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

The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the LORD! May your hearts live forever!
readPsalm 22:26

Pray that the lost will feel a deep hunger for God, be drawn to Him in their affliction, and find lasting satisfaction and salvation in Him alone.

Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts; his name is the LORD; exult before him!
readPsalm 68:4

Pray that many will come to faith in Christ and share the gospel with others so that His salvation will be known among all nations.

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.

I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessing.
read1 Corinthians 9:23

Ask God to give believers a deep desire to share the gospel with those who don't know the truth about God's redemption plan, and to provide them with opportunities to do so cross-culturally.

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.

Scroll to Top