 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Ethnic groups in Cambodia" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(June 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
The largest of theethnic groups inCambodia are theKhmer, who comprise 95.8% of the total population[1] and primarily inhabit the lowland Mekong subregion and the central plains. The Khmer historically have lived near thelower Mekong River in a contiguous arc that runs from the southernKhorat Plateau where modern-dayThailand,Laos andCambodia meet in the northeast, stretching southwest through the lands surroundingTonle Sap lake to theCardamom Mountains, then continues back southeast to the mouth of the Mekong River in southeasternVietnam.
Ethnic groups in Cambodia other than the politically and socially dominant Khmer are classified as either "indigenous ethnic minorities" or "non-indigenous ethnic minorities". The indigenous ethnic minorities, more commonly collectively referred to as theKhmer Loeu ("upland Khmer"), constitute the majority in the remote mountainous provinces ofRatanakiri,Mondulkiri andStung Treng and are present in substantial numbers inKratie Province.
Approximately 17-21 separate ethnic groups, most of whom speakAustroasiatic languages related toKhmer, are included in the Khmer Loeu designation, including theKuy andTampuan people. These peoples are considered to be the aboriginal inhabitants of the land by the Cambodian authorities. Two of these highland groups, theRade and theJarai, areChamic peoples who speakAustronesian languages descended from ancientCham. These indigenous ethnic minorities haven't integrated into Khmer culture and follow their traditionalanimist beliefs.
The non-indigenous ethnic minorities include immigrants and their descendants who live among the Khmer and have adopted, at least nominally, Khmer culture and language. The three groups most often included are theChinese Cambodians,Vietnamese andCham peoples. TheChinese have immigrated to Cambodia from different regions of China throughout Cambodia's history, integrating into Cambodian society and today Chinese Cambodians or Cambodians of mixed Sino-Khmer ancestry dominate the business community, politics and the media. The Cham are descendants of refugees from the various wars of the historical kingdom ofChampa. The Cham live amongst the Khmer in the central plains but in contrast to the Khmer who are Theravada Buddhists, the vast majority of Cham follow Islam.[2]
There are also small numbers of other minority groups.Tai peoples in Cambodia include theLao along the Mekong at the northeast border,Thai (urban and rural), and the culturally BurmeseKola, who have visibly influenced the culture ofPailin Province. Even smaller numbers of recentHmong immigrants reside along the Lao border and variousBurmese peoples have immigrated to the capital, Phnom Penh.
The Khmers are one of the oldest ethnic groups in the area, having filtered into Southeast Asia around the same time as theMon. Mostarchaeologists andlinguists, and other specialists likeSinologists and crop experts, believe they arrived no later than 2000 BCE (over four thousand years ago) bringing with them the practice of agriculture and in particular the cultivation ofrice. They were the builders of the laterKhmer Empire which dominatedSoutheast Asia for six centuries beginning in 802 CE, and now form the mainstream of political, cultural, and economic Cambodia.
The Khmers developed thefirst alphabet still in use inSoutheast Asia which in turn gave birth to the laterThai andLao scripts. The Khmers are considered by most archaeologists and ethnologists to be indigenous to the contiguous regions ofIsan, southernmostLaos,Cambodia andSouthern Vietnam. That is to say the Khmer have historically been a lowland people who lived close to one of the tributaries of theMekong.
The Khmers see themselves as being one ethnicity connected through language, history and culture, but divided into three main subgroups based on national origin. The Khmer of Cambodia speaka dialect of the Khmer language. TheNorthern Khmer (Khmer Surin) are ethnic indigenous Khmers whose lands once belonged to the Khmer Empire but have since become part ofThailand. The Northern Khmer also speak theIsan language fluently.
Maintaining close relations with the Khmer of Cambodia, some now reside in Cambodia as a result of marriage. Similarly, theKhmer Krom are indigenous Khmers living in the regions of the former Khmer Empire that are now part ofVietnam. Fluent in both their particular dialect of Khmer and inVietnamese, many have fled to Cambodia as a result of persecution andforced assimilation by Vietnam.
All three varieties of Khmer are mutually intelligible. While theKhmer language of Cambodia proper isnon-tonal, surrounding languages such asThai,Vietnamese andLao are all highly tonal and have thus affected the dialects of Northern Khmer andKhmer Krom.
