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The Ou Khmu of Laos

The Ou Khmu of Laos, numbering approximately 822,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an Austroasiatic ethnic group originating in northern Laos but long established in southwest China and neighboring areas of Thailand and Vietnam. They mostly adhere to Animism and Khmu is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Khmu, Ou

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: Laos
People Cluster: Mon-Khmer
Primary Language(s): Khmu (kjg)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 822,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG020913
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Pray for the Ou Khmu 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!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

70%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Khmu
Language Family: Austroasiatic

100%
%
Khmu Speakers

Media Resources in Khmu:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Khmu:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc.✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Khmu bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Ou Khmu 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 Ou Khmu:
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 Ou Khmu of Laos

O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.
readPsalm 10:17-18

Pray that God, in accordance with His good character, will give justice to those who are oppressed by sin and that they will know that His offer of salvation is for everyone.

And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
readLuke 7:50

Pray for the good news of Jesus Christ to reach many so that they can place their faith in Him and have lasting hope.

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
readPsalm 27:1

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, God will strengthen them when they face persecution of any kind for Jesus' name’s sake.

For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
readRomans 12:4-5

Ask God to send believers to people in other cultures and to help them use their gifts in harmony with others so that the body of Christ may be built up.

Khmu Across Countries (ROP3 - 114799) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

6 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDName ▼CountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Ou KhmuPG020913Ou KhmuLaos822,000No Longer UnreachedKhmuAnimism
KhmuPG007227KhmuChina1,900Unengaged and UnreachedKhmuAnimism
KhmuPG010871KhmuThailand35,000Engaged yet UnreachedKhmuAnimism
KhmuPG011160KhmuVietnam73,000Engaged yet UnreachedKhmuAnimism
KhmuPG043302KhmuUnited States9,400No Longer UnreachedKhmuEthnoreligion
KhmuPG048522KhmuFrance1,500No Longer UnreachedKhmuEthnoreligion

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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