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Location of Cambodia on the globe

Cambodia

KH

Southeast Asia

Cambodia is home to 6 documented ethnic groups in Southeast Asia — led by Khmer (~96%), Vietnamese Cambodia (~2%), Chinese Cambodian (~1%), Cham Cambodian (~1%). This page blends their phenotype and demographic data into one weighted reference: skin tone, facial features, hair texture and build, drawn from published census and ancestry sources.

Demographic Composition

Composition weights are derived from self-identification in published census and demographic surveys. Each row links to the source ethnic-group atlas page.

Ethnic groupWeightSource
KhmerKhmer96.2%National Institute of Statistics Cambodia 2019 Census; Khmer (~96.2%, ~15.5M+ of ~16.1M total); the dominant ethnic group, predominantly Theravada Buddhist. Cambodia is among the most demographically homogeneous national populations in Southeast Asia
Vietnamese CambodiaVietnamese Cambodia2.0%Cambodia 2019 Census, Vietnamese (~2.0%, ~325,000+); concentrated in Phnom Penh, the southeastern provinces along the Vietnamese border, and the Tonle Sap lake fishing communities. The Vietnamese-Cambodian community has been historically subject to political tensions including the 1970 Lon Nol-era expulsion and ongoing legal-status issues for many community members
Chinese CambodianChinese Cambodian0.8%Cambodia 2019 Census, Chinese-Cambodian (~0.8%, ~125,000+); concentrated in Phnom Penh and other major cities. Substantially reduced from earlier 20th-c. peaks (the Khmer Rouge regime 1975-1979 specifically targeted Chinese-Cambodians as part of broader genocide, with documented disproportionate mortality)
Cham CambodianCham Cambodian0.5%Cambodia 2019 Census, Cham-Cambodian (~0.5%, ~80,000-300,000+ depending on enumeration methodology — Cambodia's census enumerates ~80,000 but academic estimates of broader Cham-Cambodian population reach 400,000+); concentrated along the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers. Predominantly Sunni Muslim. Descendants of Cham refugees from the Champa Kingdom following the 15th-19th c. Vietnamese conquest. Subject to documented Khmer Rouge genocide 1975-1979
Cambodia IndigenousCambodia Indigenous0.3%Cambodia 2019 Census, Indigenous Cambodian populations (~0.3%, ~50,000+); umbrella for the Indigenous peoples of northeastern Cambodia (Ratanakiri, Mondulkiri, Stung Treng provinces) including Tampuan, Kreung, Bunong, Kuy, Jarai-Cambodian, plus other smaller groups. Predominantly Mon-Khmer language family
Cambodia OtherCambodia Other0.2%Cambodia 2019 Census residual; includes Lao-Cambodian (cross-border with Laos), Thai-Cambodian (cross-border with Thailand), Korean-Cambodian (recent investment-and-tourism community), plus other smaller groups

Cambodia Phenotype Profile

Cambodia is among the most demographically homogeneous national populations in Southeast Asia — approximately 96% Khmer per the 2019 Census, with smaller Vietnamese-Cambodian (~2%), Chinese-Cambodian (~0.8%), Cham-Cambodian (~0.5%), Indigenous Cambodian (~0.3%), and other (~0.2%) communities. The country's demographic structure reflects approximately 2,000+ years of Khmer ethnogenesis and consolidation under successive imperial states, the catastrophic Khmer Rouge regime 1975-1979 (the Cambodian genocide killed an estimated 1.5-2.5 million people, approximately 20-25% of the pre-1975 Cambodian population, with documented disproportionate mortality among ethnic minorities and educated populations), and the post-1991 reconstruction period.

Genome-wide patterns place Cambodian populations in a mainland Southeast Asian / Mon-Khmer cluster with subtle distinguishing features from neighboring Vietnamese and Thai populations. Skin tone across the broader Cambodian population spans Fitzpatrick III-V with IV-V the modal value nationally. Hair is uniformly straight (Andre Walker 1A-1B) and uniformly black or very dark brown across the broader population. Eye color is uniformly brown to dark brown. Facial features track Mon-Khmer / Southeast Asian source populations. Build is intermediate; adult Khmer male mean stature is approximately 162-165 cm in 2010s-2020s urban cohorts.

A descriptive view, not a claim about individuals

This page shows a weighted aggregate of phenotype observations across the Cambodia population, based on demographic composition from published census and ancestry sources. Phenotypes within any country are far more varied than the aggregate suggests; this is a descriptive reference, not a deterministic claim about any individual. For source-level detail on individual ethnic groups, see the constituent atlas pages linked below.

Methodology Notes

Composition weights are derived from the National Institute of Statistics Cambodia 2019 Census, the most recent comprehensive Cambodian census. Caveats: (1) the Khmer Rouge regime 1975-1979 substantially altered Cambodian demographics through documented genocide with disproportionate mortality among ethnic minorities (Chinese-Cambodian ~50% mortality, Cham-Cambodian ~50% mortality, Vietnamese-Cambodian targeted with substantial mortality and forced expulsion); (2) the contemporary Vietnamese-Cambodian community continues to face citizenship-documentation issues despite long Cambodian residence; (3) the Cham-Cambodian population may be substantially undercounted in census enumeration — academic estimates place the broader Cham-Cambodian population at 400,000+ vs the census enumeration of ~80,000; (4) the Indigenous Cambodian umbrella aggregates substantial linguistic and cultural diversity; (5) the substantial Cambodian diaspora globally (~700,000+) is not captured in source-country composition.

See full project methodology →

Primary Sources

  1. 1.National Institute of Statistics Cambodia. General Population Census of Cambodia 2019. Phnom Penh: NIS; 2020.
  2. 2.Kiernan B. The Pol Pot Regime: Race, Power, and Genocide in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge, 1975-79 (3rd ed). Yale University Press; 2008.
  3. 3.Chandler D. A History of Cambodia (4th ed). Westview Press; 2008.
  4. 4.Tarling N (ed). The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia (vols 1-4). Cambridge University Press; 1992-1999.
  5. 5.Ovesen J, Trankell IB. Cambodians and Their Doctors: A Medical Anthropology of Colonial and Post-Colonial Cambodia. NIAS Press; 2010.

Other countries in Southeast Asia

Aggregate phenotype references for neighbouring Southeast Asia nations, weighted by demographic composition.

Browse all Southeast Asiaethnic groups & countries →