The Rutul of Azerbaijan

The Rutul of Azerbaijan, numbering approximately 900 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Northeast Caucasian ethnic group indigenous to the Rutulsky district of Dagestan. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Rutul is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Eurasian Peoples
Country: Azerbaijan
People Cluster: Caucasus
Primary Language(s): Rutul (rut)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 900
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG048857
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Rutul of Azerbaijan

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: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

99%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Rutul
Language Family: Nakh-Daghestanian

100%
%
Rutul Speakers

Media Resources in Rutul:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Rutul:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Rutul bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Rutul 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 Rutul:
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 Rutul of Azerbaijan

And he said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many."
readMark 14:23-24

Pray for those who may have heard the gospel but have not yet submitted their lives to Christ, that they will finally see the sacrifice which He made for them and surrender their lives to Him.

...And that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
readLuke 24:47

Pray that the message of repentance and forgiveness through Jesus will reach everyone.

But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.
read1 Peter 3:15

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will always be prepared to share the reason for the hope that they have in Jesus with gentleness and respect.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!
readPsalm 51:2

Pray that God will raise up believers to go and share the gospel with those in this people group who need to be washed of their iniquity and cleansed from their sins.

Rutul Across Countries (ROP3 - 108461) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

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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