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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
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The Sorani Kurds of Iran

The Sorani Kurds of Iran, numbering approximately 3,625,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Kurdish people of Iran's Kurdistan, Kermanshah, and West Azerbaijan provinces speaking the Sorani dialect, whose spread followed the economic rise of the Baban dynasty of Suleymania, displacing older Hewramani and Gorani speech. 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: Kurd, Central (Sorani)

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Persian-Median Peoples
Country: Iran
People Cluster: Kurd
Primary Language(s): Central Kurdish (ckb)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 3,625,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG046635
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Pray for the Sorani Kurds 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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

100%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Central Kurdish
Language Family: Indo-European

75%
%
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 Iran

For the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost.
readLuke 19:10

Pray that those who are lost will respond to the One who came to seek and save the lost, and experience the joy of being found.

"Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool."
readIsaiah 1:18

Pray that God will make a way for the gospel to reach many through means they can understand and access, that they will receive the good news with joy, and that they will experience complete forgiveness and cleansing from their sin that Jesus offers through His sacrifice.

For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
read1 Peter 2:25

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will proclaim the good news and the lost will recognize their need for the Shepherd and turn to Jesus Christ in faith.

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 KurdsIraq5,525,000Engaged 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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