Kurmanji Kurds of Syria (PGID: PG012204)

PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Kurmanji Kurds of Syria

The Kurmanji Kurds of Syria, numbering approximately 1,615,000 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: Syria
People Cluster: Kurd
Primary Language(s): Northern Kurdish (kmr)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 1,615,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG012204
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Pray for the Kurmanji Kurds 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.

Pray Now!

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

100%

Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Northern Kurdish
Language Family: Indo-European

100%

Kurdish, Northern Speakers

Media Resources in Northern Kurdish:

Films:

Title	Link
JESUS	View Film
JESUS	View Film
Magdalena	View Film
Magdalena	View Film

4 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Northern Kurdish:

Bible Name (Translation)	Video	Audio	Text
2019 Kurdish Literature Association	✓	✓	✓
2005 United Bible Society		✓
Transcaucasia	✓	✓	✓
Transcaucasia	✓	✓	✓

4 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Northern Kurdish bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

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 Syria

But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
Matthew 5:44-45

Pray for those who don't know Jesus to encounter believers who are kind and compassionate and that their imitation of Christ will serve as a testimony that attracts lost people to Jesus.

And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
1 John 4:21

Pray that the good news of God's love will reach everyone in this people group, and that His love will compel them to love others as Christ has loved us.

Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice!
Psalm 105:3

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will glory in His holy name and that their hearts will rejoice.

Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!
Psalm 149:3

Pray that God will send His people across cultures to share the gospel so that those who don't yet know the truth about Him might praise His name and share the hope of Christ with others.

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

Strategic Progress Index

All

Engaged yet Unreached UUPG No Longer Unreached

CountryReligion

21 people groups

People Group ID	Name	Country	Population ▼	Strategic Progress Index	Language	Religion
PG024567	Kurmanji Kurds	Turkiye	9,000,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Northern Kurdish	Sunni Islam
PG012204	Kurmanji Kurds	Syria	1,615,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Northern Kurdish	Sunni Islam
PG046633	Kurmanji Kurds	Iran	573,000	Unengaged and Unreached	Northern Kurdish	Sunni Islam
PG000250	Kurmanji Kurds	Germany	540,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Northern Kurdish	Sunni Islam
PG011820	Kurmanji Kurds	Lebanon	152,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Northern Kurdish	Sunni Islam
PG000652	Kurmanji Kurds	United Kingdom	150,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Northern Kurdish	Sunni Islam
PG011302	Kurmanji Kurds	Bahrain	92,500	Unengaged and Unreached	Northern Kurdish	Sunni Islam
PG011671	Kurmanji Kurds	France	85,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Northern Kurdish	Sunni Islam
PG000421	Kurmanji Kurds	Netherlands	75,500	Engaged yet Unreached	Northern Kurdish	Sunni Islam
PG000026	Kurmanji Kurds	Austria	68,500	Engaged yet Unreached	Northern Kurdish	Sunni Islam
PG000062	Kurmanji Kurds	Belgium	67,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Northern Kurdish	Sunni Islam
PG046638	Kurmanji Kurds	Kazakhstan	51,500	Unengaged and Unreached	Northern Kurdish	Sunni Islam
PG024112	Kurmanji Kurds	Georgia	39,500	Engaged yet Unreached	Northern Kurdish	Shia Islam
PG024465	Kurmanji Kurds	Russian Federation	35,000	No Longer Unreached	Northern Kurdish	Shia Islam
PG011787	Kurmanji Kurds	Jordan	12,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Northern Kurdish	Sunni Islam
PG046639	Kurmanji Kurds	Kyrgyzstan	10,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Northern Kurdish	Sunni Islam
PG046645	Kurmanji Kurds	Turkmenistan	8,200	Unengaged and Unreached	Northern Kurdish	Shia Islam
PG047399	Kurmanji Kurds	Canada	7,700	Engaged yet Unreached	Northern Kurdish	Sunni Islam
PG046631	Kurmanji Kurds	Azerbaijan	6,400	Unengaged and Unreached	Northern Kurdish	Sunni Islam
PG020260	Kurmanji Kurds	Australia	5,500	Engaged yet Unreached	Northern Kurdish	Sunni Islam
PG046646	Kurmanji Kurds	Uzbekistan	3,500	Unengaged and Unreached	Northern Kurdish	Sunni 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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