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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Fars of Iran

The Fars of Iran, numbering approximately 116,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are the core Persian ethnic group descended from Indo-Iranian nomads who settled the Fars region of southwestern Iran by the ninth century BC, forming the majority around which the Persian Empire and modern Iranian identity took shape. They mostly adhere to Shia Islam and Southwestern Fars is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Fars

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Persian-Median Peoples
Country: Iran
People Cluster: Persian
Primary Language(s): Southwestern Fars (fay)
Primary Religion(s): Shia Islam
Population: 116,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, Concentrated CP Activity
People Group ID: PG024151
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Pray for the Fars of Iran

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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Shia Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

100%
%
Shia Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Southwestern Fars
Language Family: Indo-European

70%
%
Fars, Southwestern Speakers

Media Resources in Southwestern Fars:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Southwestern Fars:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Southwestern Fars bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Fars 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 Fars:
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 Fars of Iran

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
readRomans 1:20

As God's creation declares His glory, pray that multitudes who don't know Him will see the works of His hands and desire to know more about the Creator.

Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
readMatthew 16:16

Pray that many will see clearly that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and put their trust in Him.

Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O LORD, God of host.
readJeremiah 15:16

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will find joy and delight in the Word of the Lord.

Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works!
readPsalm 105:2

Pray for God to saturate this place with the gospel and raise up believing men and women from among them to share the good news of Christ with those who have yet to encounter it.

Fars, Southwestern Across Countries (ROP3 - 103002) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
FarsPG024151FarsIran116,000Engaged yet UnreachedSouthwestern FarsShia Islam

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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