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The Phongku of Laos

The Phongku of Laos, numbering approximately 1,900 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are a Phunoi subgroup of northern Laos who belong to the broader Tibeto-Burman tradition and maintain a distinct identity in the highland communities of Phongsaly Province. They mostly adhere to Folk Buddhism and Phunoi is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Tibetan Peoples
Country: Laos
People Cluster: Other Tibeto-Burmese
Primary Language(s): Phunoi (pho)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Buddhism
Population: 1,900
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): No Evangelicals, Churches or Resources
People Group ID: PG050549
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Pray for the Phongku of Laos

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Folk Buddhism
Religious Affiliation: Buddhism

100%
%
Folk Buddhism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Phunoi
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

70%
%
Phunoi Speakers

Media Resources in Phunoi:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Phunoi:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Phunoi 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): Frontier Unreached People Group, (LPI: 0), < 0.1% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): No Evangelicals, Churches or Resources (GSEC: 0), there are no evangelical Christians or churches among this people group and there is no access to evangelical print, audio, visual or human resources

Next steps for the Phongku:
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 Phongku of Laos

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
readPsalm 73:26

Pray that those who are lost and struggling to find hope will find their strength and hope in God, recognizing Him as their portion and deliverer forever.

He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.
readIsaiah 40:11

Pray that the lost will come to know the tender care of the Good Shepherd, who gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart.

Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually!
readPsalm 105:4

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and may feel weak in their current circumstances, they will seek the Lord's presence and persevere in the Lord's strength.

He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.
readJohn 1:7

Pray that God will raise up witnesses to testify about Jesus so that all might believe, knowing that He is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.

Phongku Across Countries (ROP3 - 119528) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion ▲
PhongkuPG050549PhongkuLaos1,900Unengaged and UnreachedPhunoiFolk 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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