This is a
demography
Demography () is the statistics, statistical study of populations, especially human beings.
Demographic analysis examines and measures the dimensions and Population dynamics, dynamics of populations; it can cover whole societies or groups ...
of the
population
Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...
of
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
including
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
,
ethnicity
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
Population
![Cambodia-demography](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/Cambodia-demography.svg)
Between 1874 and 1921, the total population of
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
increased from about 946,000 to 2.4 million. By 1950, it had increased to between 3,710,107 and 4,073,967, and in 1962 it had reached 5.7 million. From the 1960s until 1975, the population of Cambodia increased by about 2.2% yearly, the lowest increase in
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
.
By 1975 when the
Khmer Rouge
The Khmer Rouge (; ; km, ខ្មែរក្រហម, ; ) is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) and by extension to the regime through which the CPK ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. ...
took power, the population was estimated at 7.3 million. Of this total an estimated one to two million reportedly died between 1975 and 1978. In 1981, the PRK gave the official population figure as nearly 6.7 million, although approximately 6.3 million to 6.4 million is probably more accurate.
The average annual rate of population growth from 1978 to 1985 was 2.3% (see table 2, Appendix A). A post-Khmer Rouge baby boom pushed the population above 10 million, although growth has slowed in recent years.
In 1959, about 45% of the population was under 15 years of age. By 1962, this had increased slightly to 46%. In 1962, an estimated 52% of the population was between 15 and 64 years of age, while 2% were older than 65. The percentage of males and females in the three groups was almost the same.
Population and age distribution
Structure of the population
Structure of the population (01.07.2013) (Estimates) (Excluding foreign diplomatic personnel and their dependents. Data based on the 2008 Population Census):
Vital statistics
UN estimates
Fertility
The total fertility rate in Cambodia was 3.0 children per woman in 2010.
The fertility rate was 4.0 children in 2000.
Women in urban areas have 2.2 children on average, compared with 3.3 children per woman in rural areas.
Fertility is highest in
Mondol Kiri and
Rattanak Kiri Provinces, where women have an average of 4.5 children, and lowest in Phnom Penh where women have an average of 2.0 children.
Fertility and Births
Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):
![Cambodia demographic map-provinces-fertilityrate-2014-en](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Cambodia_demographic_map-provinces-fertilityrate-2014-en.svg)
Total fertility rate and other related statistics by province, as of 2014:
Infant and childhood mortality
Childhood mortality rates are decreasing in Cambodia.
Currently, the infant mortality rate is 45 deaths per 1,000 live births for the five-year period before the survey compared with 66 deaths reported in the 2005 CDHS and 95 in the 2000 CDHS. Under-five mortality rates have also decreased from 124 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2000, 83 deaths in 2005 to 54 deaths per 1,000 in 2010.
Childhood mortality decreases markedly with mother’s education and wealth. Infant mortality, for example, is twice as high among children whose mothers have no schooling compared to those with secondary or higher education (72 versus 31). The association with wealth is even stronger. There are 77 deaths per 1,000 live births among infants from the poorest households compared to only 23 deaths per 1,000 live births among infants from the richest households.
Mortality rates are much higher in rural than urban areas. Infant mortality, for example, is 64 deaths per 1,000 live births in rural areas compared to only 22 in urban areas.
Mortality also differs by province. Infant mortality ranges from only 13 deaths per 1,000 live births in Phnom Penh to 78 deaths per 1,000 live births in Kampong Chhnang and Svay Rieng.
Life expectancy
![Life expectancy of Cambodia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/Life_expectancy_of_Cambodia.svg)
In 1959, life expectancy at birth was 44.2 years for males and 43.3 years for females. By 1970, life expectancy had increased by about 2.5 years since 1945. The greater
longevity
The word " longevity" is sometimes used as a synonym for "life expectancy" in demography. However, the term ''longevity'' is sometimes meant to refer only to especially long-lived members of a population, whereas ''life expectancy'' is always d ...
for females apparently reflected improved health practices during
maternity
]
A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of gestati ...
and childbirth.
