The Deaf Serbs of Serbia

The Deaf Serbs of Serbia, numbering approximately 63,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a community of individuals who are culturally Deaf and actively participate in Deaf culture, often using sign language as their primary means of communication. They mostly adhere to Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Yugoslavian Sign Language is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Deaf Serbian

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Deaf Peoples
Country: Serbia
People Cluster: Deaf
Primary Language(s): Yugoslavian Sign Language (ysl)
Primary Religion(s): Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Population: 63,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, Concentrated CP Activity
People Group ID: PG047733
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Deaf Serbs of Serbia

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: Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

50%
%
Eastern Orthodox Christia… Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Yugoslavian Sign Language
Language Family: Sign Language

100%
%
Slovenian Sign Language Speakers

Media Resources in Yugoslavian Sign Language:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Yugoslavian Sign Language:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Yugoslavian Sign Language bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Deaf Serbs 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 Deaf Serbs:
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 Deaf Serbs of Serbia

The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the LORD! May your hearts live forever!
readPsalm 22:26

Pray that the lost will feel a deep hunger for God, be drawn to Him in their affliction, and find lasting satisfaction and salvation in Him alone.

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.
readPsalm 1:1-2

Pray that God will call out many sons and daughters from among them and give them a deep love for His Word.

I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.
readMatthew 25:36

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will honor Jesus and find joy as they take care of those in need.

Come, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD, who stand by night in the house of the LORD!
readPsalm 134:1

Pray that God will raise up believers among them who are in awe of Him and that, in service to Him, they will share the gospel with others so that they too may bless the Lord!

Deaf Serb Across Countries (ROP3 - 116596) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

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