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Cambodia is a multi-ethnic country home to 14 million people and over twenty distinct ethnic groups. However, unusual for a Southeast Asian nation, most of the population fall under the Khmer ethnic majority.

Contents

Ethnic Khmer

Ethnic minorities

Chinese

Vietnamese

Cham

Khmer Loeu

List of Ethnic Groups

Ethnic Khmer

The Khmers are one of the oldest ethnic groups in Asia. They are descended from the mighty Khmer Empire and now dominate political, cultural, and mainstream Cambodia.

Ethnic minorities

According to the CIA world factbook, the ethnic Khmers make up over 90% of the population. There is a sizable minority
in Cambodia consisting mostly of Vietnamese, Chinese, Cham, and Khmer Loeu.

Chinese

The Chinese are one of the largest and most visible ethnic minority in Cambodia. They form about 1% of the total population. Most Chinese are descended from settlers who came in search of trade and commerce in the 18th and 19th century and most are urban dwellers, engaged mostly in commerce. The Chinese in Cambodia belong to five major linguistic groups, the largest of which was the Teochiu accounting about 60 percent, followed by the Cantonese accounting about 20 percent, the Hokkien accounting about 7 percent, and the Hakka and the Hainanese each accounting for 4 percent. Intermarriages between the Chinese and Khmers were common, but they would often assimilate into mainstream Khmer society but still retain some Chinese customs. Much of the Chinese population dwindle when Pol Pot came into power, however the Chinese were not specific targets for extermination, suffering the same awful treatment faced by the ethnic Khmers during the brutal regime.

Vietnamese

The Vietnamese is one of the largest ethnic minorities in Cambodia, forming around 1-5% of the population. They are distantly related to the Khmers, both speaking a Mon-Khmer language. There are no cultural connections between the two people, with the Khmers belonging to the Indian cultural sphere and the Vietnamese belonging to the Chinese cultural sphere. Ethnic tension between the two can be traced to the dark ages of Cambodia were Vietnam tried to vassalized Cambodia. Along with Thailand, Vietnam co-control Cambodia when the kingdom was at its weakest point. However, unlike Thailand, Vietnam wanted Cambodia to adopted Vietnamese governmental practices, dress, and language. The Khmers resented and resisted until they became a French colony. Modern Vietnamese in Cambodia mainly descended from setllers in the early 20th century. Most no longer speak Vietnamese, creating a social dilemma. They engaged mostly in aquaculture on the southern banks of the Mekong Delta. Many are assimilated into Khmer society, but there are still those who keep their separate social identity.

Cham

The Cham are descend from refugess from the once mighty kingdom of Champa when it fell to the Vietnamese. They number under a million and live mainly alongside ethnic Khmers. Contrary to popular beliefs, both in and out of Cambodia, not all Chams are followers of Islam. Many still follow traditional Shivaite Hinduism. Interaction between those who are Muslim and those who are Hindus are often taboo. Intermarriages between Khmers and Chams go back thousand of years, many assimilate into mainstream Khmer society and practice Buddhism.

Khmer Loeu

Many of the local ethnic groups are known collectively as "Montagnards" or Khmer Loeu, a word meaning "Highland Khmer".
They are descended from neolithic migrations of Mon-Khmer speakers from southern China and Austronesian speakers from Borneo. The Khmer Loeu are distant from the Khmers culturally and often within themselves. However, although diverse, they have many things in common. Most are matrileneal, tracing ancestry through maternal rather than paternal bloodlines. They grow rice and live in tribal villages. In old times, they were chased up into the highlands by the advancing Khmer Empire and now lives in tribal villages in Ratanakiri, Stung Treng, and Mondulkiri provinces of Cambodia. Those who didnot escape were made into slaves and laborers for the empire. Zhou Daguan remarked that the Khmers had captured hilltribes and made them laborers, referred to as the Tchouang or slave caste. Tchouang, from the Pear word Juang means people. Their languages belong to two groups, Mon-Khmer and Austronesian. The Mon-Khmers are Samre, Phnong, Stieng, Kuy, Krung, and Tampuan. The Austronesians are Rhade and Jarai. The Austronesian are heavily influenced by the Mon-Khmer, they were once thought to have been a mixed group.

List of Ethnic Groups

★ Cham - Descendants of Cham refugees who fled to Cambodia after the fall of Champa.

★ Chinese - Descendants of Chinese settlers in Cambodia.

★ Khmer Krom - Ethnic Khmers located in Southeastern Cambodia and Southern Vietnam.

★ Khmer Surin - Ethnic Khmer located in Northwestern Cambodia and Surin province Thailand.

★ Khmer Loeu - Umbrella term use to designate all hilltribes in Cambodia. They number around 100,000 in all.

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★ Mon-Khmer Speakers

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★ Kachok

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★ Krung - there are three distinct dielects of Krung. All are mutually intelligible.

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★ Krung

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★ Brao

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★ Kavet

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★ Kuy - A small group of people mostly located in the highlands of Cambodia.

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★ Phnong

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★ Tampuan - ethnic group located in the Northeastern province of Ratanakiri

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★ Stieng

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★ Austronesian Speakers

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★ Jarai - the majority of the Jarai are located in Vietnam. They speak an Austronesian language.

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★ Rhade - The majority of Rhade are located in Vietnam. They share close cultural ties with the Jarai and other tribes.

★ Vietnamese - Live mostly in southern Cambodia next to the Vietnamese border.