Source: ''UN World Population Prospects''
Ethnic groups
![Cambodia ethnic map-en](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Cambodia_ethnic_map-en.svg)
The largest of the ethnic groups in Cambodia are the
Khmer people, Khmer, who comprise approximately 90% of the total population and primarily inhabit the lowland Mekong sub region and the central plains.
The Khmer historically have lived near the
lower Mekong River in a contiguous arc that runs from the southern
Khorat Plateau
The Khorat Plateau ( th, ที่ราบสูงโคราช) is a plateau in the northeastern Thai region of Isan. The plateau forms a natural region, named after the short form of Nakhon Ratchasima, a historical barrier controlling access ...
where modern-day
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
,
Laos
Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...
and
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
meet in the northeast, stretching southwest through the lands surrounding
Tonle Sap lake to the
Cardamom Mountains
The Cardamom Mountains ( km, ជួរភ្នំក្រវាញ, ; th, ทิวเขาบรรทัด, ), or the Krâvanh Mountains, is a mountain range in the south west of Cambodia and Eastern Thailand. The majority of the range ...
, then continues back southeast to the mouth of the Mekong River in southeastern
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
.
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 the
Khmer Loeu
The Khmer Loeu ( km, ជនជាតិខ្មែរលើ ; "upper Khmers") is the collective name given to the various indigenous ethnic groups residing in the highlands of Cambodia. The Khmer Loeu are found mainly in the northeastern pro ...
("upland Khmer"), constitute the majority in the remote mountainous provinces of
Ratanakiri,
Mondulkiri and
Stung Treng and are present in substantial numbers in
Kratie Province.
Approximately 17-21 separate ethnic groups, most of whom speak
Austroasiatic languages
The Austroasiatic languages , , are a large language family in Mainland Southeast Asia and South Asia. These languages are scattered throughout parts of Thailand, Laos, India, Myanmar, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Nepal, and southern China and are t ...
related to
Khmer, are included in the Khmer Loeu designation, including the
Kuy
Kuy, also known as Kui, Suay or Kuay ( th, ภาษากูย; km, ភាសាកួយ), is a Katuic languages, Katuic language, part of the larger Austroasiatic languages, Austroasiatic family spoken by the Kuy people of Southeast Asia. ...
and
Tampuan people
The Tampuan (also spelled ''Tompuan'' or ''Tampuon'', ''Tumpoun'', ''Tumpuon'', km, ទំពួន) are an indigenous ethnic group living in northeast Cambodia. Numbering about 31,000, the Tampuan people live in the mountainous Southern and Wes ...
. These peoples are considered by the Khmer to be the aboriginal inhabitants of the land. Two of these highland groups, the
Rade Rade may refer to:
* E De people, a people group in Southeast Asia also called "Rhade" or "Rade"
* places in Lower-Saxony, Germany:
** Rade, Neu Wulmstorf, a village in the district of Harburg
* places in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany:
** Rade, Stei ...
and the
Jarai, are
Chamic peoples
The Cham (Cham: ''Čaṃ'') or Champa people (Cham: , ''Urang Campa''; vi, Người Chăm or ; km, ជនជាតិចាម, ) are an Austronesian ethnic group. From the 2nd century to 1832 the Cham populated Champa, a contiguous territor ...
who speak
Austronesian languages descended from ancient
Cham
Cham or CHAM may refer to:
Ethnicities and languages
*Chams, people in Vietnam and Cambodia
**Cham language, the language of the Cham people
***Cham script
*** Cham (Unicode block), a block of Unicode characters of the Cham script
*Cham Albania ...
