The Persians of Belgium

The Persians of Belgium, numbering approximately 12,500 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: Iranian

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Persian-Median Peoples
Country: Belgium
People Cluster: Persian
Primary Language(s): Iranian Persian (pes)
Primary Religion(s): Shia Islam
Population: 12,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG043167
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Persians of Belgium

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

90%
%
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

Bible Resources in Iranian Persian:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
New Millenium Version 2009✓
New Millenium Version 2014✓✓
Today's Persian Version✓✓

3 entries

Or check out the Iranian Persian bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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 Belgium

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
readJohn 14:6

Pray that those who don't know Jesus will recognize Him as the only way to the Father and follow Him in faith.

The LORD watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
readPsalm 146:9

Pray for God to watch over people, wherever they are, and cause them to meet believers who will share the gospel with them clearly and lovingly.

And they all ate and were satisfied. And what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.
readLuke 9:17

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will meditate on the stories of Jesus' miracles, be in awe of Him, and trust Him for everything they need.

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."
readMatthew 9:37-38

Pray that the Lord of the harvest will raise up believers to send out into His harvest field, which is ripe and ready.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

30 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDName ▼CountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
PersiansPersiansAfghanistan117,000Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansIndonesia8,000No Longer UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansSouth Korea3,500No Longer UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansArmenia7,800No Longer UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansMalaysia21,000Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansGreece2,400No Longer UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansCanada202,000No Longer UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansUnited States467,000Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansBelgium12,500Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansFrance65,500Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansItaly11,500Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansTurkiye130,000No Longer UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansUzbekistan34,500Unengaged and UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansIran29,500,000Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansAzerbaijan1,400Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansAustria15,000Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansNetherlands36,000Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansAustralia84,000Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansUnited Arab Emirates556,000Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansSyria10,000Unengaged and UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansQatar276,000Unengaged and UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansOman16,000Unengaged and UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansKuwait50,000Unengaged and UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansIraq511,000Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansBahrain225,000Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansNew Zealand7,400Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansPakistan13,000Unengaged and UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansUnited Kingdom86,000No Longer UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansGermany175,000No Longer UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansDenmark15,500Engaged 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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