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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
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Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
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The Gilaki of Iran

The Gilaki of Iran, numbering approximately 4,390,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an Iranian people native to Gilan and the southwestern Caspian coast, closely associated with the neighboring Mazandarani and distinguished by the Gilaki language. They mostly adhere to Shia Islam and Gilaki is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Persian-Median Peoples
Country: Iran
People Cluster: Persian
Primary Language(s): Gilaki (glk)
Primary Religion(s): Shia Islam
Population: 4,390,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, Concentrated CP Activity
People Group ID: PG024157
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Pray for the Gilaki of Iran

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

99%
%
Shia Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Gilaki
Language Family: Indo-European

90%
%
Gilaki Speakers

Media Resources in Gilaki:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

3 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Gilaki:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2019 Edition✓✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Gilaki bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Gilaki 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 Gilaki:
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 Gilaki of Iran

For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
readPsalm 1:6

As many look for hope in worldly pleasures, pray they will hear and accept salvation through Christ, turn from destruction, and experience joy in the way of righteousness.

And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "In you shall all the nations be blessed"
readGalatians 3:8

Ask the Lord to fulfill His promise to Abraham that all nations would be blessed by advancing the gospel to every people group who has yet to receive it.

You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance.
readPsalm 32:7

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember that God is their hiding place and that He will preserve them in the midst of trials.

Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns! Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.”
readPsalm 96:10

Pray for God to put in the hearts of believers to go to the lost and testify about the Lord who reigns.

Gilaki Across Countries (ROP3 - 103369) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
GilakiPG024157GilakiIran4,390,000Engaged yet UnreachedGilakiShia 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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