Iraqi Arabs of United States (PGID: PG046490)

PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Iraqi Arabs of United States

The Iraqi Arabs of United States, numbering approximately 156,000 people, are Engaged yet 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 Shia 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: United States
People Cluster: Arab, Levant
Primary Language(s): Mesopotamian Arabic (acm)
Primary Religion(s): Shia Islam
Population: 156,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG046490
View on Joshua Project

Print Profile

Submit Updates

Pray for the Iraqi Arabs of United States

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!

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Shia Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

53%

Shia Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Mesopotamian Arabic
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%

Arabic, Mesopotamian Speakers

Media Resources in Mesopotamian Arabic:

Films:

Title	Link
JESUS	View Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Mesopotamian Arabic:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Mesopotamian Arabic bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Iraqi Arabs 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 Iraqi Arabs:

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 Iraqi Arabs of United States

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.
Romans 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.

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”
Revelation 4:11

Pray that the good news will advance and people will recognize and worship the One who created all things by His will, giving glory and honor to Him alone.

The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.
Lamentations 3:25

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will trust in the goodness of the Lord as they wait on Him to answer their cries for help.

Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples!
Psalm 105:1

Pray that many among them will call on the name of Jesus, develop a heart for the nations, and go to places where the gospel has not yet been received.

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

Strategic Progress Index

All

Engaged yet Unreached UUPG No Longer Unreached

CountryReligion

17 people groups

People Group ID	Name ▼	Country	Population	Strategic Progress Index	Language	Religion
PG046790	Iraqi Shia Arabs	Iraq	19,750,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Mesopotamian Arabic	Shia Islam
PG042436	Iraqi Arabs	Germany	178,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Mesopotamian Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG050210	Iraqi Arabs	Sweden	182,000	Unengaged and Unreached	Mesopotamian Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG050028	Iraqi Arabs	Netherlands	63,500	Engaged yet Unreached	Levantine Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG049968	Iraqi Arabs	Greece	17,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Mesopotamian Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG047414	Iraqi Arabs	Canada	86,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Mesopotamian Arabic	Shia Islam
PG046490	Iraqi Arabs	United States	156,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Mesopotamian Arabic	Shia Islam
PG042889	Iraqi Arabs	Yemen	10,500	Unengaged and Unreached	Mesopotamian Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG042882	Iraqi Arabs	United Arab Emirates	59,000	Unengaged and Unreached	Mesopotamian Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG011264	Iraqi Arabs	Algeria	8,700	Unengaged and Unreached	Standard Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG042374	Iraqi Arabs	Belgium	22,000	Unengaged and Unreached	Mesopotamian Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG042328	Iraqi Arabs	Italy	4,300	Unengaged and Unreached	Mesopotamian Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG012188	Iraqi Arabs	Syria	60,500	Unengaged and Unreached	Mesopotamian Arabic	Shia Islam
PG011816	Iraqi Arabs	Lebanon	25,500	Unengaged and Unreached	Standard Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG011798	Iraqi Arabs	Kuwait	14,500	Engaged yet Unreached	Mesopotamian Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG011777	Iraqi Arabs	Jordan	1,600,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Levantine Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG011667	Iraqi Arabs	France	6,800	Unengaged and Unreached	Mesopotamian Arabic	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.

People Groups of the World

Countries of the World

Languages of the World

Religions of the World

Advanced Dashboard

What are People Groups?

Using Peoplegroups.org

People Group Research

Definitions and FAQs

About Us

Maps

Research Data

Resource Links