You may have heard of it before, or maybe this blog caught your attention because you have not. The 10/40 window is one of our favorite topics to discuss, so we’re glad you decided to land here. Here, we are going to share the ‘what’ as well as the ‘why’ behind the 10/40 window: What is it? Who lives there? Why should you take the time to learn about it? We hope you find the answers to these questions today!
What is the 10/40 window?
“Geographically, the 10/40 Window is the rectangular area of North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia between 10 degrees north and 40 degrees north latitude. It is often called “The Resistant Belt” and includes the majority of the world’s Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists.”
The Joshua Project perfectly describes it. You can find more information by following the link to their website here >>.
What countries are in the 10/40 Window?
The 68 countries and territories (Joshua Project revised list):
Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Chad, China, China (Hong Kong), China (Macau), Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Korea (North), Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mongolia, Morocco, Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tunisia, Türkiye (Turkey), Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, West Bank/Gaza, Western Sahara, Yemen
Added on the revised list: Albania, Azerbaijan, Brunei, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Nigeria, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste, Uzbekistan.
Dropped from the original list: Cyprus, Gibraltar, Greece, Korea (South), Malta, Philippines, Portugal.
South Korea is the one worth pausing on. It was inside the original Window and is now one of the largest missionary-sending nations on earth. The Window is not a fixed map. It is a snapshot of where the need is, and it changes.
Why is the 10/40 Window significant?
As mentioned, through the information given from The Joshua Project, this region of the world—North Africa, the Middle East, and much of Asia—is home to the majority of non-Christian religions. This means that large numbers of people are living according to other faiths and still need to hear the truth of Jesus. The people in this part of the world are classified as unreached. We will explore this concept further as the blog continues.
Out of nearly 8 billion people in the world, approximately 5.49 billion reside in the 10/40 window and have never heard the gospel or know the name of Jesus. It is estimated that 3.50 billion of them will live and die without ever hearing the gospel by the end of their lifetime—that is unless more missionaries are sent to them with the good news.
This should be significant information to anyone who believes in and follows Jesus. Everyone should have the opportunity to hear the good news – the news that Jesus came and restored us back to a relationship with God. How could we sit back and watch billions die without knowing?
Note: The numbers depend on which list you use. Joshua Project’s original list drew the Window strictly by latitude and counted 61 countries. Their revised list counts 68, adding places like Indonesia and Nigeria that sit just outside the band but carry large unreached populations, and dropping nations like South Korea and the Philippines that have since been reached in depth. The figures on this page follow the revised list, which is the one our teams plan around.
Unreached people in the 10/40 Window
Of course, it is a fact that people all over the world need the hope of Jesus. It is likely that people in your very own neighborhood might not yet know Him, but surely the majority have at least heard His name before. We could never diminish the need for everyone to hear, whether they are near or far. However, the need for the 3.2 billion people (5,905 unreached people groups, which is 68.9%) living in the 10/40 Window to hear the good news is especially urgent. Who will answer the call to go and tell them?
Romans 10:13-15 says:
For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
You may have noticed a term mentioned earlier in this blog: ‘the unreached.’ The 3.2 billion people living in the 10/40 Window are exactly that. But what does it mean to be unreached? It means that 5% or fewer people in that region identify as Christian, and less than 2% are considered evangelical. This signifies that there is no local community of Christians with adequate numbers and resources to evangelize the 8,575 people group independently. Hence, there is a great need for believers from outside to step in and share the gospel.
Once again, you can find these stats along with more information from The Joshua Project.
Is the 10/40 Window still a thing?
The term was coined by Luis Bush in 1990, and it has taken fair criticism since. It flattens sixty-eight very different countries into one rectangle. It can imply that everywhere outside the band is finished, which is not true. And some argue that in an era of mass migration and urban diaspora, drawing a box on a map is the wrong tool, because significant unreached populations now live in London, Toronto, and Minneapolis.
Those are reasonable objections and we hold the framework loosely. What has not changed is the underlying fact it was invented to point at: the large majority of people with the least access to the gospel still live in a specific and identifiable part of the world, and the share of missionary effort directed there remains small relative to the need. The rectangle is a teaching tool, not a doctrine. It is useful because it makes an abstract problem concrete enough to act on.
YWAM Lancaster’s commitment to the 10/40 window
In 2015, YWAM Lancaster’s campus leader, Luke Weaver, experienced a significant moment with the Lord. Before leading the campus, he had committed to serving with houses of prayer. During a conference, as God stirred his heart for those living in the 10/40 Window, Luke made a recommitment to see the Great Commission fulfilled. He had what he describes as a covenant moment with God, telling Him that if God would help him complete his current assignment, he would dedicate the rest of his life to reaching the unreached.
Today, in addition to sending out short-term teams to unreached regions of the world, YWAM Lancaster aims to plant ten long-term teams in the 10/40 Window within the next ten years. We want to see these communities transformed and sustained by the gospel of Jesus and encourage them to share their transformation stories with their neighbors and beyond. We believe that God has always desired a relationship with people and these individuals are not excluded from that—regardless of their current beliefs.
Testimonies from the 10/40 window
In case it has not been clear enough, many people in the very world we live in wouldn’t even recognize the name of Jesus if you asked them. YWAM Lancaster staff and students have personally encountered and witnessed this during conversations within the 10/40 Window. Here are some of those stories.
Testimony from a YWAM Lancaster student:
In 2022, one of our teams traveled to Nepal for a two-month outreach. We found ourselves in a small village where we were frequently welcomed into people’s homes for tea. One woman, in particular, reminded us of Zacchaeus from the Bible. She was an outcast in the town, often ridiculed and avoided. Like most in her village, she had never heard of Jesus.
We spent a few hours in her modest living room, sharing the gospel and the story of Jesus’s love that led Him to the cross. I will never forget the tears streaming down her face as she heard about the great love of our Savior for the very first time. Although her village had rejected her, the love of Jesus embraced her and brought comfort to her heart. The next day, as we said our goodbyes, she squeezed each of our cheeks and gave us the biggest hugs I had ever received. The revelation of Jesus truly touches hearts and sets people free!
Another story from Southeast Asia:
A team of ours hiked for four hours to reach a rural village with fewer than ten homes. We stayed with a family of which the parents had recently been saved. They had four daughters who were still learning about Jesus. The father had been given a Bible, but he didn’t understand it or know where to start reading. Our team spent three days teaching the entire family about topics ranging from salvation to baptism and how to walk in intimacy with God.
By the end of our time together, three of the four daughters had given their lives to the Lord, abandoning their old Hindu religion! Their smiling faces at the end of our visit will forever be etched in our minds and hearts.
Partnering with God and Pursuing the lost
So that’s the 10/40 Window! In closing, remember that the Bible speaks of Jesus leaving the ninety-nine sheep to find the one that was lost. What an honor it is for us to partner with Him in seeking out these people and bringing them into His kingdom in the same way.
Discipleship Training School
If you’re wondering how to get involved in reaching these people, visit our website and consider applying for the Discipleship Training School. This program offers you the opportunity to spend three months growing in the Lord and learning more about the unreached. Afterward, you’ll have the chance to travel to one of these locations in the 10/40 Window and bring the love of Jesus with you! For more information, please view the Discipleship Training School (DTS) page.
Thank you for showing interest in the 10/40 Window, one of our favorite topics to discuss!
