

[Click to view sources used]

Pray for the UK

• Full Name: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
• Government Type: Constitutional monarchy and Commonwealth realm
• Leader(s): Queen Elizabeth II (Head of State); David Cameron (Prime Minister)
• Population: 61.1 million (2010 est.)
• People Groups: 83
• Religions: (2001 census)
• Christianity (including Roman Catholics, Anglicans, & Protestants> 71.6% (43,757,055)
• Non-religious or Unspecified> 23.1% (14,117,150)
• Islam> 2.7% (1,650,057)
• Other (including Judaism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, & Spiritism)> 1.6% (977,811)
• Hinduism> 1% (611,132)
• Average Annual Income (GNI per capita): $41,520 (USD)
• Population Below Poverty Line: 14% (8,555,849)
• Some Prayer Requests:
• “Britain’s suicide and teenage pregnancy rates are among the highest in Europe.”
• “In the last 200 years Britain has made a unique contribution to world mission. Now Britain is the country in need of missionaries!” (Up to five people groups are still unreached.)
• “Britain is becoming more multicultural. Pray that Christians can reach out to the needs of Britain’s growing ethnic minorities.”
• “Pray for peace in Northern Ireland. Pray that both Protestant and Catholic Christians can demonstrate God’s forgiveness and reconciliation in their communities.”

[Click to view sources used]

Pray for Uzbekistan

• Full Name: Republic of Uzbekistan
• Government Type: Republic
• Leader(s): Islam Karimov (President)
• Population: 27.5 million
• People Groups: 55
• Religions:
• Islam (mostly Sunnis)> 88% (24,200,000)
• Eastern Orthodox> 9% (2,475,000)
• Other (including Judaism, Ethnic Religions, & Buddhiism)> 3% (825,000)
• Average Annual Income (GNI per capita): $910 (USD)

• Population Below Poverty Line: 26% (7,150,000)

• Some Issues:
• “Uzbekistan is a source country for women and girls trafficked to Kazakhstan, Russia, Middle East, and Asia for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation; men are trafficked to Kazakhstan and Russia for purposes of forced labor; men and women are also trafficked internally.”
• “Uzbekistan is home to thousands of refugees from Tajikistan (39,202) and Afghanistan (1,060).”
• “The Turk (158,957) and the Crimean Tatar (90,000) people groups are still unreached.”

[Click to view sources used]