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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
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Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Persians of Iraq

The Persians of Iraq, numbering approximately 511,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a complex Iranian community shaped by a rich history, multifaceted blend of ancient traditions, cultural heritage, modern influences, Islamic values, and a strong sense of national pride and resilience. They are an Indigenous people in the Persian people cluster of the Persian-Median Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary language is Persian, Iranian and their primary religion is Shia Islam.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Persian

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Persian-Median Peoples
Country: Iraq
People Cluster: Persian
Primary Language(s): Persian, Iranian (pes)
Primary Religion(s): Shia Islam
Population: 511,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011719
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Pray for the Persians of Iraq

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!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Shia Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

99%
%

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Persian, Iranian
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%

Media Resources in Persian, Iranian:

Films:

No language code (ROL) found for this post.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Persian, Iranian:

The filter value is not set for this post.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Persian, Iranian bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 1), 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.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Frontier Unreached People Group, (LPI: 0), < 0.1% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Persians:
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

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Persians 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 Persians:
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

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Persians 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.

Next steps for the Persians:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Persians of Iraq

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
read1 John 1:9

Pray that God, who is faithful and just, will open the eyes of those who are lost and draw them to confess their sins and trust in Him to grant forgiveness.

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise).
readEphesians 6:1-2

Pray that God will bring young men and women to faith in Jesus and that the fruit of their faith will be a powerful testimony as they honor their parents.

Remember your mercy, O LORD, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.
readPsalm 25:6

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember the merciful nature and steadfast love of God as they walk with Him daily.

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go.
readLuke 10:1

Ask God to raise up, send out, and sustain Christians who can go together to share the good news of Jesus with those who need it.

Persian Across Countries (ROP3 - 107987) 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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