The Western Lawa of Thailand

The Western Lawa of Thailand, numbering approximately 8,600 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are described as an ethnolinguistic community of Thailand They are an Indigenous people, with Lawa as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Mon-Khmer people cluster of the Southeast Asian Peoples. Their primary religion is Animism. They primarily speak Lawa, Western.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: Thailand
People Cluster: Mon-Khmer
Primary Language(s): Lawa, Western (lcp)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 8,600
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG010935
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Western Lawa 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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

68%
%

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Lawa, Western
Language Family: Austroasiatic

100%
%

Media Resources in Lawa, Western:

Films:

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Bible Resources in Lawa, Western:

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Or check out the Lawa, Western bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 2), which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Moderately Reached People Group, (LPI: 5), 6% to 20% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical (GSEC: 6), this people group is greater than or equal to 10% evangelical

Next steps for the Western Lawa:
Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Western Lawa 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 Western Lawa:
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

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Western Lawa 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 Western Lawa:
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 Western Lawa of Thailand

Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me! O LORD, be my helper!
readPsalm 30:10

Pray that people in the depths of despair and suffering and living outside of relationship with Christ will cry out to the Lord and find help, peace, and joy in Him.

Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts!
readPsalm 96:8

Pray for people here to humbly give God the glory due His name.

Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.
readLuke 18:17

Pray that as people trust in Christ, they will have simple, childlike confidence that He will provide for their needs.

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, "Your God reigns”
readIsaiah 52:7

Pray that God will provide open doors for believers who cross cultures to share the good news of salvation with those who need it. Pray that He will give them joy as they see Him move.

Western Lawa Across Countries (ROP3 - 110791) reported in the following countries:

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 Definitions page.

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