The Mazanderani of Iran

The Mazanderani of Iran, numbering approximately 4,390,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an Iranian ethnic group indigenous to the southern coast of the Caspian Sea in northern Iran, particularly Mazandaran Province, with communities also found in parts of Alborz, Golestan, Tehran, and Semnan provinces. They mostly adhere to Shia Islam and Mazanderani is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3 Flash: Mazanderani

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Persian-Median Peoples
Country: Iran
People Cluster: Persian
Primary Language(s): Mazanderani (mzn)
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, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG024191
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Mazanderani 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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Shia Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

100%
%
Shia Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Mazanderani
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Mazandarani Speakers

Media Resources in Mazanderani:

Films:
TitleLink
MagdalenaView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Mazanderani:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Mazanderani bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Mazanderani 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 Mazanderani:
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 Mazanderani of Iran

"...And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold." As he said these things, he called out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
readLuke 8:8

Pray that the seeds of truth will take root in the hearts of those who are far from Jesus and that He will lead them from darkness to light.

Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness!
readPsalm 150:2

Pray for the gospel to advance among those who are living in darkness. Pray that they will come to know Jesus and praise Him for all that He has done.

Sanctify them in the truth, your word is truth.
readJohn 17:17

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will experience freedom from sin as God sanctifies them in the truth of His Word.

And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you.
readLuke 10:6

Pray that, as people come to faith in Christ and want to share it with others, they will be welcomed into homes and received well so that they can share message of hope with many people.

Mazanderani Across Countries (ROP3 - 106450) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

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