Cambodia Population 2023 (Live)

According to current projections, Cambodia’s population is estimated to peak at 22.89 million people in 2069. Following its peak, Cambodia’s population is projected to slowly decline, reaching 21.44 million people by the end of the century.

Cambodia’s population grew 1.41% from 2019 to 2020, adding over 232,000 people to the population. Given Cambodia’s negative net migration, its fertility rate of 2.52 births per woman drives its population growth rate. The fertility rate is on a downward trend, resulting in a slowing population growth rate.

Cambodia’s rural communities lack clean water and proper sanitation, and generational poverty is a serious problem in the country. An increasing population would put a further strain on those resources that the country already lacks and worsen its poverty problem. Luckily, the population growth is expected to slow and stop later in the century.

Cambodia Area and Population Density

Cambodia has a population density of 212 people per square mile (82 people per square kilometer ), which ranks 118th in the world. The total surface area of Cambodia is at 181,035 square kilometers and located in the Southeastern Asian mainland on the Gulf of Thailand between Thailand and Vietnam.

Largest Cities in Cambodia

Only 20% of the people in Cambodia live in urban areas, and there aren't many large cities. The largest city is the capital city of Phnom Penh, with a population of 1.5 million, and 2.2 million in the metropolitan area. Phnom Penh is the country's economic and trade center and is presently growing at a faster rate than the city's resources allow for. The next largest city is Battambang, with a population approaching 200,000. There are a few other smaller cities in Cambodia with populations approaching 100,000 including Ta Khmau, Serei Saophoan, Siem Reap, and Kampong Cham.

Cambodia Demographics

The demographics of the country are very much influenced by the civil war and later genocide, and 50% of the population is under 22 years old. It also has the most female-biased sex ratio in the region.

There is some diversity evident in Cambodia, with an ethnic breakdown of the population currently at Khmer 97.6%, Cham 1.2%, Chinese 0.1%, Vietnamese 0.1%, and other races at 0.9% as estimated in 2013 by the World Factbook.

Khmer is the official language of Cambodia, coming in with 97% of the population using it on a regular basis, with other languages at only 3%.

Cambodia Religion, Economy and Politics

Over 95% of the population practices Theravada Buddhism, the official religion, with an estimated 4,400 monastery temples in the country. Islam is the main religion of the majority of Malay and Chams minorities in the country, while most Muslims are Sunnis. There are approximately 300,000 Muslims in Cambodia, with about 1% identified as Christian.

The quality of life in any nation is heavily influenced by numerous factors. These include healthcare, education, and cleanliness among a plethora of other available data. The current median age of the total population is 25.3 years of age, with a total life expectancy of 64.9 years of age. In the healthcare sector, 5.7% of the GDP is directed toward health resulting in a meager .14 physician density per 1,000 residents and a hospital bed availability of .8 beds per 1,000 individuals within Cambodia. There is a fairly high infant mortality rate within the nation. Only 75% of the country has improved access to drinking water and only 42% of the population has access to improved sanitation facilities as well.

Cambodia Population History

Cambodia became a protectorate of France in 1863, and the French maintain their hold until World War II when Japan occupies the country. When the war ended, the French presence was reimposed, and Cambodian communists began to fight against them for independence, which was eventually gained in 1953. By 1965, Cambodia sided with the Vietnamese against the United States, and the war was brought onto Cambodian soil. Their involvement in the war lasted until the late 1980s, by which point hundreds of thousands had become refugees.

Since 1955, Cambodia has tripled in population size. In 1955 the population was recorded to be 5,045,288. This jumped to 10,653,558 by 1995 and reached over 16 million by 2017.