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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
Hindi - हिन्दी | Indonesian - Bahasa Indonesia
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Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Lao of Cambodia

The Lao of Cambodia, numbering approximately 41,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as a community descended from Lao settlers who migrated into northeastern Cambodia and maintain a distinct Lao identity in the Mekong borderlands They are an Diaspora people, with Lao as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Lao people cluster of the Southeast Asian Peoples. Their primary religion is Theravada Buddhism. They primarily speak Lao.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: Cambodia
People Cluster: Lao
Primary Language(s): Lao (lao)
Primary Religion(s): Theravada Buddhism
Population: 41,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG020442
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Pray for the Lao of Cambodia

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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Theravada Buddhism
Religious Affiliation: Buddhism

57%
%
Theravada Buddhism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Lao
Language Family: Tai-Kadai

100%
%
Lao Speakers

Media Resources in Lao:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Lao:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Revised Lao Version✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Lao bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Lao 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 Lao:
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 Lao of Cambodia

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
readPsalm 73:26

Pray that those who are lost and struggling to find hope will find their strength and hope in God, recognizing Him as their portion and deliverer forever.

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
read1 John 1:5

As mobile phones, radio, and satellite television, and other technologies become more available worldwide, pray for people who are developing digital gospel resources so that others can easily access the gospel.

For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain.
read2 Thessalonians 3:5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will persevere according to God's command, walk in faith, and be strong so that they can resist the evil one’s deception.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
read2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Pray that as people hear and believe the gospel, they will serve others in Jesus' name, and the lost will have an opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel.

Lao Across Countries (ROP3 - 105643) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

8 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
LaoPG009139LaoLaos3,975,000Engaged yet UnreachedLaoTheravada Buddhism
LaoPG046485LaoUnited States236,000Engaged yet UnreachedLaoTheravada Buddhism
LaoPG011173LaoVietnam206,000Unengaged and UnreachedLaoEthnoreligion
LaoPG020442LaoCambodia41,000Engaged yet UnreachedLaoTheravada Buddhism
LaoPG009467LaoMyanmar26,000No Longer UnreachedLaoTheravada Buddhism
LaoPG000172LaoFrance19,500Engaged yet UnreachedLaoTheravada Buddhism
LaoPG043429LaoCanada17,000Engaged yet UnreachedLaoTheravada Buddhism
LaoPG017347LaoArgentina2,300Unengaged and UnreachedLaoTheravada 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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