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The Akha of Laos

The Akha of Laos, numbering approximately 113,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are a Tibeto-Burman hill people who migrated south through Yunnan and Myanmar in the mid-1800s to settle Laos's Phongsaly Province, governed by an oral code called Akhazan and traditionally avoiding riverside settlement out of fear of water spirits. They mostly adhere to Animism and Akha is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Himalayan Peoples
Country: Laos
People Cluster: Hani-Akha
Primary Language(s): Akha (ahk)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 113,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG020893
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Pray for the Akha of Laos

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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

64%
%
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

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Akha:

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

2 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Akha 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): Pioneer Unreached People Group, (LPI: 1), 0.1% or Greater but Less than 0.5% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Akha:
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 Akha of Laos

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
readRomans 1:20

As God's creation declares His glory, pray that multitudes who don't know Him will see the works of His hands and desire to know more about the Creator.

"O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me."
readJohn 17:25

Pray that the lost will come to know the Father and Jesus Christ, whom He has sent, and that they will be filled with His love and grace.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
readEphesians 6:10-11

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will grow strong in His power, putting on the full armor of God, which will enable them to stand against the devil’s lies.

Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.
read3 John 1:2

Ask God to grant protection and good health — both physical and spiritual — to those He sends cross-culturally to share the gospel.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

5 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
AkhaPG047616AkhaChina311,000Engaged yet UnreachedHaniChinese Folk Religion
AkhaPG009402AkhaMyanmar230,000No Longer UnreachedAkhaAnimism
AkhaPG020893AkhaLaos113,000Unengaged and UnreachedAkhaAnimism
AkhaPG010820AkhaThailand58,000No Longer UnreachedAkhaEthnoreligion
AkhaPG011106AkhaVietnam1,700Engaged 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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