The Syrian Arabs of Turkiye

The Syrian Arabs of Turkiye, numbering approximately 3,905,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Levantine Arab diaspora from Syria, formed chiefly by forced migration into neighboring Türkiye after the Syrian conflict began in 2011 and largely governed under temporary protection. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Levantine Arabic is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Arab Peoples
Country: Turkiye
People Cluster: Arab, Levant
Primary Language(s): Levantine Arabic (apc)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 3,905,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG049340
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Syrian Arabs 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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

84%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Levantine Arabic
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%
%
Arabic, Levantine Speakers

Media Resources in Levantine Arabic:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Bible Resources in Levantine Arabic:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Sabeel Media✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Levantine Arabic bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Syrian Arabs 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 Syrian Arabs:
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 Syrian Arabs of Turkiye

Only in the LORD, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and strength; to him shall come and be ashamed all who were incensed against him.
readIsaiah 45:24

Pray that those who are weary and burdened by their own righteousness will find rest in the righteousness that comes through faith in Christ alone.

And many nations shall join themselves to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people. And I will dwell in your midst, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.
readZechariah 2:11

Pray that many will take refuge in the Lord and be His people who share the good news of salvation in Jesus with others.

And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.
readActs 16:15

Pray that God will bring entire families and households to faith in Him and raise up servant-leaders from among them.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
read2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Pray that as people hear and believe the gospel, they will serve others in Jesus' name, and the lost will have an opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel.

Arab, Syrian Across Countries (ROP3 - 109662) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

19 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Syrian Sunni ArabsSyrian Sunni ArabsSyria15,670,000Engaged yet UnreachedLevantine ArabicSunni Islam
Syrian ArabsSyrian ArabsTurkiye3,905,000Engaged yet UnreachedLevantine ArabicSunni Islam
Syrian ArabsSyrian ArabsJordan1,320,000Engaged yet UnreachedLevantine ArabicSunni Islam
Syrian ArabsSyrian ArabsSaudi Arabia818,000Engaged yet UnreachedLevantine ArabicSunni Islam
Syrian ArabsSyrian ArabsGermany584,000Engaged yet UnreachedLevantine ArabicSunni Islam
Syrian ArabsSyrian ArabsLebanon489,000Engaged yet UnreachedStandard ArabicSunni Islam
Syrian ArabsSyrian ArabsUnited Arab Emirates303,000Unengaged and UnreachedLevantine ArabicSunni Islam
Syrian ArabsSyrian ArabsIraq293,000Unengaged and UnreachedStandard ArabicSunni Islam
Syrian ArabsSyrian ArabsQatar266,000Unengaged and UnreachedStandard ArabicSunni Islam
Syrian ArabsSyrian ArabsSweden211,000Unengaged and UnreachedLevantine ArabicSunni Islam
Syrian ArabsSyrian ArabsUnited States196,000No Longer UnreachedLevantine ArabicSunni Islam
Syrian ArabsSyrian ArabsKuwait161,000Engaged yet UnreachedLevantine ArabicSunni Islam
Syrian ArabsSyrian ArabsSudan131,000Unengaged and UnreachedStandard ArabicSunni Islam
Syrian ArabsSyrian ArabsNetherlands94,000Engaged yet UnreachedLevantine ArabicSunni Islam
Syrian ArabsSyrian ArabsGreece75,000Engaged yet UnreachedLevantine ArabicSunni Islam
Syrian ArabsSyrian ArabsCanada68,500Engaged yet UnreachedStandard ArabicSunni Islam
Syrian ArabsSyrian ArabsFrance18,500Unengaged and UnreachedStandard ArabicSunni Islam
Syrian ArabsSyrian ArabsGuadeloupe900Unengaged and UnreachedLevantine ArabicSunni Islam
Syrian ArabsSyrian ArabsMartinique550Unengaged and UnreachedLevantine ArabicSunni 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