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The Deaf Swiss of Switzerland

The Deaf Swiss of Switzerland, numbering approximately 93,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a community of individuals who are culturally Deaf and actively participate in Deaf culture, often using sign language as their primary means of communication. They mostly adhere to Roman Catholicism and Swiss-German Sign Language is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Deaf Swiss

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Deaf Peoples
Country: Switzerland
People Cluster: Deaf
Primary Language(s): Swiss-German Sign Language (sgg)
Primary Religion(s): Roman Catholicism
Population: 93,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG000604
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Pray for the Deaf Swiss of Switzerland

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Roman Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

—
%
Roman Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Swiss-German Sign Language
Language Family: Sign Language

6%
%
Swiss-German Sign Language Speakers

Media Resources in Swiss-German Sign Language:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Swiss-German Sign Language:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Swiss-German Sign Language bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Deaf Swiss are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Next steps for the Deaf Swiss:
Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Pray specifically for the Deaf Swiss of Switzerland

For you, O LORD, are most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.
readPsalm 97:9

Pray that those who don't yet know Him will recognize the Lord as the Most High and turn from spiritual darkness to worship Him above all else.

Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know, and a nation that did not know you shall run to you, because of the LORD your God, and of the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you.
readIsaiah 55:5

Pray that those who do not know God will access the gospel, run to Him, and discover that He is the one their souls have been longing for.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
readIsaiah 9:6

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will rejoice in the coming of the Prince of Peace because He will bring everlasting peace and rule with justice and righteousness.

And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.”
readLuke 18:29-30

Pray that God will raise up people to go and share the gospel and help them trust His promise that anyone who has left those they treasure for the sake of the kingdom of God will receive many times more in this life and in the life to come.

Deaf Swiss Across Countries (ROP3 - 116602) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Deaf SwissPG000604Deaf SwissSwitzerland93,000Engaged yet UnreachedSwiss-German Sign LanguageRoman Catholicism

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Data Standards section.

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