Download the People Group List (16 languages .csv)

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
Portuguese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Español | Tagalog / Filipino
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The Assyrians of Iraq

The Assyrians of Iraq, numbering approximately 207,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are a Semitic people indigenous to northern Mesopotamia, speakers of Neo-Aramaic, claiming continuity with ancient Assyria, split across the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic, and Syriac Orthodox traditions, with a large modern diaspora. They mostly adhere to Chaldean Catholicism and Assyrian Neo-Aramaic is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Arab Peoples
Country: Iraq
People Cluster: Assyrian
Primary Language(s): Assyrian Neo-Aramaic (aii)
Primary Religion(s): Chaldean Catholicism
Population: 207,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011701
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Pray for the Assyrians 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: Chaldean Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

67%
%
Chaldean Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Assyrian Neo-Aramaic
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

80%
%
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic Speakers

Media Resources in Assyrian Neo-Aramaic:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Assyrian Neo-Aramaic:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Assyrian Neo-Aramaic 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: 0), 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): Pioneer Unreached People Group, (LPI: 1), 0.1% or Greater but Less than 0.5% 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 Assyrians:
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

Pray specifically for the Assyrians of Iraq

For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation.
readPsalm 62:1

Pray that those who are troubled and don't know about the God who saves will hear the good news and find rest in the one true God who can offer salvation for their souls.

The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.
readMatthew 4:16

Pray that those who dwell in darkness and live in the land of the shadow of death may be drawn out of darkness into His marvelous light.

Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
readRomans 5:2

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will rejoice in the hope of glory and be in awe of God's mercy that gives them access to Him through faith.

For the needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.
readPsalm 9:18

Pray that God will raise up believers who can help meet emotional and physical needs among this people group. Ask Him to open doors for them and give them the courage to walk into difficult situations and share the hope of the gospel boldly.

Assyrian Across Countries (ROP3 - 100574) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

14 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▲Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
AssyriansPG011733AssyriansIsrael850Unengaged and UnreachedAssyrian Neo-AramaicChurch of the East
AssyriansPG042491AssyriansFrance4,000Unengaged and UnreachedAssyrian Neo-AramaicChaldean Catholicism
AssyriansPG000613AssyriansUnited Kingdom7,000Unengaged and UnreachedAssyrian Neo-AramaicChaldean Catholicism
AssyriansPG011794AssyriansKuwait8,500Engaged yet UnreachedTuroyoChurch of the East
AssyriansPG043355AssyriansCanada11,500No Longer UnreachedAssyrian Neo-AramaicChaldean Catholicism
AssyriansPG024131AssyriansIran22,000Unengaged and UnreachedAssyrian Neo-AramaicChaldean Catholicism
AssyriansPG024540AssyriansTurkiye29,000Unengaged and UnreachedAssyrian Neo-AramaicChurch of the East
AssyriansPG011812AssyriansLebanon31,500Unengaged and UnreachedAssyrian Neo-AramaicSyriac Orthodox Christianity
AssyriansPG007833AssyriansAustralia40,000No Longer UnreachedAssyrian Neo-AramaicChurch of the East
AssyriansPG012181AssyriansSyria50,500Engaged yet UnreachedAssyrian Neo-AramaicSyriac Orthodox Christianity
AssyriansPG000214AssyriansGermany70,000No Longer UnreachedAssyrian Neo-AramaicSyriac Orthodox Christianity
AssyriansPG043528AssyriansUnited States70,000No Longer UnreachedAssyrian Neo-AramaicChaldean Catholicism
AssyriansPG000543AssyriansSweden146,000Unengaged and UnreachedAssyrian Neo-AramaicSyriac Orthodox Christianity
AssyriansPG011701AssyriansIraq207,000Unengaged and UnreachedAssyrian Neo-AramaicChaldean Catholicism

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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