Christians in Pakistan · By Rev. Dr. Naeem Nasir, Founding President, Good Samaritan Ministries · October 2026
Pakistan is home to one of the largest Christian communities in South Asia. Here are the facts about how many Christians live in Pakistan, where they live, and how the Church grew there.
How many Christians live in Pakistan?
According to Pakistan’s 2023 national census, there are 3,300,788 Christians in Pakistan, about 1.37% of the population. Christians are the third-largest faith community in the country.
The number is growing. The previous census in 2017 counted 2,642,048 Christians, so the community grew by more than 650,000 people in six years. Many church leaders in Pakistan believe the true number is higher, perhaps 3% to 4% of the population, because Christian families are often under-counted, especially in poor and remote areas.
Where do Christians live in Pakistan?
Most Christians in Pakistan live in the province of Punjab. The 2023 census shows:
- Punjab: 2,458,924 Christians (1.93%)
- Sindh: 546,968 (0.98%)
- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: 134,884 (0.33%)
- Islamabad: 97,281 (4.26%), the highest share in the country
- Balochistan: 62,731 (0.43%)
Three out of every four Christians in Pakistan live in Punjab. Islamabad has the highest share of Christians of anywhere in the country.
Which cities have the most Christians?
Lahore has the largest Christian community of any city in Pakistan. It is home to historic cathedrals, Christian colleges and thousands of churches, from great congregations to house fellowships.
Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, has a large and long-established Christian community, including a historic Catholic community in neighbourhoods across the city.
Across Punjab, large Christian communities live in and around Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Sheikhupura, Kasur, Okara, Sahiwal and Khanewal, and in hundreds of villages in between. Many Christian families also live in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, and many communities live in Peshawar and Quetta.
How did Christianity come to Pakistan?
Christian tradition holds that the Apostle Thomas carried the Gospel to this region in the first century, and an ancient cross found near Taxila is kept today at Lahore Cathedral.
In the late sixteenth century the first Catholic church in Punjab was built in Lahore. In the nineteenth century missionaries opened schools, colleges and hospitals across the region, and thousands of families in the villages of Punjab came to faith in Jesus Christ.
When Pakistan was born in 1947, Christians stood with the new nation. The white stripe on Pakistan’s flag represents its religious minorities, Christians among them. In 1970 several Protestant churches united to form the Church of Pakistan.
What do Christians in Pakistan contribute?
Christians in Pakistan have served the nation far beyond their numbers. Christian schools and colleges have educated generations of Pakistanis. Christian hospitals and nurses have cared for the sick in cities and villages. Christian workers keep cities clean, and Christian families work in fields and brick kilns. Many face poverty and hardship, yet the Church in Pakistan keeps growing, worshipping and serving.
How can you stand with Christians in Pakistan?
Pray for Christian families, pastors and young people in Pakistan.
Partner with Good Samaritan Ministries: https://www.gsministries.org
“I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Matthew 16:18
Read more: Christians in Pakistan: Two Thousand Years of Faith
Rev. Dr. Naeem Nasir
Founding President, Good Samaritan Ministries
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