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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
Korean - 한국어 | Nepali - नेपाली
Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
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The Iraqi Sunni Arabs of Iraq

The Iraqi Sunni Arabs of Iraq, numbering approximately 10,530,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are the largest ethnolinguistic group in Iraq, defined primarily by their use of Arabic and shared historical roots in Mesopotamia. Their identity is shaped by a combination of language, religion, tribal affiliation, and regional heritage. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Mesopotamian Arabic is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Arab, Iraqi - Sunni

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Arab Peoples
Country: Iraq
People Cluster: Arab, Levant
Primary Language(s): Mesopotamian Arabic (acm)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 10,530,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011698

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Pray for the Iraqi Sunni Arabs 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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

95%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Mesopotamian Arabic
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%
%
Arabic, Mesopotamian Speakers

Media Resources in Mesopotamian Arabic:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Mesopotamian Arabic:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Mesopotamian Arabic bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Iraqi Sunni 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 Iraqi Sunni 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 Iraqi Sunni Arabs of Iraq

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming.
readColossians 3:5-6

Pray for God to have mercy and give those who don't yet know Him the gift of Jesus and His salvation for all who call upon His name.

Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
readPsalm 67:3

Pray that God will be working in people's hearts, give them opportunities to receive the gospel, and bring many to faith in Himself.

But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.
read1 Peter 3:15

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will always be prepared to share the reason for the hope that they have in Jesus with gentleness and respect.

He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
readPsalm 23:3

Pray for believers to go and share the gospel with others here. Ask that God will restore their souls and lead them in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.

Arab, Iraqi Sunni Across Countries (ROP3 - 116089) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress Index ▼LanguageReligion
Iraqi Sunni ArabsPG011698Iraqi Sunni ArabsIraq10,530,000Engaged yet UnreachedMesopotamian 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.

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