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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
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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.

Pray Now!
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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

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Northern Kurdish:

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

4 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Northern Kurdish bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

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

And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
readActs 4:12

Pray that those walking in darkness among them will come to know the name by which they must be saved, and call upon Him in faith.

And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us.
readActs 17:26-27

Pray that the lost will seek God and find Him, for He is not far from each one of us. Pray that they will have opportunities to access the gospel, learn God's purpose for their lives, and believe in Him.

Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!
readPsalm 100:3-4

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be in awe of the Lord God, their Creator, and will give Him thanksgiving and praise.

Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
readIsaiah 43:19

Praise the God who is able to make a way forward, even when it seems impossible. Ask Him to do a new thing among this people group specifically and among the nations, raising up believers to go and share the gospel with individuals and places where it has not flourished before.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

4 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Yazidi KurdsPG048854Yazidi KurdsIraq666,000Engaged yet UnreachedNorthern KurdishYazidism
Yazidi KurdsPG050405Yazidi KurdsGermany101,000Engaged yet UnreachedNorthern KurdishYazidism
Yazidi KurdsPG024035Yazidi KurdsArmenia35,000Engaged yet UnreachedNorthern KurdishYazidism
Yazidi KurdsPG050358Yazidi 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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