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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Isaan of United States

The Isaan of United States, numbering approximately 1,300 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are described as an ethnolinguistic subgroup of Thai, a Southeast Asian ethnic group indigenous to Thailand They are an Diaspora people, with Thai as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Thai people cluster of the Southeast Asian Peoples. Their primary religion is Theravada Buddhism. They primarily speak Thai, Northeastern.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Isaan

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: United States
People Cluster: Thai
Primary Language(s): Thai, Northeastern (tts)
Primary Religion(s): Theravada Buddhism
Population: 1,300
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG050384
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Pray for the Isaan of United States

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Theravada Buddhism
Religious Affiliation: Buddhism

70%
%
Theravada Buddhism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Thai, Northeastern
Language Family: Tai-Kadai

100%
%
Thai, Northeastern Speakers

Media Resources in Thai, Northeastern:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Thai, Northeastern:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Thai, Northeastern 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: 0), 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 Isaan:
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 Isaan 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 Isaan:
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 Isaan 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 Isaan:
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 Isaan of United States

But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
readMatthew 5:44-45

Pray for those who don't know Jesus to encounter believers who are kind and compassionate and that their imitation of Christ will serve as a testimony that attracts lost people to Jesus.

Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.
readMark 10:14b

Praise Jesus for the way He loves children, asking that many will learn the truth about Him and come to Him unhindered.

I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.
readMatthew 25:36

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will honor Jesus and find joy as they take care of those in need.

There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.
readMark 7:15

Pray for Christians to take any opportunity to share the hope of Jesus with lost people here, praying they will be wise like Jesus as they share the truth about what can defile people and what can make them clean.

Thai, Northeastern Across Countries (ROP3 - 109994) 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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