The Western Chams of Cambodia

The Western Chams of Cambodia, numbering approximately 302,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as an Austronesian ethnolinguistic group indigenous to the Kampong Cham province in Cambodia and the An Giang province in southern Vietnam They are an Indigenous people, with Cham as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Cham people cluster of the Southeast Asian Peoples. Their primary religion is Sunni Islam. They primarily speak Cham, Western.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Western Cham

Fast Facts*:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: Cambodia
People Cluster: Cham
Primary Language(s): Cham, Western (cja)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 302,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG008199
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Western Chams of Cambodia

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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

92%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Cham, Western
Language Family: Austronesian

74%
%
Cham, Western Speakers

Media Resources in Cham, Western:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Cham, Western:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Cham, Western New Testament

1 entry

Or check out the Cham, Western bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Western Chams 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 Western Chams:
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 Western Chams of Cambodia

But he said, "What is impossible with man is possible with God."
readLuke 18:27

Praise God that He is the God of impossible things and that He is able to save even those who seem beyond hope.

For I will proclaim the name of the LORD; ascribe greatness to our God!
readDeuteronomy 32:3

Pray that believers will proclaim the Lord’s name and declare the greatness of our God so that others might believe in Him.

In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?
readJohn 14:2-3

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will persevere in hope, remembering that Jesus went to prepare a place for them to be with Him for eternity!

For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, “‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
readActs 13:47

Pray that as people come to faith, they will follow the Lord's leading to go to their neighbors and share the treasure they found in Christ.

Cham, Western Across Countries (ROP3 - 110776) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

4 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Western ChamsWestern ChamsCambodia302,000Engaged yet UnreachedCham, WesternSunni Islam
Western ChamsWestern ChamsVietnam150,000Engaged yet UnreachedCham, WesternSunni Islam
Western ChamsWestern ChamsUnited States1,200Unengaged and UnreachedCham, WesternEthnoreligion
Western ChamsWestern ChamsLaos250Unengaged and UnreachedCham, WesternSunni Islam

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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