The Khmer of Canada

The Khmer of Canada, numbering approximately 22,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an Austroasiatic ethnic group indigenous to Cambodia. They mostly adhere to Theravada Buddhism and Khmer is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: Canada
People Cluster: Mon-Khmer
Primary Language(s): Khmer (khm)
Primary Religion(s): Theravada Buddhism
Population: 22,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG043422
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Khmer of Canada

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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Theravada Buddhism
Religious Affiliation: Buddhism

96%
%
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

Bible Resources in Khmer:

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

2 entries

Or check out the Khmer bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The 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 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 Khmer of Canada

Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
readPsalm 67:3

Pray that those who are lost and unaware of God's blessings will come to know Him as the one true God, put their trust in Him, and join in praising Him among the nations.

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
read2 Peter 3:9

Pray that the lost will not perish but come to repentance and that God's patience and long-suffering will lead them to salvation.

And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
readRomans 10:15

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be eager to proclaim the good news of peace, knowing that the Lord has called them to this task.

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
readHebrews 4:12

Pray that God will make His living and active Word available to everyone in this people group so that many will respond to the gospel. Ask Him to provide Jesus-followers to walk with new believers as they grow in Him.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

10 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguage ▼Religion
KhmerKhmerFrance72,000Engaged yet UnreachedKhmerTheravada Buddhism
Central KhmerCentral KhmerThailand63,000Engaged yet UnreachedKhmerTheravada Buddhism
CambodianCambodianAustralia25,500Engaged yet UnreachedKhmerTheravada Buddhism
KhmerKhmerCambodia15,840,000Engaged yet UnreachedKhmerTheravada Buddhism
KhmerKhmerLaos5,800Unengaged and UnreachedKhmerTheravada Buddhism
Cambodian KhmerCambodian KhmerUnited States197,000Engaged yet UnreachedKhmerTheravada Buddhism
KhmerKhmerCanada22,500Engaged yet UnreachedKhmerTheravada Buddhism
Khmer KromKhmer KromVietnam1,385,000Engaged yet UnreachedKhmerTheravada Buddhism
KhmerKhmerGermany13,000Unengaged and UnreachedKhmerTheravada Buddhism
KhmerKhmerUnited Kingdom1,300Unengaged and 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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