What is it? Where is it? The 10/40 Window – a rectangular area extending from West Africa to East Asia, from 10 degrees north to 40 degrees north of the equator. This vast region is home to the majority of the world’s Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists. In India alone, more than 300 million Dalits – “untouchables” according to India’s historic caste system – are hungering for the hope embodied in the Gospel.
The 10/40 Window is an area of the world that contains the largest population of non-Christians in the world. The area extends from 10 degrees to 40 degrees North of the equator, and stretches from North Africa across to China.
There are more people living today than have ever lived in the entire history of humanity. This phenomenal population explosion is presenting many challenges for churches and ministries who are seeking to take the gospel of Jesus Christ to every person on the planet.
Today, over 6 billion people inhabit the earth. Approximately two billion of these profess to be Christians. Another two billion live in regions where access to the gospel is possible, but they have made no profession of faith in Christ.
Two-thirds of the world's population -- more than 3.2 billion people -- live in the 10/40 Window. This is the vast area extending from 10 degrees to 40 degrees above the equator, stretching from North Africa, across the Middle East and India, to China and Southeast Asia. Half of the world's least evangelized cities are in this window.
There are approximately 2500 unreached people groups in the 10/40 Window. In Southwest China, we want to reach the Miao, Shui and Boyei peoples. In Northern Nepal, the Tibetan and Dolpo. In Northern India, Kashmiri Muslims. And in Southwest Kyrgystan, the Kyrgyz, to name just a few.
Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism are centered within the 10/40 Window.
Eighty-five percent of those living in the 10/ 40 Window are the world's poorest people. There are millions of people around the world that have never heard of God's love for them. They've never heard of Jesus' death on the cross to forgive them of their sins even once! A staggering 95% of the people living in the 10/40 Window are unevangelized.
Today, God is raising up ministries and mobilizing the church, to take the gospel to the last unreached people groups that live in this world today.
The Time is Now!
Jesus has commanded us to ...”go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and of the Holy Spirit,... teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you...” Matthew 28:19-20
Jesus also said in Matthew 24:14... that this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed in all the world as a witness to all the nations and peoples, and then the end would come.
Statistical data on unreached people groups:
The statistics on non Christians living in the 10/40 Window can be staggering to the mind!
865 million unreached Muslims or Islamic followers in 3330 cultural sub-groupings
550 million unreached Hindus in 1660 cultural sub-groups
150 million unreached Chinese in 830 groups
275 million unreached Buddhists in 900 groups
2550 unreached tribal groups with a total population of 140 million!
The Countries of the 10/40 Window
Afghanistan ,Algeria, Bahrain, Bangladesh Benin, Bhutan, Burkina, Faso, Cambodia, Chad, China, Cyprus, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Gibraltar, Greece, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Jordan, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Libya, Macau, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Morocco, Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, Niger, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Portugal, Qatar Saudi, Arabia, Senegal, Sudan, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, Western Sahara, Yemen...
Of the 55 least evangelized countries in the world, 97% of their population lives within the 10/40 Window. Unless something changes soon, most of these unreached people will never hear the Gospel. Why? Well, analysts at World Vision estimate that only about one and a quarter percent of Christian mission giving is going to missions work in the 10/40 Window. Open evangelism is difficult and even impossible in many 10/40 Window countries with restricted access or no access for missionaries. This generation in the 10/40 Window may never hear the Gospel in their lifetime!
What can you personally do about the unevangelized and unreached parts of the World?
