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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
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Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
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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
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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!
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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:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
The SaviorView Film

3 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Iranian Persian:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
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

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
readRomans 3:23

Pray that those who live in fear, guilt and discontentment because of sin will see their need for change, hear, and receive the good news of freedom from sin through Christ.

Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man.
readPsalm 66:5

Pray that many here will come and see what the Creator God has done on their behalf.

For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.
readHebrews 10:34

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have compassion for those in prison, sympathize with those who are mistreated, and continue to do good and share the gospel with others.

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations.
readPsalm 67:1-2

Pray that as God blesses believers from among this people group or from nearby cultures, He will raise them up to share His saving power among the nations.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

30 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguage ▼Religion
PersiansPG024002PersiansAfghanistan117,000Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG050238PersiansIndonesia8,000No Longer UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG050237PersiansSouth Korea3,500No Longer UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG050098PersiansArmenia7,800No Longer UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG049321PersiansMalaysia21,000Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG047071PersiansGreece2,400No Longer UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG043458PersiansCanada202,000No Longer UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG043278PersiansUnited States467,000Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG043167PersiansBelgium12,500Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG042479PersiansFrance65,500Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG042331PersiansItaly11,500Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG024581PersiansTurkiye130,000No Longer UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG024309PersiansUzbekistan34,500Unengaged and UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG024197PersiansIran29,500,000Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG024081PersiansAzerbaijan1,400Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG000034PersiansAustria15,000Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG022255PersiansNetherlands36,000Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG020262PersiansAustralia84,000Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG012247PersiansUnited Arab Emirates556,000Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG012193PersiansSyria10,000Unengaged and UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG011904PersiansQatar276,000Unengaged and UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG011886PersiansOman16,000Unengaged and UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG011804PersiansKuwait50,000Unengaged and UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG011719PersiansIraq511,000Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG011304PersiansBahrain225,000Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG009630PersiansNew Zealand7,400Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG006390PersiansPakistan13,000Unengaged and UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG000643PersiansUnited Kingdom86,000No Longer UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG000259PersiansGermany175,000No Longer UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPG000091PersiansDenmark15,500Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia 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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