The Lahu Shi of Laos

The Lahu Shi of Laos, numbering approximately 3,600 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic subgroup of the Lahu, a Tibeto-Burman ethnic group indigenous to China and Myanmar. They mostly adhere to Animism and Lahu Shi is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Tibetan Peoples
Country: Laos
People Cluster: Other Tibeto-Burmese
Primary Language(s): Lahu Shi (lhi)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 3,600
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG020919
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Lahu Shi of Laos

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

80%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Lahu Shi
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

100%
%
Lahu Shi Speakers

Media Resources in Lahu Shi:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Lahu Shi:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Lahu Shi bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Lahu Shi 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 Lahu Shi:
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 Lahu Shi of Laos

I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,' and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.
readPsalm 32:5

Pray those who are lost will realize their sin, confess their iniquity, and grow in their understanding of salvation through faith in Christ alone.

“I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’ to a nation that was not called by my name."
readIsaiah 65:1

Pray that the lost will be found by God, even when they are not seeking Him. Pray that He will reveal Himself to them in a way they cannot ignore and that they will respond in faith.

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.

For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.
read2 Corinthians 1:5

When any who might believe suffer for the sake of the gospel, ask God to deepen their understanding of His grace so that they may share it freely with those who have not received it.

Lahu Shi, Yellow Lahu Across Countries (ROP3 - 111024) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index

All

4 people groups

Photo People Group ID Name Country Population ▼ Strategic Progress Index Language Religion
Lahu Shi Lahu Shi Myanmar 69,000 Engaged yet Unreached Lahu Shi Animism
Lahu Shi Lahu Shi Thailand 15,500 No Longer Unreached Lahu Shi Animism
Lahu Shi Lahu Shi Laos 3,600 No Longer Unreached Lahu Shi Animism
Lahu Shi Lahu Shi United States 1,500 No Longer Unreached Lahu Shi Ethnoreligion

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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