. These indigenous ethnic minorities haven't integrated into Khmer culture and follow their traditional animist 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 the
Chinese Cambodian
Chinese Cambodians (or Sino-Khmers) are Cambodian citizens of Chinese ancestry or Chinese of full or partial Khmer ancestry. The Khmer term ''Khmer Kat Chen'' () is used for people of mixed Chinese and Khmer descent; ''Chen Khmer'' () means Camb ...
s,
Vietnamese
Vietnamese may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia
** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam.
* Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam
** Overse ...
and
Cham
Cham or CHAM may refer to:
Ethnicities and languages
*Chams, people in Vietnam and Cambodia
**Cham language, the language of the Cham people
***Cham script
*** Cham (Unicode block), a block of Unicode characters of the Cham script
*Cham Albania ...
peoples. The
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
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 of
Champa
Champa (Cham: ꨌꩌꨛꨩ; km, ចាម្ប៉ា; vi, Chiêm Thành or ) were a collection of independent Cham polities that extended across the coast of what is contemporary central and southern Vietnam from approximately the 2nd cen ...
. 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.
There are also small numbers of other minority groups.
Tai peoples
Tai peoples are the populations who speak (or formerly spoke) the Tai languages. There are a total of about 93 million people of Tai ancestry worldwide, with the largest ethnic groups being Dai, Thais, Isan, Tai Yai (Shan), Lao, Tai Ahom, an ...
in Cambodia include the
Lao along the Mekong at the northeast border,
Thai
Thai or THAI may refer to:
* Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia
** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand
** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand
*** Thai script
*** Thai (Unicode block ...
(urban and rural), and the culturally Burmese
Kola
KOLA (99.9 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Redlands, California, and broadcasting to the Riverside-San Bernardino-Inland Empire radio market. It is owned by the Anaheim Broadcasting Corporation and it airs a classic hits radio for ...
, who have visibly influenced the culture of
Pailin Province
Pailin ( km, ប៉ៃលិន, ) is a province in western Cambodia at the northern edge of the Cardamom Mountains near the border of Thailand. This province is surrounded by Battambang province, and was officially carved out of Battambang ...
. Even smaller numbers of recent
Hmong
Hmong may refer to:
* Hmong people, an ethnic group living mainly in Southwest China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand
* Hmong cuisine
* Hmong customs and culture
** Hmong music
** Hmong textile art
* Hmong language, a continuum of closely related to ...
immigrants reside along the Lao border and various
Burmese people
Burmese people or Myanma people ( my, မြန်မာလူမျိုး) are citizens or people from Myanmar (Burma), irrespective of their ethnic or religious background. Myanmar is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-lingual count ...
s have immigrated to the capital, Phnom Penh.
Khmer people, Khmer 90%,
Vietnamese
Vietnamese may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia
** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam.
* Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam
** Overse ...
5%,
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
1%, other 4%.
Languages
;Official language
Khmer is an
Austroasiatic language
The Austroasiatic languages , , are a large language family in Mainland Southeast Asia and South Asia. These languages are scattered throughout parts of Thailand, Laos, India, Myanmar, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Nepal, and southern China and are t ...
spoken by over 90% of the Cambodian population. The vast majority of Khmer speakers use the Central Khmer
dialect
The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of Linguistics, linguistic phenomena:
One usage refers to a variety (linguisti ...
. Central Khmer is the variety spoken in the central plain where the ethnic Khmers most heavily concentrate. Other Khmer dialects include the Phnom Penh variety, as well as
Northern Khmer (''Surin Khmer''),
Western Khmer (''
Cardamom
Cardamom (), sometimes cardamon or cardamum, is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genera ''Elettaria'' and ''Amomum'' in the family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to the Indian subcontinent and Indonesia. They are rec ...
Khmer''),
Southern Khmer (''Khmer Krom''), and the
Khmer Khe
Khmer Khe (or Hakka Khmer; km, ខ្មែរខិ) is a Khmeric language spoken in Stung Treng Province, Cambodia. It has an estimated lexical similarity of between 95-96% with Central Khmer.
Names
Alternate names for Khmer Khe include Khm ...
dialect in
Stung Treng province.
The
Northern Khmer dialect
Northern Khmer (; km, ខ្មែរខាងជើង), also called Surin Khmer ( km, ខ្មែរសុរិន្ទ, link=no), is the dialect of the Khmer language spoken by approximately 1.4 million Khmers native to the Thai provinc ...
is also spoken by over a million Khmers in the southern regions of
Northeast Thailand
Northeast Thailand or Isan (Isan/ th, อีสาน, ; lo, ອີສານ; also written as Isaan, Isarn, Issarn, Issan, Esan, or Esarn; from Pali ''īsānna'' or Sanskrit ईशान्य ''īśānya'' "northeast") consists of 20 provin ...
