Overview
Bible Society Australia is supporting the Laos Bible Society in providing literacy skills to ethnic minority groups and underprivileged people, fostering individual and community development, including spiritual growth through reading the Scriptures.
Approximately 87% of the 7.5 million people in Laos are considered literate, yet while the Lao people group (53.2% of the population) have good access to education, the other 45% is composed of ethnic minorities who often live in remote mountain areas, which hinders access to education, resulting in a very low literacy rate for minorities. As well as poor access to schools, children in remote areas are needed to help families with subsistence farming, and don’t learn to read and write in Lao. Schools in remote areas are typically under-resourced. There is a need for accessible, well-resourced literacy education for adults and children.
While officially 1.5% of the population are Christian, Christian growth in Laos since 1990 has been phenomenal, growing from near zero to about 300,000 all up, 4% of the population.
Statistics
- 7.5 million people in Laos
- 45% of the Laos population are composed of ethnic minority groups
- 300,000 (unofficially) Christians in Laos
If the appeal is oversubscribed or the project changes due to unforeseen reasons, we will reallocate remaining funds to similar projects.
