The Black Tai of Thailand

The Black Tai of Thailand, numbering approximately 25,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Tai-Kadai-speaking ethnolinguistic group indigenous to the border area of southwest China, northwest Vietnam and northeastern Laos. They mostly adhere to Animism and Tai Dam is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: Thailand
People Cluster: Tai
Primary Language(s): Tai Dam (blt)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 25,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG010830

Pray for the Black Tai 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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

95%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Tai Dam
Language Family: Tai-Kadai

100%
%
Tai Dam Speakers

Media Resources in Tai Dam:

Films:
Title Link
JESUS View Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Tai Dam:

Bible Name (Translation) Video Audio Text
2013 EPI ✓ ✓ ✓

1 entry

Or check out the Tai Dam bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Black Tai 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 Black Tai:
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 Black Tai of Thailand

"...And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold." As he said these things, he called out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
readLuke 8:8

Pray that the seeds of truth will take root in the hearts of those who are far from Jesus and that He will lead them from darkness to light.

"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.

For the LORD, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth.
readPsalm 47:2

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will exalt the Lord, recognizing His reign over the nations and His sovereignty over all things.

I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations.
readPsalm 57:9

Pray that God will raise up believers among them who will boldly go and share the gospel with people nearby and with those far away.

Tai Dam Across Countries (ROP3 - 109709) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index

All

6 people groups

Photo People Group ID Name Country Population ▼ Strategic Progress Index Language Religion
Black Tai Black Tai Vietnam 817,000 Engaged yet Unreached Tai Dam Animism
Black Thai Black Thai Laos 65,000 Engaged yet Unreached Tai Dam Animism
Black Thai Black Thai China 48,500 Unengaged and Unreached Tai Dam Animism
Black Tai Black Tai Thailand 25,000 No Longer Unreached Tai Dam Animism
Black Tai Black Tai France 5,000 Unengaged and Unreached Tai Dam Roman Catholicism
Black Tai Black Tai United States 4,400 Unengaged and Unreached Tai Dam Animism

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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