The Black Tai of Vietnam

The Black Tai of Vietnam, numbering approximately 817,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Tai-Kadai-speaking ethnolinguistic group indigenous to the border area of southwest China, northwest Vietnam and northeastern Laos. They mostly adhere to Animism and Tai Dam is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: Vietnam
People Cluster: Tai
Primary Language(s): Tai Dam (blt)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 817,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011109
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Black Tai of Vietnam

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

98%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Tai Dam
Language Family: Tai-Kadai

100%
%
Tai Dam Speakers

Media Resources in Tai Dam:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Tai Dam:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2013 EPI✓✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Tai Dam bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Black Tai 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 Black Tai:
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 Black Tai of Vietnam

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.

Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized.
readActs 18:8

Pray that rulers and leaders will access the gospel, respond in faith, and be baptized, uniting with Christ and His Church, and influence others to follow Him.

But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.
readHebrews 10:39

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, and faithfully follow God, they will share Christ boldly with those around them.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
readRomans 6:23

Pray that God will bring people to faith who are excited about the eternal life they have in Christ and will want to cross cultures to share this hope with others.

Tai Dam Across Countries (ROP3 - 109709) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

6 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Black TaiBlack TaiVietnam817,000Engaged yet UnreachedTai DamAnimism
Black ThaiBlack ThaiLaos65,000Engaged yet UnreachedTai DamAnimism
Black ThaiBlack ThaiChina48,500Unengaged and UnreachedTai DamAnimism
Black TaiBlack TaiThailand25,000No Longer UnreachedTai DamAnimism
Black TaiBlack TaiFrance5,000Unengaged and UnreachedTai DamRoman Catholicism
Black TaiBlack TaiUnited States4,400Unengaged and UnreachedTai DamAnimism

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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