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The Cambodian Khmer of United States

The Cambodian Khmer of United States, numbering approximately 197,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Khmer diaspora community in the United States, composed largely of refugees and their descendants who resettled after the Cambodian conflicts of the 1970s and who maintain cultural traditions rooted in Cambodia's Khmer heritage. They mostly adhere to Theravada Buddhism and Khmer is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Cambodian Khmer

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: United States
People Cluster: Mon-Khmer
Primary Language(s): Khmer (khm)
Primary Religion(s): Theravada Buddhism
Population: 197,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG043301
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Pray for the Cambodian Khmer of United States

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

86%
%
Theravada Buddhism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Khmer
Language Family: Austroasiatic

100%
%
Khmer Speakers

Media Resources in Khmer:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

3 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Khmer:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Khmer Standard Version✓✓
Old Version✓✓

2 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Khmer bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Cambodian Khmer 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 Cambodian Khmer:
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 Cambodian Khmer of United States

Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life"
readJohn 4:13-14

Pray that those who don't know Jesus will drink of the living water that only Christ can provide and never thirst again.

No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.
readLuke 13:3

Pray that the lost will repent and believe the gospel, for without it, they will perish.

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
readHebrew 4:16

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will boldly draw near to God as they approach Him in prayer, receive His mercy, and find grace for help in their time of need.

O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill? He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart.
readPsalm 15:1-2

Ask God to send believers who will go and, with integrity, walk blamelessly and do what is right, speaking truth about the Lord with those who need to learn about His redemption plan.

Khmer Across Countries (ROP3 - 104946) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

10 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▲Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
KhmerPG048521KhmerUnited Kingdom1,300Unengaged and UnreachedKhmerTheravada Buddhism
KhmerPG020907KhmerLaos5,800Unengaged and UnreachedKhmerTheravada Buddhism
KhmerPG048520KhmerGermany13,000Unengaged and UnreachedKhmerTheravada Buddhism
KhmerPG043422KhmerCanada22,500Engaged yet UnreachedKhmerTheravada Buddhism
CambodianPG020249CambodianAustralia25,500Engaged yet UnreachedKhmerTheravada Buddhism
Central KhmerPG010834Central KhmerThailand63,000Engaged yet UnreachedKhmerTheravada Buddhism
KhmerPG000170KhmerFrance72,000Engaged yet UnreachedKhmerTheravada Buddhism
Cambodian KhmerPG043301Cambodian KhmerUnited States197,000Engaged yet UnreachedKhmerTheravada Buddhism
Khmer KromPG046652Khmer KromVietnam1,385,000Engaged yet UnreachedKhmerTheravada Buddhism
KhmerPG020438KhmerCambodia15,850,000Engaged yet UnreachedKhmerTheravada 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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