People Groups The 10/40 Window is the rectangular area of North Africa, the Middle East and Asia approximately between 10 degrees north and 40 degrees north latitude. The 10/40 Window is often called "The Resistant Belt" and includes the majority of the world's Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists (Google). Two-thirds of all people on Earth - 4.4 billion people - live in this rectangular area. It is the region with the greatest spiritual need for the Gospel. 90% of people in the 10/40 Window are unevangelized. There's a difference between unreached and unreachable. In 1989 there were only four known Christians living in Mongolia. That country now has an estimated 10,000 indigenous believers. Also, Christian television programming can now be received in many closed 10/40 Window nations. (https://home.snu.edu/~hculbert/1040.htm) Poverty Eighty-five percent of the people living in the 10/40 window are the poorest of the world's poor. The poorest of the 10/40 Window countries are Cambodia, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Nepal, Vietnam, and Yemen.
Possibilities The statistics of the numbers of non-Christians can be staggering [ fate of the unevangelized ]
865 million unreached Muslims or followers of Islam in 3330 cultural sub-groupings
550 million unreached Hindus in 1660 cultural sub-groups
148 million unreached Chinese in 445 groups
275 million unreached Buddhists in 900 groups
2550 unreached tribal groups (which are mainly animistic) with a total population of 140 million
Forming a smaller -- though important -- unreached group are the 17 million Jews scattered across 134 countries
Good news: Researcher David Barrett says the country that has experienced the most rapid Christian expansion ever is China, which has sometimes seen 10,000 new converts daily. [ story from China (https://home.snu.edu/~hculbert/1040.htm)
Student Manual for Missions Course from the Institute: Manual
Persecution To serve in these regions may lead to persecution, conflict with cultures and the law, and limited support and resources. The world's most persecuted Christians live in the 10-40 window. Open Doors world watch list 2026 (Nepal is 46th on the list).
