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
Be sure to use the data import function in your favorite app for working with data.
If you'd like to help improve these translations, Contact Us.

The Khmer of Laos

The Khmer of Laos, numbering approximately 5,800 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are an Austroasiatic ethnic group indigenous to Cambodia. They mostly adhere to Theravada Buddhism and Khmer is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: Laos
People Cluster: Mon-Khmer
Primary Language(s): Khmer (khm)
Primary Religion(s): Theravada Buddhism
Population: 5,800
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG020907
View on Joshua Project

Print Profile
Submit Updates

Pray for the Khmer of Laos

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!
Download Prayer Guide

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Theravada Buddhism
Religious Affiliation: Buddhism

91%
%
Theravada Buddhism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Khmer
Language Family: Austroasiatic

100%
%
Khmer Speakers

Media Resources in Khmer:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

3 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Khmer:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Khmer Standard Version✓✓
Old Version✓✓

2 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Khmer bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 0), 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): Expanding Unreached People Group, (LPI: 2), 0.5% or Greater but Less than 2% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Khmer:
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

Pray specifically for the Khmer of Laos

But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.
readPsalm 130:4

Pray that God will bring those who have hard hearts to repentance and trust in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins.

And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.
read2 Timothy 2:2

Pray that the lost will come to faith in Christ and be discipled in the truth of the gospel, becoming faithful followers of Jesus who, in turn, make disciples themselves.

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.
readHebrews 10:24

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will love and encourage one another, spurring each other on to live lives that honor 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.

Khmer Across Countries (ROP3 - 104946) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

10 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDName ▼CountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Khmer KromPG046652Khmer KromVietnam1,385,000Engaged yet UnreachedKhmerTheravada Buddhism
KhmerPG000170KhmerFrance72,000Engaged yet UnreachedKhmerTheravada Buddhism
KhmerPG020438KhmerCambodia15,840,000Engaged yet UnreachedKhmerTheravada Buddhism
KhmerPG020907KhmerLaos5,800Unengaged and UnreachedKhmerTheravada Buddhism
KhmerPG043422KhmerCanada22,500Engaged yet UnreachedKhmerTheravada Buddhism
KhmerPG048520KhmerGermany13,000Unengaged and UnreachedKhmerTheravada Buddhism
KhmerPG048521KhmerUnited Kingdom1,300Unengaged and UnreachedKhmerTheravada Buddhism
Central KhmerPG010834Central KhmerThailand63,000Engaged yet UnreachedKhmerTheravada Buddhism
Cambodian KhmerPG043301Cambodian KhmerUnited States197,000Engaged yet UnreachedKhmerTheravada Buddhism
CambodianPG020249CambodianAustralia25,500Engaged yet UnreachedKhmerTheravada 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.

Scroll to Top