Download the People Group List (16 languages .csv)

Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
Hindi - हिन्दी | Indonesian - Bahasa Indonesia
Korean - 한국어 | Nepali - नेपाली
Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
Be sure to use the data import function in your favorite app for working with data.
If you'd like to help improve these translations, Contact Us.

PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Thai of United States

The Thai of United States, numbering approximately 195,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community indigenous to Thailand. They mostly adhere to Theravada Buddhism and Thai is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: United States
People Cluster: Thai
Primary Language(s): Thai (tha)
Primary Religion(s): Theravada Buddhism
Population: 195,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG043650
View on Joshua Project

Print Profile
Submit Updates

Pray for the Thai 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.

Pray Now!
Download Prayer Guide

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Theravada Buddhism
Religious Affiliation: Buddhism

97%
%
Theravada Buddhism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Thai
Language Family: Tai-Kadai

100%
%
Thai Speakers

Media Resources in Thai:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
The SaviorView Film

3 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Thai:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
King James Version✓
Standard Version✓
Standard Version Revision✓
Thai Standard Version✓✓

4 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Thai bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The 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 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 Thai of United States

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
readMatthew 5:16

Pray that those who are deceived about what brings peace will not settle for any lies they’ve heard about God and will diligently seek Him and be satisfied when they learn the truth about who He is and what He’s done.

Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.
readGenesis 2:7

Pray that Christians will be able to share the hope of Christ with suffering people and that He will breathe new life into their souls.

Praise the LORD! I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
readPsalm 111:1

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will praise the Lord with their whole heart in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation.

So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy.
readRomans 9:16

Ask God to raise up people who will trust in His sovereignty as they share the gospel, knowing that it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy.

Thai Across Countries (ROP3 - 101940) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

11 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion ▼
ThaiPG008070ThaiAustralia30,000Engaged yet UnreachedThaiTheravada Buddhism
ThaiPG010719ThaiSingapore64,500Engaged yet UnreachedThaiTheravada Buddhism
ThaiPG010835ThaiThailand22,850,000Engaged yet UnreachedThaiTheravada Buddhism
ThaiPG018276ThaiMalaysia34,500Unengaged and UnreachedThaiTheravada Buddhism
ThaiPG022044ThaiMyanmar45,000Unengaged and UnreachedThaiTheravada Buddhism
ThaiPG022375ThaiCambodia47,000Unengaged and UnreachedThaiTheravada Buddhism
ThaiPG042413ThaiGermany20,500Engaged yet UnreachedThaiTheravada Buddhism
ThaiPG043487ThaiCanada9,200Engaged yet UnreachedThaiTheravada Buddhism
ThaiPG043650ThaiUnited States195,000Engaged yet UnreachedThaiTheravada Buddhism
ThaiPG048524ThaiFrance10,500Unengaged and UnreachedThaiTheravada Buddhism
ThaiPG050599ThaiHong Kong13,000Unengaged and UnreachedThaiTheravada 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.

Scroll to Top