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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Kurmanji Kurds of Turkiye

The Kurmanji Kurds of Turkiye, numbering approximately 9,000,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are ethnic Kurds who primarily speak Kurmanji (Northern Kurdish), the most widely spoken Kurdish dialect and can also be known as Kurmanji, Northern Kurd. They are an Indigenous people, in the Kurd people cluster of the Persian-Median affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Islam - Sunni. They primarily speak Kurdish, Northern.

Kurmanji Kurds in Lebanon photo
Photo by Google. (2025). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Kurmanji Kurd

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Central Asian Peoples
Country: Turkiye
People Cluster: Kurd
Primary Language(s): Kurdish, Northern (kmr)
Primary Religion(s): Islam - Sunni
Population: 9,000,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, Concentrated CP Activity
People Group ID: PG024567

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Pray for the Kurmanji Kurds of Turkiye

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Islam - Sunni
Religious Affiliation: Islam

%
Islam - Sunni Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kurdish, Northern
Language Family: Indo-European

%
Kurdish, Northern Speakers

Media Resources in Kurdish, Northern:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Kurdish, Northern:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Kurdish, Northern bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Next steps for the Kurmanji Kurds

The Kurmanji Kurds are Unengaged and Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Next steps for the Kurmanji Kurds

The Kurmanji 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.

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

Next steps for the Kurmanji Kurds

The Kurmanji Kurds are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Kurmanji Kurds of Turkiye

All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.
readRomans 3:12

Pray that those who are enslaved to sin will admit their need for a Savior, acknowledging that no one is righteous.

Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts; his name is the LORD; exult before him!
readPsalm 68:4

Pray that many will come to faith in Christ and share the gospel with others so that His salvation will be known among all nations.

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
readHebrew 4:16

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will boldly draw near to God as they approach Him in prayer, receive His mercy, and find grace for help in their time of need. 

I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessing.
read1 Corinthians 9:23

Ask God to give believers a deep desire to share the gospel with those who don't know the truth about God's redemption plan, and to provide them with opportunities to do so cross-culturally.

Kurd, Northern (Kurmanji) (ROP3 - 105458) reported in the following countries:

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 Definitions page.

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