The Northern Pwo Karen of Thailand

The Northern Pwo Karen of Thailand, numbering approximately 85,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic subgroup of the Karen indigenous to the Chiang Mai, Lamphun, Tak, and Mae Hong Son provinces of Thailand. They mostly adhere to Animism and Pwo Northern Karen is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Karen, Pwo Northern

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: Thailand
People Cluster: Karen
Primary Language(s): Pwo Northern Karen (pww)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 85,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG010936
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Northern Pwo 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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

84%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Pwo Northern Karen
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

100%
%
Karen, Pwo Northern Speakers

Media Resources in Pwo Northern Karen:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Pwo Northern Karen:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Thailand Bible Society✓✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Pwo Northern Karen bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Northern Pwo 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 Northern Pwo 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 Northern Pwo Karen of Thailand

"I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world."
readJohn 16:33

Pray that those who don't have peace with God will find peace in Christ, even amid the troubles of this world.

For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the LORD of hosts.
readMalachi 1:11

Pray that they will worship God in spirit and truth, offering Him the sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving that He desires.

"And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you"...And the King will answer them, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me."
readMatthew 25:38-40

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and serve others in faithfulness to Him, they will know that by serving others, they are serving Jesus, who is present with them.

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
readJohn 12:24

Pray that God will raise up men and women who are willing to die to their own desires, bearing much fruit for the kingdom among individuals and in places where His gospel has not been proclaimed.

Karen, Pwo Northern Across Countries (ROP3 - 110820) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

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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