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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Black Thai of Laos

The Black Thai of Laos, numbering approximately 65,000 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 Thai

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: Laos
People Cluster: Tai
Primary Language(s): Tai Dam (blt)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 65,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG020944
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Pray for the Black Thai 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

100%
%
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

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Tai Dam:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2013 EPI✓✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Tai Dam bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Black Thai 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 Thai:
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 Thai of Laos

And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
readExodus 14:22

Pray that the God who split the sea so that the Israelites might pass through would do another great work among these people, softening the hearts of those who remain lost to the good news and saving them from their sins.

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.
readIsaiah 40:8

Pray that everyone has access to God's Word and that those who hear the good news will turn from their sins and put their faith in Jesus the Messiah.

He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.
readPsalm 62:2

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be in awe of Jesus, remembering that He is their rock, their fortress, and their salvation.

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go.
readLuke 10:1

Ask God to raise up, send out, and sustain Christians who can go together to share the good news of Jesus with those who need it.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

6 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountry ▼PopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Black TaiPG011109Black TaiVietnam817,000Engaged yet UnreachedTai DamAnimism
Black TaiPG043537Black TaiUnited States4,400Unengaged and UnreachedTai DamAnimism
Black TaiPG010830Black TaiThailand25,000No Longer UnreachedTai DamAnimism
Black ThaiPG020944Black ThaiLaos65,000Engaged yet UnreachedTai DamAnimism
Black TaiPG000139Black TaiFrance5,000Unengaged and UnreachedTai DamRoman Catholicism
Black ThaiPG007392Black ThaiChina48,500Unengaged 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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