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Hamed Saber - Flickr, CC BY 2.0, via Joshua Project
Unreached people group
Persa
Where the gospel has not yet reached this people
47.9M people from this group live in countries where they remain unreached or minimally reached:
-
Iran Unreached
44.315.000 people -
Afghanistan Unreached
746.000 people -
Iraq Unreached
555.000 people -
United Arab Emirates Unreached
362.000 people -
United States Unreached
331.000 people -
Qatar Unreached
302.000 people -
Saudi Arabia Unreached
219.000 people -
Bahrain Unreached
213.000 people -
Turkey Unreached
132.000 people -
Oman Unreached
76.000 people -
United Kingdom Unreached
73.000 people -
France Unreached
66.000 people -
Kuwait Unreached
64.000 people -
Australia Unreached
63.000 people -
Syria Unreached
60.000 people -
Malaysia Unreached
46.000 people -
Netherlands Unreached
43.000 people -
Uzbekistan Unreached
37.000 people -
Yemen Unreached
30.000 people -
Norway Unreached
25.000 people -
Turkmenistan Unreached
20.000 people -
Denmark Unreached
18.000 people -
Italy Unreached
17.000 people -
Austria Unreached
15.000 people -
Finland Unreached
14.000 people -
Japan Unreached
14.000 people -
Belgium Unreached
13.000 people -
Azerbaijan Unreached
12.000 people -
Pakistan Unreached
11.000 people -
Armenia Unreached
10.000 people -
Indonesia Unreached
8.000 people -
India Unreached
7.700 people -
Lebanon Unreached
7.000 people -
Switzerland Unreached
6.600 people -
China Unreached
5.500 people -
New Zealand Unreached
5.400 people
The name Persian carries memories that span millennia, including well-known passages from biblical history itself: it was under Persian rule that the exiles of Judah, taken captive to Babylon, saw their fortunes change centuries ago. Today the Persians form the main ethnic group of Iran, a country where they live alongside dozens of other ethnicities, and their language, Persian, also called Farsi, is spoken by tens of millions of people inside and outside Iran’s borders.
To speak of Persian identity is to speak of a civilization that takes pride in a literature, a poetry, and an artistic tradition that trace back to ancient empires and remain alive today in the everyday life, speech, and customs of those who carry that name, inside and outside Iran.
The Persians descend from peoples who already inhabited the Iranian plateau long before the Christian era, the cradle of successive empires that profoundly marked the history of the Middle East and, at times, crossed paths with the people of Israel itself. The arrival of Islam in the seventh century, with the Arab conquest that ended the last great pre-Islamic Persian empire, permanently transformed the region's identity, turning it into one of the great centers of Persian culture and language in the Muslim world, a role it still holds today.
| Country | Share of the people | Population |
|---|---|---|
|
Iran Unreached
|
91.6%
|
44.315.000 |
|
Afghanistan Unreached
|
1.5%
|
746.000 |
|
Iraq Unreached
|
1.1%
|
555.000 |
|
United Arab Emirates Unreached
|
0.7%
|
362.000 |
|
United States Unreached
|
0.7%
|
331.000 |
|
Qatar Unreached
|
0.6%
|
302.000 |
Germany Partially reached
|
0.5%
|
237.000 |
|
Saudi Arabia Unreached
|
0.5%
|
219.000 |
|
Bahrain Unreached
|
0.4%
|
213.000 |
Canada Partially reached
|
0.3%
|
154.000 |
|
Turkey Unreached
|
0.3%
|
132.000 |
|
Oman Unreached
|
0.2%
|
76.000 |
|
United Kingdom Unreached
|
0.2%
|
73.000 |
|
France Unreached
|
0.1%
|
66.000 |
|
Kuwait Unreached
|
0.1%
|
64.000 |
|
Australia Unreached
|
0.1%
|
63.000 |
|
Syria Unreached
|
0.1%
|
60.000 |
|
Malaysia Unreached
|
0.1%
|
46.000 |
Sweden Partially reached
|
0.1%
|
46.000 |
|
Netherlands Unreached
|
0.1%
|
43.000 |
|
Uzbekistan Unreached
|
0.1%
|
37.000 |
|
Yemen Unreached
|
0.1%
|
30.000 |
|
Norway Unreached
|
0.1%
|
25.000 |
|
Turkmenistan Unreached
|
0%
|
20.000 |
|
Denmark Unreached
|
0%
|
18.000 |
|
Italy Unreached
|
0%
|
17.000 |
|
Austria Unreached
|
0%
|
15.000 |
|
Finland Unreached
|
0%
|
14.000 |
|
Japan Unreached
|
0%
|
14.000 |
|
Belgium Unreached
|
0%
|
13.000 |
|
Azerbaijan Unreached
