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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Deaf Kurds of Iraq

The Deaf Kurds of Iraq, numbering approximately 325,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are a community of individuals who are culturally Deaf and actively participate in Deaf culture, often using sign language as their primary means of communication. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Kurdish Sign Language is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3 Flash: Deaf Kurd

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Deaf Peoples
Country: Iraq
People Cluster: Deaf
Primary Language(s): Kurdish Sign Language (zhk)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 325,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): No Evangelicals, Churches or Resources
People Group ID: PG050667

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Pray for the Deaf 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!
Download Prayer Guide

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

60%
%

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kurdish Sign Language
Language Family:

5%
%

Media Resources in Kurdish Sign Language:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Kurdish Sign Language:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Kurdish Sign Language bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 0), which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Frontier Unreached People Group, (LPI: 0), < 0.1% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): No Evangelicals, Churches or Resources (GSEC: 0), there are no evangelical Christians or churches among this people group and there is no access to evangelical print, audio, visual or human resources

Next steps for the Deaf Kurds:
Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Pray specifically for the Deaf Kurds of Iraq

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth.
readPsalm 67:4

Pray that those who are lost in darkness and confusion will come to understand God's ways, submit to His righteous rule, and experience the joy of His salvation.

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.
readIsaiah 40:8

Pray that everyone has access to God's Word and that those who hear the good news will turn from their sins and put their faith in Jesus the Messiah.

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.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
readActs 1:8

Pray that God will raise up believers who are willing to cross cultures and boldly share the good news of Jesus with the lost in this people group and from every nation.

Deaf Kurd Across Countries (ROP3 - 119663) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDName ▼CountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Deaf KurdsPG050667Deaf KurdsIraq325,000Unengaged and UnreachedKurdish Sign LanguageSunni 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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