The Han Chinese of Laos

The Han Chinese of Laos, numbering approximately 36,500 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Han Chinese ethnolinguistic group of southern China's Pearl River Delta who speak Cantonese and share a regional heritage shaped by Lingnan culture, maritime trade, and extensive overseas migration. They mostly adhere to Chinese Folk Religion and Yue Chinese is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Han Chinese

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: East Asian Peoples
Country: Laos
People Cluster: Chinese
Primary Language(s): Yue Chinese (yue)
Primary Religion(s): Chinese Folk Religion
Population: 36,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG009111
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Han Chinese of Laos

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: Chinese Folk Religion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

95%
%
Chinese Folk Religion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Yue Chinese
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

100%
%
Chinese, Yue Speakers

Media Resources in Yue Chinese:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Bible Resources in Yue Chinese:

4 entries

Or check out the Yue Chinese bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Han Chinese 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.

Next steps for the Han Chinese:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Han Chinese of Laos

Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.
readMark 10:15

Pray for those who might be trapped in pride, that God will humble them and give them a childlike faith and complete dependence on Him through faith in Christ.

...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.

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
readMatthew 5:16

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be humble and give glory to God through their good deeds.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
readRomans 6:23

Pray that God will bring people to faith who are excited about the eternal life they have in Christ and will want to cross cultures to share this hope with others.

Han Chinese, Cantonese Across Countries (ROP3 - 103701) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

25 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Han Chinese (Cantonese)Han Chinese (Cantonese)China64,770,000No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseChinese Folk Religion
Han Chinese (Cantonese)Han Chinese (Cantonese)Hong Kong6,245,000No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseChinese Folk Religion
Han Chinese (Cantonese)Han Chinese (Cantonese)Malaysia1,935,000No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseChinese Folk Religion
Han Chinese (Cantonese)Han Chinese (Cantonese)United States1,030,000No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseAtheism
Han Chinese (Cantonese)Han Chinese (Cantonese)Vietnam789,000No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseChinese Folk Religion
Han Chinese (Cantonese)Han Chinese (Cantonese)Macao668,000No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseChinese Folk Religion
Han Chinese (Cantonese)Han Chinese (Cantonese)Canada573,000No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseChinese Folk Religion
Han Chinese (Cantonese)Han Chinese (Cantonese)Singapore512,000No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseChinese Folk Religion
Han ChineseHan ChineseUnited Kingdom197,000No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseChinese Folk Religion
Han Chinese (Cantonese)Han Chinese (Cantonese)Peru118,000No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseChinese Folk Religion
Han ChineseHan ChinesePanama69,500No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseAtheism
Han ChineseHan ChineseTrinidad and Tobago44,500No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseChinese Folk Religion
Han ChineseHan ChineseLaos36,500No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseChinese Folk Religion
Han ChineseHan ChineseReunion31,500No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseChinese Folk Religion
Han Chinese (Cantonese)Han Chinese (Cantonese)Venezuela30,000No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseChinese Folk Religion
Han Chinese (Cantonese)Han Chinese (Cantonese)Dominican Republic12,000No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseChinese Folk Religion
Han Chinese (Cantonese)Han Chinese (Cantonese)Ecuador9,700No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseAtheism
Han Chinese (Cantonese)Han Chinese (Cantonese)Belgium9,500No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseAtheism
Han Chinese (Cantonese)Han Chinese (Cantonese)Mauritius8,400No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseChinese Folk Religion
Han ChineseHan ChineseBrunei7,900No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseChinese Folk Religion
Han Chinese (Cantonese)Han Chinese (Cantonese)Honduras7,800No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseChinese Folk Religion
Han Chinese (Cantonese)Han Chinese (Cantonese)Guyana3,300No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseChinese Folk Religion
Han Chinese (Cantonese)Han Chinese (Cantonese)Zimbabwe1,600No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseChinese Folk Religion
Han ChineseHan ChineseCuracao1,100No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseChinese Folk Religion
Han Chinese (Cantonese)Han Chinese (Cantonese)Haiti550No Longer UnreachedYue ChineseChinese Folk Religion

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.

Scroll to Top