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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Isaan of United States

The Isaan of United States, numbering approximately 1,300 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are described as an ethnolinguistic subgroup of Thai, a Southeast Asian ethnic group indigenous to Thailand They are an Diaspora people, with Thai as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Thai people cluster of the Southeast Asian Peoples. Their primary religion is Theravada Buddhism. They primarily speak Thai, Northeastern.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Isaan

Fast Facts*:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: United States
People Cluster: Thai
Primary Language(s): Thai, Northeastern (tts)
Primary Religion(s): Theravada Buddhism
Population: 1,300
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG050384
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Pray for the Isaan 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

70%
%
Theravada Buddhism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

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

100%
%
Thai, Northeastern Speakers

Media Resources in Thai, Northeastern:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Thai, Northeastern:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Thai, Northeastern bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 0), 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.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Pioneer Unreached People Group, (LPI: 1), 0.1% or Greater but Less than 0.5% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Isaan:
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

Pray specifically for the Isaan of United States

The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.
readMatthew 4:16

Pray that those living in darkness and the shadow of death will see a great light and turn to the Lord for salvation.

...And that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
readLuke 24:47

Pray that the message of repentance and forgiveness through Jesus will reach everyone.

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.

For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.
read2 Corinthians 1:5

When any who might believe suffer for the sake of the gospel, ask God to deepen their understanding of His grace so that they may share it freely with those who have not received it.

Thai, Northeastern Across Countries (ROP3 - 109994) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▲Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
IsaanPG050384IsaanUnited States1,300Unengaged and UnreachedThai, NortheasternTheravada Buddhism
IsaanPG010862IsaanThailand18,610,000Engaged yet UnreachedThai, NortheasternTheravada 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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