Prior to the Cambodian Civil War, the Vietnamese were the most populous ethnic minority in Cambodia, with an estimated 450,000 living in provinces concentrated in the southeast of the country adjacent to theMekong Delta.Vietnamese Cambodians also lived further upstream along the shores of theTonlé Sap. During the war, the Vietnamese community in Cambodia was "entirely eradicated".[3] As of the 2019 census, speakers ofVietnamese accounted for 0.5% Cambodia's 15.6 million people.[1]
Most of these came to the country as a result of the post-civil warVietnamese invasion and occupation of Cambodia, during which time the Vietnamese-installed government of Cambodia (thePeople's Republic of Kampuchea) relied heavily on Vietnam for the rebuilding of its economy. Following the 1993 withdrawal of Vietnamese troops, the government ofmodern Cambodia maintained close ties with Vietnam and Vietnamese-backed ventures came to the country looking to capitalize on the new market. In addition to these mostly urban immigrants, some villagers cross the border illegally, fleeing impoverished rural conditions in Vietnam'ssocialistone-party state hoping for better opportunities in Cambodia.
Although theVietic languages are also within theAustroasiatic language family like Khmer, there are very few cultural connections between the Vietnamese peoples because the early Khmers were part ofGreater India while the Vietnamese are part of theEast Asian cultural sphere andadopted Chinese literary culture.[4]
Ethnic tensions between the two can be traced to thePost-Angkor Period (from the 16th to 19th centuries), during which time a nascentVietnam andThailand each attempted to vassalize a weakened post-Angkor Cambodia, and effectively dominate all ofIndochina. Control over Cambodia during this, its weakest point, fluctuated between Thailand and Vietnam. Vietnam unlike Thailand, wanted Cambodia to adopt Vietnamese governmental practices, dress, and language. The Khmers resented and resisted until they were incorporated into the colonialFrench Indochina.
During the colonial period, the French brought over Vietnamese middlemen to administer the local Cambodian government, causing further resentment and anti-Vietnamese sentiment that endures to the present.[4]
Due to the long history of the two countries, there is a significant amount of Cambodians of mixed Vietnamese and Khmer ancestry. Most of these Vietnamese-Cambodians no longer speak Vietnamese and have assimilated into Khmer society and identify as Khmer. They have engaged primarily inaquaculture in theMekong Delta of the southeast.
| Linguistic Group | percent | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teochew | 60% | |||
| Cantonese | 20% | |||
| Hokkien | 7% | |||
| Hainanese | 4% | |||
| Hakka | 4% | |||
| Other groups | 5% | |||
Chinese Cambodians are approximately 0.6% of the population.[1] Most Chinese are descended from 19th–20th century settlers who came in search of trade and commerce opportunities during the time of theFrench protectorate. Waves of Chinese migration have been recorded as early as the twelfth century during the time of theKhmer Empire. Most are urban dwellers, engaged primarily in commerce.
The Chinese in Cambodia belong to five major linguistic groups, the largest of which is theTeochiu accounting for about 60%, followed by theCantonese (20%), theHokkien (7%), and theHakka and theHainanese (4% each).
Intermarriage between the Chinese and Khmers has been common, in which case they would often assimilate into mainstream Khmer society, retaining few Chinese customs. Much of the Chinese population dwindled underPol Pot during theCambodian Civil War. The Chinese were not specifically targets for extermination, but suffered the same brutal treatment faced by the ethnic Khmers during the period.
Tai peoples present in Cambodia include theThai,Lao,Tai Phuan,Nyaw,Shan, and theKula (Khmer:កុឡា,Kŏla, also known by the Thai designation, "Kula", and, historically, by the Burmese name, "Tongsoo"). Thai speakers in Cambodia amount to less than .01% of the population.[5] The ethnic Thai population numbered in the tens of thousands before the Cambodian Civil War but in 1975 over five thousand fled across the border into Thailand while another 35 thousand were systematically evacuated fromKoh Kong Province and many were killed as spies.[6]
In modern times, Thai people are mainly to be found in the capital,Phnom Penh, primarily as families of either the diplomatic mission or representatives of Thai companies doing business in Cambodia. The northwestern provinces were administratively a part ofThailand for most of the period from the 1431 fall ofAngkor until the 20th centuryFrench Protectorate. Descendants of the Thais and many people of Khmer-Thai ancestry reside in these provinces, but have mostly assimilated to Khmer culture and language and are indistinguishable from their fellow Khmer villagers.
