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

While he was coming, the demon threw him to the ground and convulsed him. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.
readLuke 9:42

Pray that those who are living outside of the hope of the gospel will know and trust that Jesus offers freedom from the oppression of sin and hope in eternal life.

And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.
readIsaiah 30:21

As the lost in this people group seek to know the truth of who God is, pray that the Spirit of God will draw them to Himself and guide them in the way they should go.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.
readEphesians 2:4-5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember God's mercy and grace and experience joy as they walk in new life with Christ.

At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ...that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.
readColossians 4:3-4

Ask God to open doors for believers to share the gospel and help them communicate it clearly so that more people will understand the mystery of Christ and turn to follow Him.

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.

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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