The Persians of Azerbaijan

The Persians of Azerbaijan, numbering approximately 1,400 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: Azerbaijan
People Cluster: Persian
Primary Language(s): Iranian Persian (pes)
Primary Religion(s): Shia Islam
Population: 1,400
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG024081
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Persians 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: Shia Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

90%
%
Shia Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Iranian Persian
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Persian, Iranian Speakers

Media Resources in Iranian Persian:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
The SaviorView Film

3 films

Bible Resources in Iranian Persian:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
New Millenium Version 2009✓
New Millenium Version 2014✓✓
Today's Persian Version✓✓

3 entries

Or check out the Iranian Persian bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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 Azerbaijan

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
readRomans 1:20

As God's creation declares His glory, pray that multitudes who don't know Him will see the works of His hands and desire to know more about the Creator.

...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.

I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
readPsalm 121:1-2

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and experience hardship, God will remind them that their help comes from the One who made heaven and earth and that He is powerful to meet their needs.

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
read1 Corinthians 15:10–11

Pray that God's people will preach the message of Jesus' death and resurrection and that it will spread among the lost through the selfless witness of believers.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

30 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
PersiansPersiansIran29,520,000Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansUnited Arab Emirates558,000Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansIraq511,000Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansUnited States467,000Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansQatar276,000Unengaged and UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansBahrain225,000Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansCanada202,000No Longer UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansGermany175,000No Longer UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansTurkiye130,000No Longer UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansAfghanistan117,000Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansUnited Kingdom86,000No Longer UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansAustralia84,000Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansFrance65,500Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansKuwait50,000Unengaged and UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansNetherlands36,000Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansUzbekistan34,500Unengaged and UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansMalaysia21,000Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansOman16,000Unengaged and UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansDenmark15,500Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansAustria15,000Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansPakistan13,000Unengaged and UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansBelgium12,500Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansItaly11,500Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansSyria10,000Unengaged and UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansIndonesia8,000No Longer UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansArmenia7,800No Longer UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansNew Zealand7,500Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansSouth Korea3,500No Longer UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansGreece2,400No Longer UnreachedIranian PersianShia Islam
PersiansPersiansAzerbaijan1,400Engaged yet UnreachedIranian PersianShia 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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