Lao people reside in the far northeast of the country, inhabiting villages scattered among the hill tribes and along the Mekong and its tributaries in the mountainous regions near the Lao border. Historically part ofFunan and later the heartland of the pre-Angkorian KhmerChenla Kingdom, the region now encompassed byStung Treng,Ratanakiri and parts ofPreah Vihear,Kratie andMondulkiri Provinces were all but abandoned by the Khmer during theMiddle Period as the Khmer Empire waned and the population moved south to more strategic and defensible positions.[7]
The area fell under the rule of the Lao kingdom ofLan Xang in the 14th century and remained part of successive Lao kingdoms until, in 1904 during theFrench Indochina period, the region was returned to Cambodian administration. Consequently, notwithstanding the relatively recent immigration of Khmers back to the area, as of 2010, ethnicLao constituted more than half the population of Stung Treng, a substantial number (up to 10%) in Ratanakiri and smaller communities in Preah Vihear and Mondulkiri.[7]
Lao speakers make up .17% of Cambodia's population,[5] but many Cambodians of Lao ancestry are becoming increasingly Khmerized. Lao born in Cambodia are considered Khmer according to government policy. The Cambodian Lao have little to no political organization or representation, leaving many hesitant to identify as Lao due to fears related to historical persecution.[7]
Little is known about the precise origins of the Kola people[8] who, prior to the Civil War, constituted a significant minority inPailin Province, where they have visibly influenced the local culture.[9] They kept very few written records of their own, but they appear to have originated as an amalgamation of Shan andDai (specifically,Tai Lue andTai Nua) traders who began migrating south from the eastern Burma-China border in the 1800s.[citation needed]
As they journeyed through Burma andNorthern Thailand during thisturbulent period, they were joined by individuals from theMon,Pa'O and various otherBurmese groups, primarily fromMoulmein. The Kola sojourned inIsan (Northeast Thailand) seeking more favorable trading conditions until the 1856Bowring Treaty guaranteed their rights as British subjects (having originated in what becameBritish Burma) in Thailand. By the late 1800s, the Kola were settling in the mountains ofChanthaburi Province and neighboring Pailin, which was then still governed by Thailand, working as miners.[10]
The success of the Kola in Pailin encouraged further immigration of Shan directly from Burma who then joined the Kola community. The Kola language, which is aCreole based onShan and Dai and includes words fromLanna,Burmese andKaren,[citation needed] has influenced the local Khmer dialect in Pailin in both tone and pronunciation. Their Burmese influence can also be seen in the local style of dress, including the umbrellas women carry, as well as the local cuisine and Burmese style pagodas.[10]
The Kola in Pailin were historically active in the lucrative gem trading business and were the most prosperous ethnic group in the region before the war. As the Khmer Rouge, whose official policy was to persecute all non-Khmer ethnic groups, took control of Pailin, the Kola fled across the border into Thailand.[9] Since the breakup and surrender of the Khmer Rouge in the 1990s, many Kola have returned to Pailin, although preferring to keep a lower profile, most no longer outwardly identify as Kola.[10]
In the northwest of the country, approximately 5000Tai Phuan live in their own villages inMongkol Borey District ofBanteay Meanchey Province.[11] The Phuan in Cambodia are the descendants of captives sent toBattambang as laborers bySiam during the reign ofRama III (1824-1851) when Siam ruled most of Laos and Cambodia. As of 2012 they resided in ten villages and still spoke thePhuan language, a language closely related to Lao and Thai. The dialect of the Phuan people in Cambodia most closely resembles the Phuan spoken in Thailand.[12]
Approximately 10,000Lao Nyo, also known as Yor, also live in Banteay Meanchey Province. Although they refer to themselves as "Nyo" (pronounced /ɲɑː/), they speak a dialect of the Lao language and are distinct from theNyaw people of Northern Isan and Laos.[13] Their villages are concentrated inOu Chrov District near the border with Thailand. They are so numerous in the province that many ethnic Khmer are able to speak some Nyo. The presence of the Nyo and the peculiarities of their language in western Cambodia is considered anomalous and has not yet been explained by scholars.[11]
The Cham are descendants of a sea-faringAustronesian people from the islands of Southeast Asia who, 2000 years ago, began settling along the central coast of present-day Vietnam and, by 200 AD, had begun building the various polities that would become the kingdom ofChampa,[14] which at its zenith from the eighth to tenth centuries controlled most of what is today the south of Vietnam andexerted influence as far north as present-day Laos.
Primarily a coastal, maritime kingdom, Champa was a contemporary and rival of theKhmer Empire of Angkor. During the ninth through 15th centuries, the relationship between Champa and the Khmer ranged from that of allies to enemies. During friendly periods there was close contact and trade between the two Indianized kingdoms and intermarriage between the respective royal families. During wartime, many Chams were brought into Khmer lands as captives and slaves. Champa wasconquered byDai Viet (Vietnam) in the late 15th century and much of its territory was annexed while thousands of Cham were enslaved or executed.[15]
This resulted in mass migrations of Chams. The Cham king fled to Cambodia with thousands of his people while others escaped by boat toHainan (Utsuls) andAceh (Acehnese people). These migrations continued for the next 400 years as the Vietnamese slowly chipped away at the remains of Champa until the last vestige of the kingdom was annexed by Vietnam in the late 19th century.
The Cham in Cambodia number approximately a quarter of a million and often maintain separate villages although in many areas they live alongside ethnic Khmers. Cham have historically been concentrated in the southeast of the country where they've lent their name toKampong Cham Province which, prior to a provincial restructuring in 2013, extended to the Vietnamese border and was the second most populated province in Cambodia.
