The Kurmanji Kurds of Lebanon

The Kurmanji Kurds of Lebanon, numbering approximately 152,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are ethnic Kurds who primarily speak Kurmanji (Northern Kurdish), the most widely spoken Kurdish dialect. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Northern Kurdish is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2025). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Kurmanji Kurd

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Persian-Median Peoples
Country: Lebanon
People Cluster: Kurd
Primary Language(s): Northern Kurdish (kmr)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 152,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, Concentrated CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011820
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Kurmanji Kurds of Lebanon

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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

90%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Northern Kurdish
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Kurdish, Northern Speakers

Media Resources in Northern Kurdish:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
MagdalenaView Film

4 films

Bible Resources in Northern Kurdish:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2019 Kurdish Literature Association✓✓✓
2005 United Bible Society✓
Transcaucasia✓✓✓
Transcaucasia✓✓✓

4 entries

Or check out the Northern Kurdish bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Kurmanji 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 Kurmanji 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 Kurmanji Kurds of Lebanon

I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me, that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other.
readIsaiah 45:5-6

Pray that the lost among them will be delivered from the confusion of false beliefs and come to know the one true God who alone brings light and purpose to their lives.

And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.
readActs 6:7

Pray that the Word of God will be increasingly available to these people in ways they will resonate with so that all may have a chance to respond to the good news of Jesus Christ.

The LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.
readNumbers 6:25

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember that He has given them His favor and His presence.

And thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else's foundation, but as it is written, "Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand."
readRomans 15:20-21

Pray that God will send believers to cross cultures and proclaim the gospel where Christ has not been named, so that the nations might glorify God for His mercy.

Kurd, Northern (Kurmanji) Across Countries (ROP3 - 105458) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

21 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDName ▲CountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Kurmanji KurdsKurmanji KurdsAustralia5,500Engaged yet UnreachedNorthern KurdishSunni Islam
Kurmanji KurdsKurmanji KurdsCanada7,700Engaged yet UnreachedNorthern KurdishSunni Islam
Kurmanji KurdsKurmanji KurdsUzbekistan3,500Unengaged and UnreachedNorthern KurdishSunni Islam
Kurmanji KurdsKurmanji KurdsTurkmenistan8,200Unengaged and UnreachedNorthern KurdishShia Islam
Kurmanji KurdsKurmanji KurdsKyrgyzstan10,000Engaged yet UnreachedNorthern KurdishSunni Islam
Kurmanji KurdsKurmanji KurdsKazakhstan51,500Unengaged and UnreachedNorthern KurdishSunni Islam
Kurmanji KurdsKurmanji KurdsIran573,000Unengaged and UnreachedNorthern KurdishSunni Islam
Kurmanji KurdsKurmanji KurdsAzerbaijan6,400Unengaged and UnreachedNorthern KurdishSunni Islam
Kurmanji KurdsKurmanji KurdsTurkiye9,000,000Engaged yet UnreachedNorthern KurdishSunni Islam
Kurmanji KurdsKurmanji KurdsRussian Federation35,000No Longer UnreachedNorthern KurdishShia Islam
Kurmanji KurdsKurmanji KurdsGeorgia39,500Engaged yet UnreachedNorthern KurdishShia Islam
Kurmanji KurdsKurmanji KurdsAustria68,500Engaged yet UnreachedNorthern KurdishSunni Islam
Kurmanji KurdsKurmanji KurdsSyria1,615,000Engaged yet UnreachedNorthern KurdishSunni Islam
Kurmanji KurdsKurmanji KurdsLebanon152,000Engaged yet UnreachedNorthern KurdishSunni Islam
Kurmanji KurdsKurmanji KurdsJordan12,000Engaged yet UnreachedNorthern KurdishSunni Islam
Kurmanji KurdsKurmanji KurdsFrance85,000Engaged yet UnreachedNorthern KurdishSunni Islam
Kurmanji KurdsKurmanji KurdsBahrain92,500Unengaged and UnreachedNorthern KurdishSunni Islam
Kurmanji KurdsKurmanji KurdsUnited Kingdom150,000Engaged yet UnreachedNorthern KurdishSunni Islam
Kurmanji KurdsKurmanji KurdsNetherlands75,500Engaged yet UnreachedNorthern KurdishSunni Islam
Kurmanji KurdsKurmanji KurdsGermany540,000Engaged yet UnreachedNorthern KurdishSunni Islam
Kurmanji KurdsKurmanji KurdsBelgium67,000Engaged yet UnreachedNorthern 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.

Scroll to Top