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The Persians of Afghanistan

The Persians of Afghanistan, numbering approximately 117,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a complex Iranian community shaped by a rich history, multifaceted blend of ancient traditions, cultural heritage, modern influences, Islamic values, and a strong sense of national pride and resilience. They mostly adhere to Shia Islam and Iranian Persian is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Persian-Median Peoples
Country: Afghanistan
People Cluster: Persian
Primary Language(s): Iranian Persian (pes)
Primary Religion(s): Shia Islam
Population: 117,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG024002
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Pray for the Persians of Afghanistan

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: Shia Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

94%
%
Shia Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Iranian Persian
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Persian, Iranian Speakers

Media Resources in Iranian Persian:

Films:
Title Link
JESUS View Film
Magdalena View Film
The Savior View Film

3 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Iranian Persian:

Bible Name (Translation) Video Audio Text
New Millenium Version 2009 ✓
New Millenium Version 2014 ✓ ✓
Today's Persian Version ✓ ✓

3 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Iranian Persian bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Persians 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 Persians:
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 Persians of Afghanistan

And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
readMatthew 6:7-8

Pray that those who don't have a relationship with their Creator will come to know a God who hears their every need, freeing them from empty rituals and drawing them into a real, trusting relationship with Him.

More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
readRomans 5:11

Pray for the gospel to advance and for more people to be brought into God's family through the reconciliation Jesus offers them.

And many nations shall join themselves to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people. And I will dwell in your midst, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.
readZechariah 2:11

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have a heart that longs to see all people from all parts of the world worshiping Jesus as He deserves.

And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.
readMatthew 7:28-29

Pray that God will remind believers that they have His authority as they share His truth with the lost, and pray He will draw crowds of people to this message and plant it deeply in their hearts.

Persian Across Countries (ROP3 - 107987) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index

All

30 people groups

Photo People Group ID Name Country Population ▼ Strategic Progress Index Language Religion
Persians PG024197 Persians Iran 29,520,000 Engaged yet Unreached Iranian Persian Shia Islam
Persians PG012247 Persians United Arab Emirates 558,000 Engaged yet Unreached Iranian Persian Shia Islam
Persians PG011719 Persians Iraq 511,000 Engaged yet Unreached Iranian Persian Shia Islam
Persians PG043278 Persians United States 467,000 Engaged yet Unreached Iranian Persian Shia Islam
Persians PG011904 Persians Qatar 276,000 Unengaged and Unreached Iranian Persian Shia Islam
Persians PG011304 Persians Bahrain 225,000 Engaged yet Unreached Iranian Persian Shia Islam
Persians PG043458 Persians Canada 202,000 No Longer Unreached Iranian Persian Shia Islam
Persians PG000259 Persians Germany 175,000 No Longer Unreached Iranian Persian Shia Islam
Persians PG024581 Persians Turkiye 130,000 No Longer Unreached Iranian Persian Shia Islam
Persians PG024002 Persians Afghanistan 117,000 Engaged yet Unreached Iranian Persian Shia Islam
Persians PG000643 Persians United Kingdom 86,000 No Longer Unreached Iranian Persian Shia Islam
Persians PG020262 Persians Australia 84,000 Engaged yet Unreached Iranian Persian Shia Islam
Persians PG042479 Persians France 65,500 Engaged yet Unreached Iranian Persian Shia Islam
Persians PG011804 Persians Kuwait 50,000 Unengaged and Unreached Iranian Persian Shia Islam
Persians PG022255 Persians Netherlands 36,000 Engaged yet Unreached Iranian Persian Shia Islam
Persians PG024309 Persians Uzbekistan 34,500 Unengaged and Unreached Iranian Persian Shia Islam
Persians PG049321 Persians Malaysia 21,000 Engaged yet Unreached Iranian Persian Shia Islam
Persians PG011886 Persians Oman 16,000 Unengaged and Unreached Iranian Persian Shia Islam
Persians PG000091 Persians Denmark 15,500 Engaged yet Unreached Iranian Persian Shia Islam
Persians PG000034 Persians Austria 15,000 Engaged yet Unreached Iranian Persian Shia Islam
Persians PG006390 Persians Pakistan 13,000 Unengaged and Unreached Iranian Persian Shia Islam
Persians PG043167 Persians Belgium 12,500 Engaged yet Unreached Iranian Persian Shia Islam
Persians PG042331 Persians Italy 11,500 Engaged yet Unreached Iranian Persian Shia Islam
Persians PG012193 Persians Syria 10,000 Unengaged and Unreached Iranian Persian Shia Islam
Persians PG050238 Persians Indonesia 8,000 No Longer Unreached Iranian Persian Shia Islam
Persians PG050098 Persians Armenia 7,800 No Longer Unreached Iranian Persian Shia Islam
Persians PG009630 Persians New Zealand 7,500 Engaged yet Unreached Iranian Persian Shia Islam
Persians PG050237 Persians South Korea 3,500 No Longer Unreached Iranian Persian Shia Islam
Persians PG047071 Persians Greece 2,400 No Longer Unreached Iranian Persian Shia Islam
Persians PG024081 Persians Azerbaijan 1,400 Engaged yet Unreached Iranian Persian Shia 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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