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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Sorani Kurds of United States

The Sorani Kurds of United States, numbering approximately 18,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Kurdish diaspora community in the United States, originating primarily from Iraq and Iran, who speak Sorani (Central Kurdish), maintain a distinct Kurdish cultural identity, and are predominantly Sunni Muslim. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Central Kurdish is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Persian-Median Peoples
Country: United States
People Cluster: Kurd
Primary Language(s): Central Kurdish (ckb)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 18,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG043313
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Pray for the Sorani Kurds of United States

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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

99%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Central Kurdish
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Kurdish, Central Speakers

Media Resources in Central Kurdish:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

3 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Central Kurdish:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Central Kurdish bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Sorani Kurds 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 Sorani Kurds:
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 Sorani Kurds of United States

"...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.

Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
readPsalm 67:3

Pray that God will be working in people's hearts, give them opportunities to receive the gospel, and bring many to faith in Himself.

And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
readActs 2:46-47

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be devoted to the teaching of God's Word, to fellowship with one another, and to prayer.

He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
readPsalm 23:3

Pray for believers to go and share the gospel with others here. Ask that God will restore their souls and lead them in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.

Kurd, Central (Sorani) Across Countries (ROP3 - 101922) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

5 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguage ▼Religion
Sorani KurdsPG011722Sorani KurdsIraq5,520,000Engaged yet UnreachedCentral KurdishSunni Islam
Sorani KurdsPG042748Sorani KurdsJordan41,000Unengaged and UnreachedCentral KurdishSunni Islam
Sorani KurdsPG043313Sorani KurdsUnited States18,000Engaged yet UnreachedCentral KurdishSunni Islam
Sorani KurdsPG046635Sorani KurdsIran3,625,000Engaged yet UnreachedCentral KurdishSunni Islam
Sorani KurdsPG050492Sorani KurdsCanada9,400Engaged yet UnreachedCentral KurdishSunni 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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