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The Southern Thai of Thailand

The Southern Thai of Thailand, numbering approximately 5,520,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Southwestern Tai people of Thailand's southern peninsula historically centered on Nakhon Si Thammarat, long tied to central Siamese kingdoms yet retaining a distinct Pak Tai dialect, mostly Buddhist with a large Muslim minority in the far south. They mostly adhere to Theravada Buddhism and Southern Thai is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: Thailand
People Cluster: Thai
Primary Language(s): Southern Thai (sou)
Primary Religion(s): Theravada Buddhism
Population: 5,520,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG022380
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Pray for the Southern Thai of Thailand

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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Theravada Buddhism
Religious Affiliation: Buddhism

92%
%
Theravada Buddhism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Southern Thai
Language Family: Tai-Kadai

100%
%
Thai, Southern Speakers

Media Resources in Southern Thai:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Southern Thai:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Southern Thai bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Southern 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 Southern 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 Southern Thai of Thailand

But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.
readIsaiah 59:2

Pray that those who are separated from God will turn to Him in humility and repentance, seeking His forgiveness and the restoration of a right relationship with their Heavenly Father.

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
readJohn 8:12

Pray that many will come to know Jesus, the light of the world, and have the light of life instead of walking in darkness.

Depart from me, all you workers of evil, for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping.
readPsalm 6:8

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, God will remind them that He is near and will help them place their hope in Him when others wish to do them harm.

And through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
readColossians 1:20

As believers cross cultures to tell others about Jesus, praise God for allowing them to be a part of His reconciling all things to Himself, asking Him to help them remember their role in His beautiful plan of salvation for others.

Thai, Southern Across Countries (ROP3 - 109517) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Southern ThaiPG022380Southern ThaiThailand5,520,000Engaged yet UnreachedSouthern ThaiTheravada 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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