Download the People Group List (16 languages .csv)

Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
Hindi - हिन्दी | Indonesian - Bahasa Indonesia
Korean - 한국어 | Nepali - नेपाली
Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
Be sure to use the data import function in your favorite app for working with data.
If you'd like to help improve these translations, Contact Us.

PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Persians of Iran

The Persians of Iran, numbering approximately 29,500,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as a complex Iranian community shaped by a rich history, multifaceted blend of ancient traditions, cultural heritage, modern influences, Islamic values, and a strong sense of national pride and resilience They are an Indigenous people, with Persian as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Persian people cluster of the Persian-Median Peoples. They mostly adhere to Shia Islam and Iranian Persian is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Persian-Median Peoples
Country: Iran
People Cluster: Persian
Primary Language(s): Iranian Persian (pes)
Primary Religion(s): Shia Islam
Population: 29,500,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, Dispersed CP Activity
People Group ID: PG024197
View on Joshua Project

Print Profile
Submit Updates

Pray for the Persians 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.

Pray Now!
Download Prayer Guide

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Shia Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

95%
%
Shia Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Iranian Persian
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Persian, Iranian Speakers

Media Resources in Iranian Persian:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
The SaviorView Film

3 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Iranian Persian:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
New Millenium Version 2009✓
New Millenium Version 2014✓✓
Today's Persian Version✓✓

3 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Iranian Persian bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Persians 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 Persians:
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 Persians of Iran

For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.
readIsaiah 48:11

Pray that those who have been living for their own glory will turn to the One who is worthy of all praise and find their true identity in Him.

Greet also the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in Asia."
readRomans 16:5

Pray for houses to be meeting places for Christians and that God will advance the gospel and grow His Church through natural familial and community relationships.

Turn, O LORD, deliver my life; save me for the sake of your steadfast love.
readPsalm 6:4

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and still struggle with the worries of this life, God will deliver them from worry for the sake of His steadfast love.

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
readEphesians 6:11

Pray that those God sends to cross cultures will put on the full armor of God so that they will be able to stand against the schemes of the enemy.

Persian Across Countries (ROP3 - 107987) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

30 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
PersiansPG024197PersiansIran29,500,000Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG012247PersiansUnited Arab Emirates556,000Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG011719PersiansIraq511,000Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG043278PersiansUnited States466,000Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG011904PersiansQatar276,000Unengaged and UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG011304PersiansBahrain225,000Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG043458PersiansCanada202,000No Longer UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG000259PersiansGermany175,000No Longer UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG024581PersiansTurkiye130,000No Longer UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG024002PersiansAfghanistan117,000Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG000643PersiansUnited Kingdom86,000No Longer UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG020262PersiansAustralia84,000Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG042479PersiansFrance65,500Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG011804PersiansKuwait50,000Unengaged and UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG022255PersiansNetherlands36,000Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG024309PersiansUzbekistan34,500Unengaged and UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG049321PersiansMalaysia21,000Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG011886PersiansOman16,000Unengaged and UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG000091PersiansDenmark15,500Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG000034PersiansAustria15,000Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG006390PersiansPakistan13,000Unengaged and UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG043167PersiansBelgium12,500Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG042331PersiansItaly11,500Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG012193PersiansSyria10,000Unengaged and UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG050238PersiansIndonesia8,000No Longer UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG050098PersiansArmenia7,800No Longer UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG009630PersiansNew Zealand7,400Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG050237PersiansSouth Korea3,500No Longer UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG047071PersiansGreece2,400No Longer UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG024081PersiansAzerbaijan1,400Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia 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.

Scroll to Top