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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Red Karen of Thailand

The Red Karen of Thailand, numbering approximately 110,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are described as an indigenous community of Thailand They are an Indigenous people, with Kayah as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Karen people cluster of the Southeast Asian Peoples. Their primary religion is Animism. They primarily speak Kayah, Eastern.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Red Karen

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: Thailand
People Cluster: Karen
Primary Language(s): Kayah, Eastern (eky)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 110,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG010911
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Pray for the Red Karen of Thailand

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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

75%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kayah, Eastern
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

100%
%
Kayah, Eastern Speakers

Media Resources in Kayah, Eastern:

Films:

No entries found for: Kayah, Eastern(eky). Help build some!

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Bible Resources in Kayah, Eastern:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Kayah, Eastern bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 2), 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.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Significantly Reached People Group, (LPI: 6), > 20% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical (GSEC: 6), this people group is greater than or equal to 10% evangelical

Next steps for the Red Karen:
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

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Red Karen 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 Red Karen:
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

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Red Karen 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 Red Karen:
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 Red Karen of Thailand

For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the LORD made the heavens.
readPsalm 96:5

Pray that those who are seeking after worthless idols will not be satisfied until they seek the truth and find it in Christ.

"Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool."
readIsaiah 1:18

Pray that God will make a way for the gospel to reach many through means they can understand and access, that they will receive the good news with joy, and that they will experience complete forgiveness and cleansing from their sin that Jesus offers through His sacrifice.

No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God.
readRomans 4:20

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will not waver but will grow strong in their belief, knowing that the Lord rewards those who seek Him.

And through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
readColossians 1:20

As believers cross cultures to tell others about Jesus, praise God for allowing them to be a part of His reconciling all things to Himself, asking Him to help them remember their role in His beautiful plan of salvation for others.

Kayah, Eastern Across Countries (ROP3 - 108337) reported in the following countries:

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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