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The Lao Phuan of Thailand

The Lao Phuan of Thailand, numbering approximately 211,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Tai people of Thailand descended from Phuan communities of the Xiangkhouang Plateau in Laos, many forcibly resettled into Siam during late eighteenth- and nineteenth-century wars. They mostly adhere to Theravada Buddhism and Phuan is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: Thailand
People Cluster: Tai
Primary Language(s): Phuan (phu)
Primary Religion(s): Theravada Buddhism
Population: 211,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG010882
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Pray for the Lao Phuan 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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Theravada Buddhism
Religious Affiliation: Buddhism

96%
%
Theravada Buddhism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Phuan
Language Family: Tai-Kadai

100%
%
Phuan Speakers

Media Resources in Phuan:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Phuan:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Phuan bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Lao Phuan 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 Phuan:
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 Phuan of Thailand

Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?
readJames 2:5

Pray for those living in despair to experience the riches of God's love and the hope of eternal life through faith in Christ.

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb’
readRevelation 7:9-10

Pray that many people will receive the gospel and will be part of the great multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, clothed in white robes and palm branches, proclaiming salvation belongs to our God.

And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
readActs 2:42

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will devote themselves to God's Word, to fellowship with each other, and to prayer.

Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!
readPsalm 34:3

Pray that God will raise up believers who will go to those in this people group who do not yet follow Jesus, and that they will invite many to magnify the Lord with them so that His fame will spread to the ends of the earth.

Phuan Across Countries (ROP3 - 108011) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDName ▲CountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Lao PhuanPG010882Lao PhuanThailand211,000Engaged yet UnreachedPhuanTheravada Buddhism
PhuanPG020932PhuanLaos175,000Engaged yet UnreachedPhuanTheravada 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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