The Central Tati of Iran

The Central Tati of Iran, numbering approximately 41,500 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are a linguistic subgroup of the Tats, an Iranian ethnic group predominantly found in the East Azerbaijan province of northern Iran and can also be known as Shahrudi. They are an Indigenous people, in the Talysh people cluster of the Persian-Median affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Islam - Shia. They primarily speak Shahrudi.

Central Tati in Iran photo
Photo by Google. (2025). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Central Tati

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Central Asian Peoples
Country: Iran
People Cluster: Talysh
Primary Language(s): Shahrudi (shm)
Primary Religion(s): Islam - Shia
Population: 41,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG049287

Pray for the Central Tati of Iran

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Islam - Shia
Religious Affiliation: Islam

%
Islam - Shia Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Shahrudi
Language Family: Indo-European

%
Shahrudi Speakers

Media Resources in Shahrudi:

Films:

No entries found for: Shahrudi(shm). Help build some!

Bible Resources in Shahrudi:

Or check out the Shahrudi bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Next steps for the Central Tati

The Central Tati are Unengaged and Unreached, 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.

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

Next steps for the Central Tati

The Central Tati 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.

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

Next steps for the Central Tati

The Central Tati are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Central Tati of Iran

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
readRomans 3:23

Pray that those who live in fear, guilt and discontentment because of sin will see their need for change, hear, and receive the good news of freedom from sin through Christ.

And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region.
readActs 13:48-49

Pray that the gospel will spread throughout this whole region and that many will believe and embrace the gift of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ.

You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance.
readPsalm 32:7

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember that God is their hiding place and that He will preserve them in the midst of trials.

Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!
readPsalm 34:3

Pray that God will raise up believers who will go to those in this people group who do not yet follow Jesus, and that they will invite many to magnify the Lord with them so that His fame will spread to the ends of the earth.

Tati, Central reported in the following countries (ROP3):

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 Definitions page.

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