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The Padaung Karen of Thailand

The Padaung Karen of Thailand, numbering approximately 2,800 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic subgroup of the Karen, an ethnic group of Sino-Tibetan language-speaking people indigenous to the Kayin State in southeastern Myanmar. They mostly adhere to Animism and Kayan is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: Thailand
People Cluster: Karen
Primary Language(s): Kayan (pdu)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 2,800
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG010902
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Pray for the Padaung Karen 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: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

60%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kayan
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

100%
%
Kayan (Myanmar) Speakers

Media Resources in Kayan:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Kayan:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Kayan bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Padaung Karen 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 Padaung Karen:
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 Padaung Karen of Thailand

For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.
readEphesians 5:8

Pray that those who are lost will turn from the darkness they are walking in and embrace the light, becoming children of light who bear fruit in every good work.

"You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet."
readMatthew 5:13

Pray that the lost will have the opportunity to hear a Christian witness of how the gospel can bring hope and that they will put their faith in Christ.

Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.
readColossians 4:5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be wise in the way they walk with the lost and manage their time and other resources in a way that honors God.

And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.
readMatthew 10:14-15

Pray for God to raise up and send out believers to share the gospel with those in this people group who do not yet follow Christ. Pray that they will be welcomed with open arms so that the people they share with will hear and receive the good news with joy.

Karen, Kayan Across Countries (ROP3 - 107734) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguage ▲Religion
Kayan KarenPG009497Kayan KarenMyanmar133,000No Longer UnreachedKayanAnimism
Padaung KarenPG010902Padaung KarenThailand2,800No Longer UnreachedKayanAnimism

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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