The Kurmanji Kurds of Azerbaijan

The Kurmanji Kurds of Azerbaijan, numbering approximately 6,400 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are described as ethnic Kurds who primarily speak Kurmanji (Northern Kurdish), the most widely spoken Kurdish dialect They are an Indigenous people, with Kurd as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Kurd people cluster of the Persian-Median Peoples. Their primary religion is Sunni Islam. They primarily speak Kurdish, Northern.

Photo by Google. (2025). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Kurmanji Kurd

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Persian-Median Peoples
Country: Azerbaijan
People Cluster: Kurd
Primary Language(s): Kurdish, Northern (kmr)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 6,400
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG046631
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Kurmanji Kurds of Azerbaijan

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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

70%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kurdish, Northern
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Kurdish, Northern Speakers

Bible Resources in Kurdish, Northern:

Or check out the Kurdish, Northern 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 Active 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 Kurmanji Kurds:
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

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Kurmanji Kurds 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 Kurmanji Kurds:
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

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Kurmanji Kurds are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Next steps for the Kurmanji Kurds:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Kurmanji Kurds of Azerbaijan

Abraham said, "God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." So they went both of them together.
readGenesis 22:8

Pray that God will open the ears of those who are lost to understand and believe that only shed blood takes away sin and that, like Abraham, they will believe that God Himself provides the lamb for the burnt offering, who is Jesus the final, perfect sacrifice.

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
readJohn 8:12

Pray that many will come to know Jesus, the light of the world, and have the light of life instead of walking in darkness.

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
readMatthew 5:16

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be humble and give glory to God through their good deeds.

And the King will answer them, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me."
readMatthew 25:40

Ask God to raise up and send believers who will serve "the least of these" with compassion and energy because they know that in serving those in need, they are serving Christ.

Kurd, Northern (Kurmanji) Across Countries (ROP3 - 105458) reported in the following countries:

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 Definitions page.

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