Download the People Group List (16 languages .csv)

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
Korean - 한국어 | Nepali - नेपाली
Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The So of Thailand

The So of Thailand, numbering approximately 105,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Katuic Austroasiatic people of northeastern Thailand's Isan region, related to the neighboring Kuy and Bru, inhabiting a Mekong River basin once part of the Lanxang Kingdom's civilization from the 14th to 18th centuries. They mostly adhere to Folk Buddhism and Sô is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: Thailand
People Cluster: Mon-Khmer
Primary Language(s): Sô (sss)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Buddhism
Population: 105,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG010920
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Pray for the So 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.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Folk Buddhism
Religious Affiliation: Buddhism

50%
%
Folk Buddhism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Sô
Language Family: Austroasiatic

100%
%
So (Laos) Speakers

Media Resources in Sô:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Sô:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Sô bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The So 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 So:
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 So of Thailand

The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the LORD! May your hearts live forever!
readPsalm 22:26

Pray that the lost will feel a deep hunger for God, be drawn to Him in their affliction, and find lasting satisfaction and salvation in Him alone.

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 day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
readActs 2:46-47

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be devoted to the teaching of God's Word, to fellowship with one another, and to prayer.

Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples!
readPsalm 105:1

Pray that many among them will call on the name of Jesus, develop a heart for the nations, and go to places where the gospel has not yet been received.

So Across Countries (ROP3 - 109364) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguage ▼Religion
SoPG009176SoLaos182,000Engaged yet UnreachedSôEthnoreligion
SoPG010920SoThailand105,000No Longer UnreachedSôFolk 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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