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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Sorani Kurds of United States

The Sorani Kurds of United States, numbering approximately 18,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Kurdish diaspora community in the United States, originating primarily from Iraq and Iran, who speak Sorani (Central Kurdish), maintain a distinct Kurdish cultural identity, and are predominantly Sunni Muslim. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Central Kurdish is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Sorani Kurd

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Persian-Median Peoples
Country: United States
People Cluster: Kurd
Primary Language(s): Central Kurdish (ckb)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 18,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG043313
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Pray for the Sorani Kurds of United States

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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

99%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Central Kurdish
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Kurdish, Central Speakers

Media Resources in Central Kurdish:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

3 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Central Kurdish:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Central Kurdish bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Sorani 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.

Next steps for the Sorani Kurds:
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 Sorani Kurds of United States

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
readRomans 3:23

Pray that those who live in fear, guilt and discontentment because of sin will see their need for change, hear, and receive the good news of freedom from sin through Christ.

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
readLamentations 3:23-23

Pray that they will have hope in the Lord, knowing that His compassions never fails and that His mercies are new every morning.

And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.
read2 Corinthians 12:28

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will grow in the spiritual gifts God has given them and use these gifts to glorify Him and build up the Church.

And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.
readMatthew 10:14-15

Pray for God to raise up and send out believers to share the gospel with those in this people group who do not yet follow Christ. Pray that they will be welcomed with open arms so that the people they share with will hear and receive the good news with joy.

Kurd, Central (Sorani) Across Countries (ROP3 - 101922) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

5 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Sorani KurdsPG011722Sorani KurdsIraq5,520,000Engaged yet UnreachedCentral KurdishSunni Islam
Sorani KurdsPG046635Sorani KurdsIran3,625,000Engaged yet UnreachedCentral KurdishSunni Islam
Sorani KurdsPG042748Sorani KurdsJordan41,000Unengaged and UnreachedCentral KurdishSunni Islam
Sorani KurdsPG043313Sorani KurdsUnited States18,000Engaged yet UnreachedCentral KurdishSunni Islam
Sorani KurdsPG050492Sorani KurdsCanada9,400Engaged yet UnreachedCentral KurdishSunni 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.

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