The Khmu of Vietnam

The Khmu of Vietnam, numbering approximately 73,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an Austroasiatic ethnic group originating in northern Laos but long established in southwest China and neighboring areas of Thailand and Vietnam. They mostly adhere to Animism and Khmu is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: Vietnam
People Cluster: Mon-Khmer
Primary Language(s): Khmu (kjg)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 73,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011160
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Khmu of Vietnam

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: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

99%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Khmu
Language Family: Austroasiatic

100%
%
Khmu Speakers

Media Resources in Khmu:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Khmu:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc.✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Khmu bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Khmu 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 Khmu:
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 Khmu of Vietnam

"For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." Those who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?" But he said "What is impossible with man is possible with God."
readLuke 18:25-27

Pray that the lost who think they have everything they need will recognize their spiritual poverty apart from Jesus and turn to Him in faith.

But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.
readMark 4:20

Pray that those who have never encountered the gospel will have the opportunity to receive it, and that it will fall on good soil and bear much fruit.

“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”
readLamentations 3:24

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and walk through trials, they will be satisfied with the Lord as their portion and will place all their hope in Him.

And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.”
readLuke 18:29-30

Pray that God will raise up people to go and share the gospel and help them trust His promise that anyone who has left those they treasure for the sake of the kingdom of God will receive many times more in this life and in the life to come.

Khmu Across Countries (ROP3 - 114799) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

6 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDName ▲CountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
KhmuKhmuChina1,900Unengaged and UnreachedKhmuAnimism
KhmuKhmuThailand35,000Engaged yet UnreachedKhmuAnimism
KhmuKhmuVietnam73,000Engaged yet UnreachedKhmuAnimism
KhmuKhmuUnited States9,400No Longer UnreachedKhmuEthnoreligion
KhmuKhmuFrance1,500No Longer UnreachedKhmuEthnoreligion
Ou KhmuOu KhmuLaos822,000No Longer UnreachedKhmuAnimism

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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