Khmer speaking countries
Khmer is the official language in Cambodia and is spoken in 3 more countries as monther tongue by a part of the population. The Khmer language (native name: ខ្មែរ, ខេមរភាសា, ភាសាខ្មែរ) has its roots in the Austroasiatic language family.With a share of around 89%, it is most widespread in Cambodia. A total of about 18.3 m people worldwide speak Khmer as their mother tongue.
| Country | Region | Official language | Distribution | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cambodia | Southeast Asia | yes | 88.6 % | 14,813,000 |
| Vietnam | Southeast Asia | no | 1.4 % | 1,363,000 |
| Laos | Southeast Asia | no | 16.5 % | 1,200,000 |
| Thailand | Southeast Asia | no | 1.3 % | 907,000 |
Unless otherwise described in the text, this page is about native speakers - not the total number of speakers. How many people understand or speak Khmer as a subsequently learned language is not the subject of this page. Countries where native speakers make up only a few thousand or even a few hundred people, or countries with a percentage well below 1%, are maybe not listed here.