Cambodia People

Cambodia People : Population and ethnic

The population of Cambodia today is about 10 million. In 1993 demographic study estimated that Khmer represented 88.7 percent of the population; Vietnamese 5.2 percent,   Cham 2.5 percent, Chinese 1 percent and other (Thai, Laos, and smaller minority groups in the north and northeast) 2.6 percent. Cambodia is home to some 20 culturally distinct hill tribes, most of which occupy the mountainous districts of the north east. The majority of this hill tribes originated from the Mon-Khmer group called the Khmer Loeu.

Cambodia people : character

Generally, Cambodia people character is very similar to their neighbor, Thailand. Cambodian people are friendly and easy to get along. They also have good sense of humor. However, in main tourist town you may find some baggers, and con man due to difficulty of live such as poverty. Visitor can look for volunteer program such as ethical volunteer to participate if time permit.

Cambodia people : Making a living

Only 10 percent of the population lives in the Capital, Phnom Penh, making Cambodia largely a country of rural inhabitants, farmers and craftsmen.

Cambodia people : Chinese descent

Chinese merchants lived mainly in urban centers and play middlemen in many economic cycles, but they also preserve differences in their social and cultural institutions. They were concentrated mostly in central and in southeastern Cambodia.

Settlement

The majority of the inhabitants of Cambodia are settled in fairly permanent villages near the major bodies of water in the Tonle Sap Basin-Mekong Lowlands region. The Khmer Loeu live in widely scattered villages that are abandoned when the cultivated land in neighborhood is exhausted. The permanently settled Khmer and Cham villages usually located on or near the banks of a river or other mains of water. Cham villages usually are made up almost entirely of Cham, but Khmer villages, especially in central and in southeastern of Cambodia, typically include Chinese communities.