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The Turkmen of Iran

The Turkmen of Iran, numbering approximately 2,785,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Turkic ethnic group indigenous to Central Asia, living mainly in Turkmenistan, northern and northeastern Iran, and northwestern Afghanistan. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Turkmen is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Turkic Peoples
Country: Iran
People Cluster: Turkmen
Primary Language(s): Turkmen (tuk)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 2,785,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG042249
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Pray for the Turkmen 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: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

70%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Turkmen
Language Family: Turkic

100%
%
Turkmen Speakers

Media Resources in Turkmen:

Films:
Title Link
JESUS View Film
JESUS View Film
Magdalena View Film

3 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Turkmen:

Bible Name (Translation) Video Audio Text
2016 Institute for Bible Translation, Moscow ✓ ✓ ✓
2016 Turkmen Truth ✓ ✓ ✓

2 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Turkmen bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Turkmen 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 Turkmen:
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 Turkmen of Iran

O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.
readPsalm 10:17-18

Pray that God, in accordance with His good character, will give justice to those who are oppressed by sin and that they will know that His offer of salvation is for everyone.

And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
readLuke 7:50

Pray for the good news of Jesus Christ to reach many so that they can place their faith in Him and have lasting hope.

You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
readDeuteronomy 6:5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, and might, as they strive to live lives that honor and glorify Him.

And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.
readMatthew 7:28-29

Pray that God will remind believers that they have His authority as they share His truth with the lost, and pray He will draw crowds of people to this message and plant it deeply in their hearts.

Turkmen Across Countries (ROP3 - 110306) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index

All

9 people groups

Photo People Group ID Name Country Population ▼ Strategic Progress Index Language Religion
Turkmen PG024639 Turkmen Turkmenistan 5,360,000 Engaged yet Unreached Turkmen Sunni Islam
Turkmen PG042249 Turkmen Iran 2,785,000 Engaged yet Unreached Turkmen Sunni Islam
Turkmen PG024023 Turkmen Afghanistan 2,105,000 Engaged yet Unreached Turkmen Sunni Islam
Turkmen PG024598 Turkmen Turkiye 800,000 Engaged yet Unreached Turkish Folk Islam
Turkmen PG024320 Turkmen Uzbekistan 227,000 Unengaged and Unreached Turkmen Sunni Islam
Turkmen PG006410 Turkmen Pakistan 15,000 Engaged yet Unreached Turkmen Sunni Islam
Turkmen PG024533 Turkmen Tajikistan 15,000 Engaged yet Unreached Turkmen Sunni Islam
Turkmen PG024372 Turkmen Kyrgyzstan 2,500 Unengaged and Unreached Turkmen Sunni Islam
Turkmen PG047222 Turkmen United States 200 Unengaged and Unreached Turkmen Sunni 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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