Cambodian Khmer of United States (PGID: PG043301)

PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Cambodian Khmer of United States

The Cambodian Khmer of United States, numbering approximately 197,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Khmer diaspora community in the United States, composed largely of refugees and their descendants who resettled after the Cambodian conflicts of the 1970s and who maintain cultural traditions rooted in Cambodia's Khmer heritage. They mostly adhere to Theravada Buddhism and Khmer is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Cambodian Khmer

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: United States
People Cluster: Mon-Khmer
Primary Language(s): Khmer (khm)
Primary Religion(s): Theravada Buddhism
Population: 197,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG043301
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Pray for the Cambodian Khmer of United States

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!

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Theravada Buddhism
Religious Affiliation: Buddhism

86%

Theravada Buddhism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Khmer
Language Family: Austroasiatic

100%

Khmer Speakers

Media Resources in Khmer:

Films:

Title	Link
JESUS	View Film
JESUS	View Film
Magdalena	View Film

3 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Khmer:

Bible Name (Translation)	Video	Audio	Text
Khmer Standard Version		✓	✓
Old Version		✓	✓

2 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Khmer bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Cambodian 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 Cambodian 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

Pray specifically for the Cambodian Khmer of United States

I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.
Proverbs 8:17

As many search for hope, pray they will discover materials that will lead them to Jesus and explain the gospel in a way they will resonate with.

Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
Psalm 34:8

Pray that the gospel will advance and that many will have the opportunity to taste and see the goodness of God and entrust their lives to Him.

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
2 Corinthians 9:8

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will trust God in all things, especially in times of persecution.

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
2 Peter 3:9

Pray that those God sends to cross cultures will patiently endure hardships as they share the gospel, knowing that the Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise.

Khmer Across Countries (ROP3 - 104946) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index

All

Engaged yet Unreached UUPG No Longer Unreached

CountryReligion

10 people groups

People Group ID	Name	Country	Population ▲	Strategic Progress Index	Language	Religion
PG048521	Khmer	United Kingdom	1,300	Unengaged and Unreached	Khmer	Theravada Buddhism
PG020907	Khmer	Laos	5,800	Unengaged and Unreached	Khmer	Theravada Buddhism
PG048520	Khmer	Germany	13,000	Unengaged and Unreached	Khmer	Theravada Buddhism
PG043422	Khmer	Canada	22,500	Engaged yet Unreached	Khmer	Theravada Buddhism
PG020249	Cambodian	Australia	25,500	Engaged yet Unreached	Khmer	Theravada Buddhism
PG010834	Central Khmer	Thailand	63,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Khmer	Theravada Buddhism
PG000170	Khmer	France	72,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Khmer	Theravada Buddhism
PG043301	Cambodian Khmer	United States	197,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Khmer	Theravada Buddhism
PG046652	Khmer Krom	Vietnam	1,385,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Khmer	Theravada Buddhism
PG020438	Khmer	Cambodia	15,840,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Khmer	Theravada Buddhism

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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