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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Chaldeans of Iraq

The Chaldeans of Iraq, numbering approximately 68,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are an Aramaic-speaking ethnoreligious people indigenous to northern Mesopotamia, especially present-day Iraq, whose identity is rooted in East Syriac Christian traditions, a shared historical heritage, and membership primarily in the Chaldean Catholic Church. They are an Indigenous people in the Assyrian people cluster of the Arab Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary language is Chaldean Neo-Aramaic and their primary religion is Chaldean Catholicism.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Arab Peoples
Country: Iraq
People Cluster: Assyrian
Primary Language(s): Chaldean Neo-Aramaic (cld)
Primary Religion(s): Chaldean Catholicism
Population: 68,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011707
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Pray for the Chaldeans 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

96%
%
Chaldean Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

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

60%
%
Chaldean Neo-Aramaic Speakers

Media Resources in Chaldean Neo-Aramaic:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Chaldean Neo-Aramaic:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Chaldean Neo-Aramaic bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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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): 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 Chaldeans:
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 Chaldeans 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 Chaldeans:
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 Chaldeans 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 Chaldeans:
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 Chaldeans of Iraq

He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him
readLuke 10:34

Pray that the lost among them will experience the kind of compassion Jesus taught His followers to show others, and that they will trust in Him because He is the one who brings healing to the broken and lost.

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.
readIsaiah 40:8

Pray that everyone has access to God's Word and that those who hear the good news will turn from their sins and put their faith in Jesus the Messiah.

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
readJames 1:12

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be encouraged when they persevere under trial, knowing that when they have stood the test, they will receive the crown of life.

Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith. But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.
read2 Thessalonians 3:1-3

Pray that the Word of God will spread throughout this people group and be honored. Ask God to establish His people and guard them from the evil one, testifying to this whole people group of His great faithfulness.

Chaldean Across Countries (ROP3 - 101983) 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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