Demographics of Cambodia

features of the population of Cambodia include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Population size and structure

Between 1874 and 1921, the total population of Cambodia 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.
By 1975 when the Khmer Rouge 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%. 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.

Age distribution

Age group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	7 320 112	7 642 479	14 962 591	100
0–4	806 531	777 854	1 584 385	10.59
5–9	721 480	693 339	1 414 819	9.46
10–14	768 899	735 963	1 504 862	10.06
15–19	878 612	830 980	1 709 592	11.43
20–24	848 931	800 737	1 649 668	11.03
25–29	678 825	712 044	1 390 869	9.30
30–34	613 674	637 973	1 251 647	8.37
35–39	338 735	363 397	702 132	4.69
40–44	411 072	441 415	852 487	5.70
45–49	344 372	395 214	739 586	4.94
50–54	295 645	352 214	648 347	4.33
55–59	190 528	288 806	479 334	3.20
60–64	153 721	218 867	372 588	2.49
65–69	105 605	147 502	253 107	1.69
70–74	76 017	108 069	184 086	1.23
75–79	47 601	72 558	120 159	0.80
80+	39 864	65 059	104 923	0.70
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	2 296 910	2 207 156	4 504 066	30.10
15–64	4 754 115	5 042 135	9 796 250	65.47
65+	269 087	393 188	662 275	4.43

Age group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	8 093 453	8 498 636	16 592 089	100
0–4	791 593	755 468	1 547 061	9.32
5–9	792 080	756 481	1 548 561	9.33
10–14	843 604	804 317	1 647 921	9.93
15–19	799 876	773 934	1 573 810	9.49
20–24	647 446	666 588	1 314 034	7.92
25–29	684 545	720 947	1 405 492	8.47
30–34	682 783	713 536	1 396 319	8.42
35–39	684 224	703 803	1 388 027	8.37
40–44	483 437	500 719	984 156	5.93
45–49	369 988	393 527	763 515	4.60
50–54	360 130	409 250	769 380	4.64
55–59	319 093	370 486	689 579	4.16
60–64	232 929	310 156	543 085	3.27
65–69	157 661	240 966	398 627	2.40
70–74	112 069	169 150	281 219	1.69
75–79	71 156	105 568	176 724	1.07
80+	60 839	103 740	164 579	0.99
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	2 427 277	2 316 266	4 743 543	28.59
15–64	5 264 451	5 562 946	10 827 397	65.26
65+	401 725	619 424	1 021 149	6.15

Urbanization

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.

Demographic and Health Surveys

Total Fertility Rate and Crude Birth Rate :
Total fertility rate and other related statistics by province, as of 2014:

Province	Total fertility rate	Percentage of women age 15-49 currently pregnant	Completed fertility rate
Banteay Meanchey	2.8	5.2	4.0
Kampong Cham	3.3	3.5	3.9
Kampong Chhnang	2.4	5.4	4.2
Kampong Speu	2.4	6.3	4.1
Kampong Thom	2.9	5.8	4.4
Kandal	2.5	5.7	3.9
Kratié	3.6	7.3	4.5
Phnom Penh	2.0	4.6	2.8
Prey Veng	3.0	4.9	3.5
Pursat	3.1	5.9	4.0
Siem Reap	2.7	5.2	3.9
Svay Rieng	2.5	5.7	3.4
Takéo	2.4	3.9	3.7
Oddar Meanchey	3.0	8.5	4.6
Battambang/Pailin	2.9	5.5	3.8
Kampot/Kep	2.5	4.9	3.9
Sihanoukville/Koh Kong	2.7	5.8	4.1
Preah Vihear/Stung Treng	3.6	9.5	5.2
Mondulkiri/Ratanakiri	3.3	6.9	4.8

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. 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

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 for females apparently reflected improved health practices during maternity and childbirth.

Period	Life expectancy in Years	Period	Life expectancy in Years
1950–1955	40.3	1985–1990	52.0
1955–1960	41.1	1990–1995	54.3
1960–1965	41.4	1995–2000	56.4
1965–1970	42.0	2000–2005	60.8
1970–1975	37.8	2005–2010	65.1
1975–1980	14.5	2010–2015	67.6
1980–1985	52.0

Source: ''UN World Population Prospects''

Ethnic groups

The largest of the ethnic groups in Cambodia are the Khmer, who comprise 95.8% of the total population in 2019 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 where modern-day Thailand, Laos and Cambodia meet in the northeast, stretching southwest through the lands surrounding Tonle Sap lake to the Cardamom Mountains, then continues back southeast to the mouth of the Mekong River in southeastern Vietnam.
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, 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 related to Khmer, are included in the Khmer Loeu designation, including the Kuy and Tampuan people. These peoples are considered by the Khmer to be the aboriginal inhabitants of the land. Two of these highland groups, the Rade and the Jarai, are Chamic peoples who speak Austronesian languages descended from ancient Cham. 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 Cambodians, Vietnamese and Cham peoples. The Chinese 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. 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 in Cambodia include the Lao along the Mekong at the northeast border, Thai, and the culturally Burmese Kola, who have visibly influenced the culture of Pailin Province. Even smaller numbers of recent Hmong immigrants reside along the Lao border and various Burmese peoples have immigrated to the capital, Phnom Penh.