Download the People Group List (16 languages .csv)

Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
Hindi - हिन्दी | Indonesian - Bahasa Indonesia
Korean - 한국어 | Nepali - नेपाली
Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
Be sure to use the data import function in your favorite app for working with data.
If you'd like to help improve these translations, Contact Us.

The Southern Zaza of Turkiye

The Southern Zaza of Turkiye, numbering approximately 1,780,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Zazaki-speaking people of southeastern Turkey's Adiyaman, Diyarbakir and Sanliurfa provinces, believed descended from Daylamite migrants out of the Caspian region, distinguished from the Alevi Northern Zaza by their Sunni faith. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Dimli (individual language) is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Zaza, Southern

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Persian-Median Peoples
Country: Turkiye
People Cluster: Kurd
Primary Language(s): Dimli (individual language) (diq)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 1,780,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG046644
View on Joshua Project

Print Profile
Submit Updates

Pray for the Southern 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.

Pray Now!
Download Prayer Guide

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

95%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

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

80%
%
Zazaki, Southern Speakers

Media Resources in Dimli (individual language):

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Dimli (individual language):

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Bible Society in Turkey✓✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

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

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Southern 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 Southern 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 Southern Zaza of Turkiye

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
readPsalm 73:26

Pray that those who are lost and struggling to find hope will find their strength and hope in God, recognizing Him as their portion and deliverer forever.

Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick in it and say to them, "the kingdom of God has come near to you."
readLuke 10:8-9

Pray that the lost will receive messengers of the gospel with joy, turn from their sins, and be healed.

O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.
readPsalm 51:15

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will abide in Him, and God will help them to proclaim His praise and declare His goodness all day long.

Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.”
readActs 17:32

Ask God to give those He sends to cross cultures wisdom and discernment as they engage in spiritual conversations with those who are curious about the gospel.

Zaza-Dimli Across Countries (ROP3 - 102613) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Southern ZazaPG046644Southern ZazaTurkiye1,780,000Engaged yet UnreachedDimli (individual language)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.

Scroll to Top