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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

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
readJohn 3:14-15

Pray that the lost among them will look to the One lifted up on the cross, believing in Him and receiving eternal life.

All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you. For kingship belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations.
readPsalm 22:27-28

Pray that entire families will turn to the Lord in repentance and faith, and that they will worship Him and declare His righteousness to the nations.

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
read1 Peter 2:24

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember every day that Jesus' death on the cross brings real healing and restoration to their souls and joyfully share this good news with others.

I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations.
readPsalm 57:9

Pray that God will raise up believers among them who will boldly go and share the gospel with people nearby and with those far away.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress Index ▼LanguageReligion
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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