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The Northern Zaza of Turkiye

The Northern Zaza of Turkiye, numbering approximately 1,495,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethno-religious community of eastern Turkey. Zazas generally consider themselves Kurds and are often described as Zaza Kurds. They mostly adhere to Shia Islam and Kirmanjki (individual language) is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Zaza, Northern

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Persian-Median Peoples
Country: Turkiye
People Cluster: Kurd
Primary Language(s): Kirmanjki (individual language) (kiu)
Primary Religion(s): Shia Islam
Population: 1,495,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG046643
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Pray for the Northern Zaza of Turkiye

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: Shia Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

80%
%
Shia Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kirmanjki (individual language)
Language Family: Indo-European

60%
%
Zazaki, Northern Speakers

Media Resources in Kirmanjki (individual language):

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Kirmanjki (individual language):

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Kirmanjki (individual language) bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Northern Zaza 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 Northern Zaza:
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 Northern Zaza of Turkiye

Claiming to be wise, they became fools.
readRomans 1:22

Ask God to pour out His mercy and bring those who are walking in their own wisdom to faith in Jesus.

Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts!
readPsalm 96:8

Pray for people here to humbly give God the glory due His name.

But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated.
readHebrews 10:32-33

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember the day of their salvation and persevere in their faith despite hardships and suffering.

The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.
readJohn 1:9-10

Pray for those God might send to share the gospel here. Ask that they will grow closer to Jesus and be compelled to share His good news with people who don't know it.

Zaza-Alevi Across Countries (ROP3 - 100225) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Northern ZazaPG046643Northern ZazaTurkiye1,495,000Engaged yet UnreachedKirmanjki (individual language)Shia 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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