Having a six-figure number of speakers, Kaili does at first glance not appear to be heavily endangered. Yet, the trend of the last 60, especially the last 20 years, shows that Kaili will not be able to withstand the pressure of Indonesian in the long run. Kaili itself, on the other hand, has been an important lingua franca in the area for centuries and thus exerted pressure on smaller local idioms itself. Its importance as a lingua franca is diminishing; Indonesian is taking over its place.