Primarily fishermen or farmers, the Cham are believed by many Khmer to be especially adept at certain spiritual practices and will sometimes be sought out for healing ortattooing. Cham people in Cambodia maintain a distinctive dress and speak theWestern Cham language which, due to centuries of divergence, is no longer mutually intelligible with theEastern Cham language spoken by Cham in neighboring Vietnam. Cambodian Cham was historically written in the Indic-basedCham alphabet, but it is no longer in use, having been replaced by an Arabic-based script.
While the Cham in Vietnam still follow traditionalShivaite Hinduism, most (an estimated 90%) Cham in Cambodia are ostensibly followers ofSunni Islam. Interaction between those who are Muslim and those who are Hindu is often taboo. Intermarriage between Khmers and Chams has taken place for hundreds of years. Some have assimilated into mainstream Khmer society and practiceBuddhism.[citation needed] The Cham were one of the ethnic groups marked as targets of persecution under theKhmer Rouge rule of Cambodia. Their very existence was declared to be illegal.[16] Cham villages were destroyed and the people were either forced to assimilate or summarily executed. Estimates of Chams killed from 1975 to 1979 range as high as 90,000, including 92 of the country's 113imams.[3][17] Several hundred Chams fled persecution by the Khmer Rouge across theMekong River inland across the border intoLaos. Most of them currently live inVientiane, the capital of Laos. Some others live inChampasak in southern Laos near the Cambodian border, mixing with the Chams who have long lived there, as well as with the indigenous Khmers andLao populations. They are known as theLaotian Chams.
Since the end of thewar and the ouster of theKhmer Rouge,Hun Sen's government has made overtures to the Cham people and now many Cham serve in government or other official positions. However, in spite of the moderate Malay form of Islam traditionally practiced by the Chams, the Chams community has recently turned to theMiddle East for funding to build mosques and religious schools, which has brought imams fromSaudi Arabia andKuwait teaching fundamentalist interpretations includingDa'Wah Tabligh andWahhabism.[17] These newly introduced forms of Islam have also influenced Cham dress; Many Cham are forgoing their traditional formal attire in favor of more Middle Eastern or South Asian dress.
The indigenous ethnic groups of the mountains are known collectively asMontagnards orKhmer Loeu, a term meaning "Highland Khmer". They are descended from neolithic migrations of Mon–Khmer speakers via southern China andAustronesian speakers from insular Southeast Asia. Being isolated in the highlands, the various Khmer Loeu groups were not Indianized like their Khmer cousins and consequently are culturally distant from modern Khmers and often from each other, observing many pre-Indian-contact customs and beliefs. Most arematrilineal, tracing ancestry through maternal rather than paternal bloodlines. They grow rice and live in tribal villages.
Historically, as the Khmer Empire advanced, they were obliged to seek safety and independence in the highlands or become slaves and laborers for the empire.Zhou Daguan remarked that the Khmers had captured hill tribes and made them laborers referring to them as theTchouang or slave caste.Tchouang, from the Pear wordjuang, means people. Presently, they form the majority in the sparsely populated provinces ofRatanakiri,Stung Treng, andMondulkiri.
Their languages belong to two groups, Mon–Khmer and Austronesian. The Mon–Khmers arePear,Phnong,Stieng,Kuy,Kreung, andTampuan. The Austronesians areRhade andJarai. Once thought to be a mixed group, the Austronesians have been heavily influenced by the Mon–Khmer tribes.
Prior to theCambodian Civil War which lasted from between 1970 until theKhmer Rouge victory on April 17, 1975, there were an estimated 30,000colons, or French citizens living in the country. After the civil war began most left to go back toFrance or to live in theUnited States. Cambodiawas ruled by the French for nearly a century until independence in 1953 andFrench language andculture still retains a prestigious position amongst the Khmer elite.
After theKhmer Rouge were defeated by the Vietnamese in 1979, they retreated back towards the Thai border in the west of the country by expellingVietnamese forces,Vietnam then occupied Cambodia for the next ten years. During this time Cambodia was isolated from the Western world, however visitors from states with ties to theSoviet bloc trickled into the country in (albeit) small numbers.
In post-conflict Cambodia today, many other ethnic groups can be found, particularly inPhnom Penh, in statistically significant numbers. After theUnited Nations helped restore the monarchy in the early 1990s, the number of Western individuals (termedbarang by theKhmer) living in the country swelled into the tens of thousands. And due to the further economic boom of the 21st century (Cambodia's economic growth has averaged over 7% in the decade after 2001), these numbers have only risen.
Expatriate workers from across the globe probably number around 150,000 in the capital ofPhnom Penh alone. These diplomats, investors, archaeologists, lawyers, artists, entrepreneurs, andNGO employees include sizeable numbers of Europeans, Americans and Australians, as well as those fromneighbouring Southeast Asian states, Koreans, Japanese, Chinese and Russians, along with smaller numbers of Africans.
