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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Northern Khmer of Thailand

The Northern Khmer of Thailand, numbering approximately 1,475,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as an ethnolinguistic community of Thailand They are an Diaspora people, with Khmer as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Mon-Khmer people cluster of the Southeast Asian Peoples. Their primary religion is Theravada Buddhism. They primarily speak Khmer, Northern.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Northern Khmer

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: Thailand
People Cluster: Mon-Khmer
Primary Language(s): Khmer, Northern (kxm)
Primary Religion(s): Theravada Buddhism
Population: 1,475,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG010927
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Pray for the Northern Khmer 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.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Theravada Buddhism
Religious Affiliation: Buddhism

99%
%
Theravada Buddhism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Khmer, Northern
Language Family: Austroasiatic

80%
%
Khmer, Northern Speakers

Media Resources in Khmer, Northern:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Khmer, Northern:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Khmer, Northern bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 1), 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): Pioneer Unreached People Group, (LPI: 1), 0.1% to 0.5% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Northern Khmer:
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 Northern Khmer 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 Northern Khmer:
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 Northern Khmer 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 Northern Khmer:
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 Northern Khmer of Thailand

For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God?
readPsalm 18:31

As people look to their own efforts for hope, pray they will have the opportunity to learn and believe in the Lord, who is the only Rock worthy of their faith.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
readJohn 14:6

Pray that those who are searching for a way to God and desiring truth will encounter the good news of eternal life and accept it.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures.
readPsalm 23:1

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember that the Lord is their shepherd, providing for their every need.

So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy.
readRomans 9:16

Ask God to raise up people who will trust in His sovereignty as they share the gospel, knowing that it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy.

Khmer, Northern Across Countries (ROP3 - 107448) 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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