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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Western Chams of Cambodia

The Western Chams of Cambodia, numbering approximately 302,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as an Austronesian ethnolinguistic group indigenous to the Kampong Cham province in Cambodia and the An Giang province in southern Vietnam They are an Indigenous people, with Cham as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Cham people cluster of the Southeast Asian Peoples. Their primary religion is Sunni Islam. They primarily speak Cham, Western.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Western Cham

Fast Facts*:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: Cambodia
People Cluster: Cham
Primary Language(s): Cham, Western (cja)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 302,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG008199
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Pray for the Western Chams of Cambodia

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: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

92%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Cham, Western
Language Family: Austronesian

74%
%
Cham, Western Speakers

Media Resources in Cham, Western:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Cham, Western:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Cham, Western New Testament✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Cham, Western bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Western Chams 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 Western Chams:
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 Western Chams of Cambodia

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.
readEphesians 2:4-5

Pray that those who have not yet received new life will be made alive together with Christ, saved by grace and raised up with Him to newness of life.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
readJohn 3:16

Pray that the lost will seek God and learn that they have a heavenly Father who loves them and wants them to live eternally with Him.

And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
readRomans 10:15

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be eager to proclaim the good news of peace, knowing that the Lord has called them to this task.

But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.
read2 Corinthians 3:16

Give thanks to God for believers around the world who are willing to cross cultures to share the gospel with those who are perishing. Pray that He will work through their witness to draw many to turn to Him.

Cham, Western Across Countries (ROP3 - 110776) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

4 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion ▼
Western ChamsPG008199Western ChamsCambodia302,000Engaged yet UnreachedCham, WesternSunni Islam
Western ChamsPG011245Western ChamsVietnam150,000Engaged yet UnreachedCham, WesternSunni Islam
Western ChamsPG020897Western ChamsLaos250Unengaged and UnreachedCham, WesternSunni Islam
Western ChamsPG043652Western ChamsUnited States1,200Unengaged and UnreachedCham, WesternEthnoreligion

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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