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The Southern Thai of Thailand

The Southern Thai of Thailand, numbering approximately 5,520,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Southwestern Tai people of Thailand's southern peninsula historically centered on Nakhon Si Thammarat, long tied to central Siamese kingdoms yet retaining a distinct Pak Tai dialect, mostly Buddhist with a large Muslim minority in the far south. They mostly adhere to Theravada Buddhism and Southern Thai is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: Thailand
People Cluster: Thai
Primary Language(s): Southern Thai (sou)
Primary Religion(s): Theravada Buddhism
Population: 5,520,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG022380
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Pray for the Southern Thai of Thailand

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: Theravada Buddhism
Religious Affiliation: Buddhism

92%
%
Theravada Buddhism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Southern Thai
Language Family: Tai-Kadai

100%
%
Thai, Southern Speakers

Media Resources in Southern Thai:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Southern Thai:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Southern Thai bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Southern Thai 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 Southern Thai:
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 Southern Thai of Thailand

And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you."
read1 Samuel 13:13a

Pray that those who are walking in disobedience will recognize their sin and to turn to God.

Greet also the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in Asia."
readRomans 16:5

Pray for houses to be meeting places for Christians and that God will advance the gospel and grow His Church through natural familial and community relationships.

We give thanks to you, O God; we give thanks, for your name is near. We recount your wondrous deeds.
readPsalm 75:1

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will give thanks to the Lord for His wondrous works and declare His goodness to all people.

He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
readPsalm 23:3

Pray for believers to go and share the gospel with others here. Ask that God will restore their souls and lead them in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.

Thai, Southern Across Countries (ROP3 - 109517) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Southern ThaiPG022380Southern ThaiThailand5,520,000Engaged yet UnreachedSouthern ThaiTheravada 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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