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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Pako Kanai of Laos

The Pako Kanai of Laos, numbering approximately 2,100 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are described as a Kanai subgroup of the Pako people of Laos who belong to the broader Mon-Khmer tradition and maintain a distinct highland identity in the mountainous Laos-Vietnam borderlands Kanai They are an Indigenous people, with Pacoh / Pako as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Mon-Khmer people cluster of the Southeast Asian Peoples. They mostly adhere to Animism and Pacoh is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Pako Kanai

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: Laos
People Cluster: Mon-Khmer
Primary Language(s): Pacoh (pac)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 2,100
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG050548
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Pray for the Pako Kanai 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.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

95%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Pacoh
Language Family: Austroasiatic

90%
%
Pacoh Speakers

Media Resources in Pacoh:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Pacoh:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Pacoh bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Pako Kanai 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 Pako Kanai:
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 Pako Kanai of Laos

For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption.
readPsalm 130:7b

Pray for those who are unaware of God's steadfast love that is offered to them through Jesus Christ to learn the truth and experience His plentiful redemption.

Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength!
readPsalm 96:7

Pray that entire households will come to faith in Jesus and that God will bless their families with faith in Him for generations to come.

But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.
readTitus 3:4-5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and might struggle with temptation to trust in their own works, they will remember that it is only because of God's mercy that they have been saved.

And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.
read2 Corinthians 12:28

Ask God to raise up believers who will faithfully proclaim the good news and equip others to do the same.

Pako Kanai Across Countries (ROP3 - 119527) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Pako KanaiPG050548Pako KanaiLaos2,100No Longer UnreachedPacohAnimism

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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