Punjabi Christians are ethnic Punjabis who adhere to Christianity. They are mainly found in the Pakistani province of Punjab, forming the largest religious minority. They are one of the four main ethnoreligious communities of the Punjab region with the others being Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus. Punjabi Christians are traditionally divided into various castes, and are largely descendants of Hindus who converted to Christianity during the British Raj in colonial India. About 90 to 95% of Punjabi Christians are Dalits from the Chuhra caste who converted from Hinduism.
Today, the Punjabi Christians reside in the Punjab region, which includes the countries of Pakistan and India; they are almost equally divided between Catholicism and Protestantism. With an estimated three million living in the Pakistani province of Punjab, they account for 75 percent of the country's total Christian population. They are the second-largest religious community in the province behind Muslims, comprising approximately 1.5 to 2.8 percent of its population. In India, a significant Punjabi Christian community is also found in the Indian state of Punjab. With a population of roughly 350,000, they comprise 1.26 percent of the state's population according to official Indian government figures.
