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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
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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.

Northern Thai in Thailand photo
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

%
Buddhism - Theravada Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

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

%
Thai, Northern Speakers

Media Resources in Thai, Northern:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Thai, Northern:

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

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
readMatthew 11:28

Pray for those who are tired, weary, and burdened by the weight of sin to encounter Jesus and experience the rest that only He can give.

Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
readIsaiah 43:19

Pray that the lost will see the new thing God can do in their lives and trust in His plan and purpose for them.

I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me. I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.
readPsalm 3:5-6

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and experience isolation or other persecution, God will sustain them and give them confidence and rest in Him.

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
readEphesians 6:11

Pray that those God sends to cross cultures will put on the full armor of God so that they will be able to stand against the schemes of the enemy.

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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