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The Sorani Kurds of Iran

The Sorani Kurds of Iran, numbering approximately 3,625,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Kurdish people of Iran's Kurdistan, Kermanshah, and West Azerbaijan provinces speaking the Sorani dialect, whose spread followed the economic rise of the Baban dynasty of Suleymania, displacing older Hewramani and Gorani speech. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Central Kurdish is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Kurd, Central (Sorani)

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Persian-Median Peoples
Country: Iran
People Cluster: Kurd
Primary Language(s): Central Kurdish (ckb)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 3,625,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG046635
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Pray for the Sorani Kurds 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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

100%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Central Kurdish
Language Family: Indo-European

75%
%
Kurdish, Central Speakers

Media Resources in Central Kurdish:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

3 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Central Kurdish:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Central Kurdish bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Sorani 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 Sorani 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

Pray specifically for the Sorani Kurds of Iran

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
readMatthew 28:16-20

Pray that those who don't yet know Him will encounter the risen Savior and be transformed by the power of His resurrection, becoming disciples who make disciples.

I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.
readPsalm 34:4

Pray for each who becomes a child of God to share the hope of eternity with family and friends.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
read1 Peter 2:9

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will embrace their identity as God's chosen people, royal priests, and holy nation, living out their faith with purity and devotion.

To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.
read1 Corinthians 9:22

Ask God to raise up believers from around the world to go and share the hope of Jesus with the lost so that they might trust in Him and have the hope of eternal life.

Kurd, Central (Sorani) Across Countries (ROP3 - 101922) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

5 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountry ▼PopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Sorani KurdsPG043313Sorani KurdsUnited States18,000Engaged yet UnreachedCentral KurdishSunni Islam
Sorani KurdsPG042748Sorani KurdsJordan41,000Unengaged and UnreachedCentral KurdishSunni Islam
Sorani KurdsPG011722Sorani KurdsIraq5,525,000Engaged yet UnreachedCentral KurdishSunni Islam
Sorani KurdsPG046635Sorani KurdsIran3,625,000Engaged yet UnreachedCentral KurdishSunni Islam
Sorani KurdsPG050492Sorani KurdsCanada9,400Engaged yet UnreachedCentral KurdishSunni 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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