The Akha of Vietnam

The Akha of Vietnam, numbering approximately 1,700 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnic group of Southeast Asia. The Akha originated in China's Yunnan province, where they are closely related to the Hani and Yi peoples, but gradually migrated into Burma and Laos in the 18th-19th centuries and Thailand in the early 20th century. They mostly adhere to Animism and Akha is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Himalayan Peoples
Country: Vietnam
People Cluster: Hani-Akha
Primary Language(s): Akha (ahk)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 1,700
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011106
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Akha of Vietnam

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: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

70%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Akha
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

100%
%
Akha Speakers

Media Resources in Akha:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Akha:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2001 Thailand Bible Society✓✓✓
Bibles International✓

2 entries

Or check out the Akha bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Akha 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 Akha:
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 Akha of Vietnam

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
readRomans 3:23

Pray that those who live in fear, guilt and discontentment because of sin will see their need for change, hear, and receive the good news of freedom from sin through Christ.

The mountains rose, the valleys sank down to the place that you appointed for them.
readPsalm 104:8

Pray that they will see the hand of God in the beauty and order of the natural world, and that they will worship Him as the Creator and Sustainer of all things.

Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.
readEphesians 6:18

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be alert and persistent in prayer for all believers, offering their requests with thanksgiving.

The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”
readJohn 1:35-36

Pray for those God sends to cross cultures to share the gospel, that they might faithfully share the good news of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Akha Across Countries (ROP3 - 100185) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

5 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
AkhaAkhaChina311,000Engaged yet UnreachedHaniChinese Folk Religion
AkhaAkhaMyanmar230,000No Longer UnreachedAkhaAnimism
AkhaAkhaLaos113,000Unengaged and UnreachedAkhaAnimism
AkhaAkhaThailand58,000No Longer UnreachedAkhaEthnoreligion
AkhaAkhaVietnam1,700Engaged yet UnreachedAkhaAnimism

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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