|
0%
|
12.000 |
|
Pakistan Unreached
|
0%
|
11.000 |
|
Armenia Unreached
|
0%
|
10.000 |
|
Indonesia Unreached
|
0%
|
8.000 |
|
India Unreached
|
0%
|
7.700 |
|
Lebanon Unreached
|
0%
|
7.000 |
|
Switzerland Unreached
|
0%
|
6.600 |
|
China Unreached
|
0%
|
5.500 |
|
New Zealand Unreached
|
0%
|
5.400 |
Family is the center of Persian life: important decisions, care for elders, and raising children all pass through a close-knit network of kinship and obligations that span generations. The major cities, especially the capital, hold an intense urban daily life, with a strong appreciation for education and the arts, heirs of one of the world’s oldest literary and poetic traditions.
Personal appearance receives special attention, and it is common to see Persian women carefully following fashion trends, even within the restrictions imposed by publicly required dress. Hospitality and refinement at the table, in speech, and in social manners are marks of identity that Persians cultivate with pride, both inside and outside the country.
The vast majority of Persians are Shia Muslim, also the predominant branch in Iran’s official religion, and this faith is deeply intertwined with national pride and the people’s historical memory. Practicing Islam is, for many, as much a part of being Persian as speaking their own language, and the country’s law reinforces this bond between nation and religion.
Even so, it is estimated that a relatively small portion of the population actually lives according to the stricter precepts of Islam day to day, a sign that the relationship between declared faith and personal practice is more complex than it appears at first glance.
Persian was one of the first languages of the Middle East to receive the complete Scriptures: the New Testament was already circulating in the early nineteenth century, and the whole Bible was published by the end of that century, in a translation that remains a reference to this day. Persian families’ everyday access to this text is another matter: state surveillance of any non-Islamic religious material makes owning a printed Bible a real risk, pushing much of the contact with the Word toward radio, satellite television, and the internet.
A people only truly understands the gospel when they hear it in the language of their heart. See how far the translation has come.
- Translation started Done
- Portions Done
- New Testament Done
- Whole Bible Current stage
- Translation started Done
- Portions Done
- New Testament Done
- Whole Bible Current stage
Translation data: Joshua Project.
Being Persian is deeply tied to Shia Islam: national identity and faith are so intertwined that following Jesus is seen as abandoning one’s own homeland and family. Conversion is prohibited by law and can be punished by death, forcing any Christian community into the strictest secrecy. House churches have already been forcibly shut down in several cities, and their members forbidden from meeting again. This environment of constant surveillance makes even a first contact with the gospel costly and risky.
Living under a regime that closely monitors religious and cultural expression exacts a silent toll on Persian families, who face restrictions in many areas of public and private life. There is a deep need for spaces where faith can be lived out in freedom, without the constant weight of surveillance and suspicion.
Those who decide to follow Jesus amid this reality need community, discipleship, and safe accompaniment, resources still scarce given the size of the movement now growing among the Persians.
Iran is now cited as one of the fastest-growing places for the church in the world, a movement that gained strength precisely under a regime hostile to the gospel. Many report coming to faith in Jesus through supernatural encounters, dreams, and visions, as well as through the reach of satellite television and Christian broadcasts in Persian. Small house churches continue to spring up and multiply, even in the face of the constant risk of being discovered and shut down.
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