The Assyrians of Syria

The Assyrians of Syria, numbering approximately 50,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an Indigenous Upper Mesopotamian people concentrated in northeastern Syria, including the Khabur Valley and Jazira; many Khabur communities descend from Assyrian refugees from Turkey and Iraq and preserve Syriac Christian traditions. They mostly adhere to Syriac Orthodox Christianity 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: Syria
People Cluster: Assyrian
Primary Language(s): Assyrian Neo-Aramaic (aii)
Primary Religion(s): Syriac Orthodox Christianity
Population: 50,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG012181
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Assyrians of Syria

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: Syriac Orthodox Christianity
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

60%
%
Ethnoreligion 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

Bible Resources in Assyrian Neo-Aramaic:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

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

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Assyrians 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 Assyrians:
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 Assyrians of Syria

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
readMatthew 11:28

Pray for those who are tired, weary, and burdened by the weight of sin to encounter Jesus and experience the rest that only He can give.

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!
readPsalm 57:11

Pray that the lost will learn about God's great love and faithfulness so that they might trust in Christ for their salvation.

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
read1 Peter 2:24

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember every day that Jesus' death on the cross brings real healing and restoration to their souls and joyfully share this good news with others.

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
readRevelation 7:9-10

Pray that the promise in Revelation 7:9-10 will encourage believers from among them or from nearby people groups to share the gospel with people who have never learned it.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

14 people groups

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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