The Iraqi Arabs of Yemen

The Iraqi Arabs of Yemen, numbering approximately 10,500 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are an Arabic-speaking people of Iraq descended from Arab and indigenous Mesopotamian populations, distinguished by their Mesopotamian Arabic language and the cultural traditions of historic Mesopotamia. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Mesopotamian Arabic is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite: Arab, Iraqi

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Arab Peoples
Country: Yemen
People Cluster: Arab, Levant
Primary Language(s): Mesopotamian Arabic (acm)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 10,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG042889
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Iraqi Arabs of Yemen

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

95%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Mesopotamian Arabic
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%
%
Arabic, Mesopotamian Speakers

Media Resources in Mesopotamian Arabic:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Mesopotamian Arabic:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Mesopotamian Arabic bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 0), which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Frontier Unreached People Group, (LPI: 0), < 0.1% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Iraqi Arabs:
Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Pray specifically for the Iraqi Arabs of Yemen

"For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." Those who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?" But he said "What is impossible with man is possible with God."
readLuke 18:25-27

Pray that the lost who think they have everything they need will recognize their spiritual poverty apart from Jesus and turn to Him in faith.

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth.
readPsalm 67:4

Pray that God will use ways from in-person witnesses to digital gospel resources to bring the joy of His salvation to everyone so that they can be glad in Him and sing for joy.

For the LORD takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation.
readPsalm 149:4

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be encouraged and feel immeasurably loved as they meditate on the fact that God takes pleasure in them.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
readPsalm 23:6

Ask God to raise up believers who will share the hope that, for those who trust in Christ, goodness and love will follow them all the days of their lives, and they will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Arab, Iraqi Across Countries (ROP3 - 104056) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

17 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Iraqi Shia ArabsIraqi Shia ArabsIraq19,750,000Engaged yet UnreachedMesopotamian ArabicShia Islam
Iraqi ArabsIraqi ArabsJordan1,600,000Engaged yet UnreachedLevantine ArabicSunni Islam
Iraqi ArabsIraqi ArabsSweden182,000Unengaged and UnreachedMesopotamian ArabicSunni Islam
Iraqi ArabsIraqi ArabsGermany178,000Engaged yet UnreachedMesopotamian ArabicSunni Islam
Iraqi ArabsIraqi ArabsUnited States156,000Engaged yet UnreachedMesopotamian ArabicShia Islam
Iraqi ArabsIraqi ArabsCanada86,000Engaged yet UnreachedMesopotamian ArabicShia Islam
Iraqi ArabsIraqi ArabsNetherlands63,500Engaged yet UnreachedLevantine ArabicSunni Islam
Iraqi ArabsIraqi ArabsSyria60,500Unengaged and UnreachedMesopotamian ArabicShia Islam
Iraqi ArabsIraqi ArabsUnited Arab Emirates59,000Unengaged and UnreachedMesopotamian ArabicSunni Islam
Iraqi ArabsIraqi ArabsLebanon25,500Unengaged and UnreachedStandard ArabicSunni Islam
Iraqi ArabsIraqi ArabsBelgium22,000Unengaged and UnreachedMesopotamian ArabicSunni Islam
Iraqi ArabsIraqi ArabsGreece17,000Engaged yet UnreachedMesopotamian ArabicSunni Islam
Iraqi ArabsIraqi ArabsKuwait14,500Engaged yet UnreachedMesopotamian ArabicSunni Islam
Iraqi ArabsIraqi ArabsYemen10,500Unengaged and UnreachedMesopotamian ArabicSunni Islam
Iraqi ArabsIraqi ArabsAlgeria8,700Unengaged and UnreachedStandard ArabicSunni Islam
Iraqi ArabsIraqi ArabsFrance6,800Unengaged and UnreachedMesopotamian ArabicSunni Islam
Iraqi ArabsIraqi ArabsItaly4,300Unengaged and UnreachedMesopotamian ArabicSunni 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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