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
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Persians of Iran

The Persians of Iran, numbering approximately 29,440,000 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. Their primary religion is Shia Islam. They primarily speak Persian, Iranian.

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): Persian, Iranian (pes)
Primary Religion(s): Shia Islam
Population: 29,440,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, Dispersed CP Activity
People Group ID: PG024197
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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!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Shia Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

95%
%
Shia Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Persian, Iranian
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Persian, Iranian Speakers

Media Resources in Persian, Iranian:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
The SaviorView Film

3 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Persian, Iranian:

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 Persian, Iranian 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 all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
readRomans 3:23

Pray that those who live in fear, guilt and discontentment because of sin will see their need for change, hear, and receive the good news of freedom from sin through Christ.

Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
readRomans 2:4

Pray that, in God's kindness and according to His nature, He will lead many to repentance.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
readJames 1:2-3

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will consider it pure joy when they face trials of many kinds, trusting in God's promise that the testing of their faith produces perseverance.

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
read1 Corinthians 15:10–11

Pray that God's people will preach the message of Jesus' death and resurrection and that it will spread among the lost through the selfless witness of believers.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

30 people groups

PhotoPeople Group ID ▲NameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
PersiansPG000034PersiansAustria15,000Engaged yet UnreachedPersian, IranianShia Islam
PersiansPG000091PersiansDenmark15,500Engaged yet UnreachedPersian, IranianShia Islam
PersiansPG000259PersiansGermany175,000No Longer UnreachedPersian, IranianShia Islam
PersiansPG000643PersiansUnited Kingdom86,000No Longer UnreachedPersian, IranianShia Islam
PersiansPG006390PersiansPakistan13,000Unengaged and UnreachedPersian, IranianShia Islam
PersiansPG009630PersiansNew Zealand7,400Engaged yet UnreachedPersian, IranianShia Islam
PersiansPG011304PersiansBahrain225,000Engaged yet UnreachedPersian, IranianShia Islam
PersiansPG011719PersiansIraq511,000Engaged yet UnreachedPersian, IranianShia Islam
PersiansPG011804PersiansKuwait50,000Unengaged and UnreachedPersian, IranianShia Islam
PersiansPG011886PersiansOman16,000Unengaged and UnreachedPersian, IranianShia Islam
PersiansPG011904PersiansQatar276,000Unengaged and UnreachedPersian, IranianShia Islam
PersiansPG012193PersiansSyria10,000Unengaged and UnreachedPersian, IranianShia Islam
PersiansPG012247PersiansUnited Arab Emirates570,000Engaged yet UnreachedPersian, IranianShia Islam
PersiansPG020262PersiansAustralia84,000Engaged yet UnreachedPersian, IranianShia Islam
PersiansPG022255PersiansNetherlands36,000Engaged yet UnreachedPersian, IranianShia Islam
PersiansPG024002PersiansAfghanistan117,000Engaged yet UnreachedPersian, IranianShia Islam
PersiansPG024081PersiansAzerbaijan1,400Engaged yet UnreachedPersian, IranianShia Islam
PersiansPG024197PersiansIran29,440,000Engaged yet UnreachedPersian, IranianShia Islam
PersiansPG024309PersiansUzbekistan34,500Unengaged and UnreachedPersian, IranianShia Islam
PersiansPG024581PersiansTurkiye130,000No Longer UnreachedPersian, IranianShia Islam
PersiansPG042331PersiansItaly11,500Engaged yet UnreachedPersian, IranianShia Islam
PersiansPG042479PersiansFrance65,500Engaged yet UnreachedPersian, IranianShia Islam
PersiansPG043167PersiansBelgium12,500Engaged yet UnreachedPersian, IranianShia Islam
PersiansPG043278PersiansUnited States466,000Engaged yet UnreachedPersian, IranianShia Islam
PersiansPG043458PersiansCanada201,000No Longer UnreachedPersian, IranianShia Islam
PersiansPG047071PersiansGreece2,400No Longer UnreachedPersian, IranianShia Islam
PersiansPG049321PersiansMalaysia20,500Engaged yet UnreachedPersian, IranianShia Islam
PersiansPG050098PersiansArmenia7,900No Longer UnreachedPersian, IranianShia Islam
PersiansPG050237PersiansSouth Korea3,500No Longer UnreachedPersian, IranianShia Islam
PersiansPG050238PersiansIndonesia8,000No Longer UnreachedPersian, IranianShia 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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