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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Northern Thai of Thailand

The Northern Thai of Thailand, numbering approximately 7,425,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Thailand. They are an Indigenous people, in the Thai people cluster of the Southeast Asian Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Buddhism - Theravada. They primarily speak Thai, Northern.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Asian Pacific Rim Peoples
Country: Thailand
People Cluster: Thai
Primary Language(s): Thai, Northern (nod)
Primary Religion(s): Buddhism - Theravada
Population: 7,425,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG022382
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Pray for the Northern Thai of Thailand

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Buddhism - Theravada
Religious Affiliation: Buddhism

%

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Thai, Northern
Language Family: Tai-Kadai

%

Media Resources in Thai, Northern:

Films:

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Bible Resources in Thai, Northern:

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Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Thai, Northern bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Northern Thai

The Northern Thai are Unengaged and Unreached, 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.

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

Next steps for the Northern Thai

The Northern 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.

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

Next steps for the Northern Thai

The Northern Thai 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.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Northern Thai of Thailand

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.

O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.
readPsalm 8:1

Pray that those who have yet to believe will soon recognize the majesty of God's name and raise their voices in praise to the Lord Almighty.

Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.
readDeuteronomy 7:9

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will know God's faithful love and keep His commandments, experiencing His steadfast care.

For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.
read2 Corinthians 1:8-9

Pray that as people hear and believe the gospel, they will be faithful as they walk through trials and will have an opportunity to be a witness to others in this people group of the goodness of God.

Thai, Northern (ROP3 - 104960) reported in the following countries:

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 Definitions page.

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