The Yazidi Kurds of Iraq

The Yazidi Kurds of Iraq, numbering approximately 666,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Kurdish-speaking ethno‑religious minority whose traditional homeland spans northern Iraq, northern Syria, southeastern Turkey, the Caucasus, and parts of Iran. They mostly adhere to Yazidism and Northern Kurdish is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Persian-Median Peoples
Country: Iraq
People Cluster: Kurd
Primary Language(s): Northern Kurdish (kmr)
Primary Religion(s): Yazidism
Population: 666,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG048854
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Yazidi Kurds of Iraq

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: Yazidism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

100%
%
Yazidism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Northern Kurdish
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Kurdish, Northern Speakers

Media Resources in Northern Kurdish:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
MagdalenaView Film

4 films

Bible Resources in Northern Kurdish:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2019 Kurdish Literature Association✓✓✓
2005 United Bible Society✓
Transcaucasia✓✓✓
Transcaucasia✓✓✓

4 entries

Or check out the Northern Kurdish bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Yazidi 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 Yazidi 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 Yazidi Kurds of Iraq

Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.
readJerremiah 32:17

Pray that the God who made the heavens and the earth by the power of His outstretched arm, the One who is able to save those who are lost, will show His great love and mercy to those who are walking in darkness.

O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.
readPsalm 104:24

Pray that they will see the wisdom and power of God in His creation and praise Him for His mighty works.

For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
readRomans 10:13

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and sometimes have doubts, God will help them remember and trust the power of Jesus to save them from their sins.

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
readRevelation 7:9-10

Pray that the promise in Revelation 7:9-10 will encourage believers from among them or from nearby people groups to share the gospel with people who have never learned it.

Yazidi Across Countries (ROP3 - 116305) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

4 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Yazidi KurdsYazidi KurdsIraq666,000Engaged yet UnreachedNorthern KurdishYazidism
Yazidi KurdsYazidi KurdsGermany101,000Engaged yet UnreachedNorthern KurdishYazidism
Yazidi KurdsYazidi KurdsArmenia35,000Engaged yet UnreachedNorthern KurdishYazidism
Yazidi KurdsYazidi KurdsUnited States1,100Unengaged and UnreachedNorthern KurdishYazidism

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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