Khmer couple
|
|
Total population | |
---|---|
(at least 15 million) | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Cambodia | 13.5 million |
Vietnam | > 1.4 million |
Thailand | > 1.2 million |
United States | 276,667 |
France | 80,000 |
South Korea | 45,610 (2016) |
Australia | 36,920 (2016) |
Canada | 25,245 |
Malaysia | 11,381 |
New Zealand | 6,918 |
Japan | 6,111 (2015) |
Taiwan | 6,000 |
Laos | 3,900 |
Belgium | 3,500 |
United Kingdom | > 1,000 |
Germany | 889 |
Languages | |
Khmer, Northern Khmer dialect | |
Religion | |
Theravada Buddhism with Hindu influence | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Mon, Wa, and other Austroasiatic-speaking groups |
Khmer people (Khmer: ខ្មែរ, Khmer pronunciation: [kʰmaːe], Northern Khmer pronunciation: [kʰmɛr]) are a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Cambodia, accounting for approximately 90% of the country's 15.2 million people. They speak the Khmer language, which is part of the larger Austroasiatic language family found throughout eastern and central India and Bangladesh, in Southeast Asia, South China and numerous islands in the Indian Ocean.
The majority of the Khmer are followers of the Khmer style of Buddhism, a highly syncretic version that blends elements of Theravada Buddhism, Hinduism, animism and veneration of the dead. 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 Cambodian diaspora living mainly in France, the United States and Australia.