Khmer people
ជនជាតិខ្មែរ | |
|---|---|
Khmer people in traditional Khmer attire during the new year. | |
| Total population | |
| c. 18–19 million | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Cambodia | 15,969,386 |
| Vietnam | 1,320,000 |
| Thailand | 1,146,685 |
| United States | 376,096 |
| France | 80,000 |
| South Korea | 65,002 |
| Australia | 45,700 (2016) |
| Malaysia | 30,113 |
| Canada | 38,490 |
| Japan | 26,827 (2024) |
| New Zealand | 8,601 |
| United Arab Emirates | 7,600 |
| Laos | 7,141 |
| Singapore | 3,224 |
| Switzerland | 3,000 |
| Belgium | 2,172 |
| Austria | 2,133 |
| Netherlands | 2,000 |
| Germany | 1,035 |
| United Kingdom | >1,000 |
| Italy | 1,000 |
| New Caledonia | 1,000 |
| Sweden | 772 |
| Taiwan | 543 |
| Kuwait | 47 |
| Philippines | 33 |
| Russia | 2 |
| Languages | |
| Khmer | |
| Religion | |
| Predominantly Theravada Buddhism; Hinduism and animism (historically); minorities Christianity Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Mon, Wa, other Austroasiatic peoples | |
The Khmer people (Khmer: ជនជាតិខ្មែរ, UNGEGN: Chônchéatĕ Khmêr, ALA-LC: Janajāti Khmaer [cɔn.ciət kʰmae]) are an Austroasiatic ethnic group native to Cambodia. They comprise over 95% of Cambodia's population of 17 million. They speak the Khmer language, which is part of the larger Austroasiatic language family alongside Mon and Vietnamese.
The majority of Khmer people follow Theravada Buddhism. Significant populations of Khmers reside in adjacent areas of Thailand (Northern Khmer) and the Mekong Delta region of neighboring Vietnam (Khmer Krom), while there are over one million Khmers in the Khmer diaspora living mainly in France, the United States, and Australia.