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The Phutai Joy of Laos

The Phutai Joy of Laos, numbering approximately 4,400 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Joy subgroup of the Phu Thai people of Laos who belong to the broader Tai tradition and maintain a distinct identity within the Phu Thai-speaking communities of central Laos. They mostly adhere to Folk Buddhism and Phu Thai is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: Laos
People Cluster: Tai
Primary Language(s): Phu Thai (pht)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Buddhism
Population: 4,400
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG050552
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Pray for the Phutai Joy of Laos

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Folk Buddhism
Religious Affiliation: Buddhism

99%
%
Folk Buddhism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Phu Thai
Language Family: Tai-Kadai

90%
%
Phu Thai Speakers

Media Resources in Phu Thai:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Phu Thai:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Phu Thai bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Phutai Joy 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 Phutai Joy:
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 Phutai Joy of Laos

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
readMatthew 5:6

Pray for those who are lost to desire righteousness and to be filled with the peace and purpose that only comes from following Jesus.

Moses said, "Please show me your glory." And he said, "I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name 'The LORD.' And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy."
readExodus 33:18-19

Pray that many will come to know the glory of God, which is revealed in Jesus Christ, and that they will rejoice in the mercy He offers them.

Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice!
readPsalm 105:3

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will glory in His holy name and that their hearts will rejoice.

Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, "Behold your God!"
readIsaiah 40:9

Pray for God to send and sustain believers to go and herald the good news to the lost here.

Phutai Joy Across Countries (ROP3 - 119531) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Phutai JoyPG050552Phutai JoyLaos4,400Engaged yet UnreachedPhu ThaiFolk 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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