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The Phuan of Laos

The Phuan of Laos, numbering approximately 175,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Buddhist Tai-Lao people whose 13th-century Muang Phuan state on the Plain of Jars was absorbed into Lan Xang before 19th-century wars saw thousands taken captive to Thailand, cutting their population by three-quarters and ending Muang Phuan for good. They mostly adhere to Theravada Buddhism and Phuan is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: Laos
People Cluster: Tai
Primary Language(s): Phuan (phu)
Primary Religion(s): Theravada Buddhism
Population: 175,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG020932
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Pray for the Phuan of Laos

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Theravada Buddhism
Religious Affiliation: Buddhism

80%
%
Theravada Buddhism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Phuan
Language Family: Tai-Kadai

100%
%
Phuan Speakers

Media Resources in Phuan:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Phuan:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Phuan bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Phuan 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 Phuan:
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 Phuan of Laos

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.

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
readRomans 1:19-20

Pray that God will use His creation – the “things that have been made” – to spark a fresh and passionate curiosity among them to draw near to the Maker and that, as they seek Him, He will make a way for them to hear the gospel and receive it with joy.

The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
read2 Corinthians 9:6

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember the principle of sowing and reaping, and be generous in their giving and serving, knowing that they will reap a generous harvest.

Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!
readPsalm 34:3

Pray that God will raise up believers who will go to those in this people group who do not yet follow Jesus, and that they will invite many to magnify the Lord with them so that His fame will spread to the ends of the earth.

Phuan Across Countries (ROP3 - 108011) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Lao PhuanPG010882Lao PhuanThailand211,000Engaged yet UnreachedPhuanTheravada Buddhism
PhuanPG020932PhuanLaos175,000Engaged yet UnreachedPhuanTheravada 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.

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