Persians of Afghanistan (PGID: PG024002)

PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Persians of Afghanistan

The Persians of Afghanistan, numbering approximately 117,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a complex Iranian community shaped by a rich history, multifaceted blend of ancient traditions, cultural heritage, modern influences, Islamic values, and a strong sense of national pride and resilience. They mostly adhere to Shia Islam and Iranian Persian is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite: Persian

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Persian-Median Peoples
Country: Afghanistan
People Cluster: Persian
Primary Language(s): Iranian Persian (pes)
Primary Religion(s): Shia Islam
Population: 117,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG024002
View on Joshua Project

Print Profile

Submit Updates

Pray for the Persians of Afghanistan

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: Shia Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

94%

Shia Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Iranian Persian
Language Family: Indo-European

100%

Persian, Iranian Speakers

Media Resources in Iranian Persian:

Films:

Title	Link
JESUS	View Film
Magdalena	View Film
The Savior	View Film

3 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Iranian Persian:

Bible Name (Translation)	Video	Audio	Text
New Millenium Version 2009		✓
New Millenium Version 2014	✓		✓
Today's Persian Version		✓	✓

3 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Iranian Persian bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Persians 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 Persians:

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 Persians of Afghanistan

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
Luke 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.

Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick in it and say to them, "the kingdom of God has come near to you."
Luke 10:8-9

Pray that the lost will receive messengers of the gospel with joy, turn from their sins, and be healed.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
John 14:3

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have hope in trials because they know that Jesus will one day take them to be with Him forever.

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe."
John 6:35-36

Praise God for the things such as bread that He has provided as natural conversation bridges to the gospel. Pray that believers will use any bridges He provides to share the gospel with those who do not yet know the good news.

Persian Across Countries (ROP3 - 107987) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index

All

Engaged yet Unreached UUPG No Longer Unreached

CountryReligion

30 people groups

People Group ID	Name	Country	Population ▼	Strategic Progress Index	Language	Religion
PG024197	Persians	Iran	29,500,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Iranian Persian	Shia Islam
PG012247	Persians	United Arab Emirates	556,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Iranian Persian	Shia Islam
PG011719	Persians	Iraq	511,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Iranian Persian	Shia Islam
PG043278	Persians	United States	467,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Iranian Persian	Shia Islam
PG011904	Persians	Qatar	276,000	Unengaged and Unreached	Iranian Persian	Shia Islam
PG011304	Persians	Bahrain	225,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Iranian Persian	Shia Islam
PG043458	Persians	Canada	202,000	No Longer Unreached	Iranian Persian	Shia Islam
PG000259	Persians	Germany	175,000	No Longer Unreached	Iranian Persian	Shia Islam
PG024581	Persians	Turkiye	130,000	No Longer Unreached	Iranian Persian	Shia Islam
PG024002	Persians	Afghanistan	117,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Iranian Persian	Shia Islam
PG000643	Persians	United Kingdom	86,000	No Longer Unreached	Iranian Persian	Shia Islam
PG020262	Persians	Australia	84,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Iranian Persian	Shia Islam
PG042479	Persians	France	65,500	Engaged yet Unreached	Iranian Persian	Shia Islam
PG011804	Persians	Kuwait	50,000	Unengaged and Unreached	Iranian Persian	Shia Islam
PG022255	Persians	Netherlands	36,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Iranian Persian	Shia Islam
PG024309	Persians	Uzbekistan	34,500	Unengaged and Unreached	Iranian Persian	Shia Islam
PG049321	Persians	Malaysia	21,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Iranian Persian	Shia Islam
PG011886	Persians	Oman	16,000	Unengaged and Unreached	Iranian Persian	Shia Islam
PG000091	Persians	Denmark	15,500	Engaged yet Unreached	Iranian Persian	Shia Islam
PG000034	Persians	Austria	15,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Iranian Persian	Shia Islam
PG006390	Persians	Pakistan	13,000	Unengaged and Unreached	Iranian Persian	Shia Islam
PG043167	Persians	Belgium	12,500	Engaged yet Unreached	Iranian Persian	Shia Islam
PG042331	Persians	Italy	11,500	Engaged yet Unreached	Iranian Persian	Shia Islam
PG012193	Persians	Syria	10,000	Unengaged and Unreached	Iranian Persian	Shia Islam
PG050238	Persians	Indonesia	8,000	No Longer Unreached	Iranian Persian	Shia Islam
PG050098	Persians	Armenia	7,800	No Longer Unreached	Iranian Persian	Shia Islam
PG009630	Persians	New Zealand	7,400	Engaged yet Unreached	Iranian Persian	Shia Islam
PG050237	Persians	South Korea	3,500	No Longer Unreached	Iranian Persian	Shia Islam
PG047071	Persians	Greece	2,400	No Longer Unreached	Iranian Persian	Shia Islam
PG024081	Persians	Azerbaijan	1,400	Engaged yet Unreached	Iranian Persian	Shia 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.

People Groups of the World

Countries of the World

Languages of the World

Religions of the World

Advanced Dashboard

What are People Groups?

Using Peoplegroups.org

People Group Research

Definitions and FAQs

About Us

Maps

Research Data

Resource Links