. Western Khmer displays features of the
Middle Khmer language, and is considered a conservative dialect. Southern Khmer is the first language of the
Khmer Krom people in the
Mekong Delta region in
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
.
;Minority languages:
According to
Glottolog
''Glottolog'' is a bibliographic database of the world's lesser-known languages, developed and maintained first at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany (between 2015 and 2020 at the Max Planck Institute for ...
, 22 languages other than Khmer are spoken in Cambodia, most of which are also Austroasiatic languages. Other Austroasiatic languages of Cambodia include
Kuy
Kuy, also known as Kui, Suay or Kuay ( th, ภาษากูย; km, ភាសាកួយ), is a Katuic languages, Katuic language, part of the larger Austroasiatic languages, Austroasiatic family spoken by the Kuy people of Southeast Asia. ...
,
Por (Pear),
Somray,
Chong,
Suoy,
Sa'och,
Tampuan,
Kaco',
Stieng,
Mnong,
Brao,
Krung
Rade (Rhade; Rade: ; or ) is an Austronesian language of southern Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainl ...
(Rade), and
Sou (Laven).
Many of these languages are also spoken in Vietnam.
Vietnamese
Vietnamese may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia
** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam.
* Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam
** Overse ...
itself is also spoken in parts of Cambodia. Non-Austroasiatic minority languages of Cambodia include
Cham
Cham or CHAM may refer to:
Ethnicities and languages
*Chams, people in Vietnam and Cambodia
**Cham language, the language of the Cham people
***Cham script
*** Cham (Unicode block), a block of Unicode characters of the Cham script
*Cham Albania ...
and
Jarai (
Austronesian) as well as
Thai
Thai or THAI may refer to:
* Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia
** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand
** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand
*** Thai script
*** Thai (Unicode block ...
and
Lao (
Tai-Kadai).
;Languages of education
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
and
French are used to different extents in education.
;Sign language
*
Cambodian Sign Language
Religions
:
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
: 97.1%,
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
: 2.0%,
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
: 0.3%, Others: 0.5%
CIA World Factbook demographic statistics
The following demographic statistics are from the
CIA World Factbook
''The World Factbook'', also known as the ''CIA World Factbook'', is a reference resource produced by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The official print version is available ...
, unless otherwise indicated.
:''Note'': estimates for this country take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2016 est.)
Population growth rate
* 1.56% (2016 est.)
* 1.698% (2011 est.)
* 1.71% (2010 est.)
* 1.77% (2009 est.)
* 1.75% (2008 est.)
Sex ratio
:At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
:0-14 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
:15-24 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
:25-54 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
:55-64 years: 0.65 male(s)/female
:65 years and over: 0.6 male(s)/female
:Total Population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2016 est.)
Life expectancy at birth
:Total population: 64.5 years
:Male: 62 years
:Female: 67.1 years (2016 est.)
HIV/AIDS
Adult prevalence rate
:0.63% (2015 est.)
People living with HIV/AIDS
:74,100 (2015 est.)
:63,000 (2009 est.)
:75,000 (2007 est.)
Deaths
:1,000 (2011 est.)
:2,000 (2015 est.)
:3,100 (2009 est.)
:6,900 (2007 est.)
Nationality
:Noun: Cambodian(s) or Khmer(s)
:Adjective: Cambodian or Khmer
Urbanization
:Urban population: 39.4% of total population (2019)
:Rate of
urbanization
Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly t ...
: 7.8% annual rate of change (2008—2019)
Literacy
:Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
:Total population: 88.5%
:Male: 91.1%
:Female: 86.2% (2019)
Education expenditure
:1.9% of GDP (2014)
Diaspora
Countries with notable populations of Cambodians are:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
**
*
*
*
*
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Demographics Of Cambodia
Society of Cambodia