What is the official language of Cambodia?
The official language of Cambodia is Khmer, spoken daily by 85% of the population. More than twenty languages coexist in the country, with Vietnamese, Cham, and Chinese as the main minority languages.
Khmer, the national language
The khmer (or Cambodian) is the sole official language of the Kingdom of Cambodia. This Austro-Asiatic language is used by 85% of the population in daily life, administration, education and media.
Linguistic diversity of the country
Cambodia has more than 20 languages spoken across its territory, reflecting its ethnic richness:
- Vietnamese: spoken by the Vietnamese minority, mainly in border areas
- Cham: language of the Chams, a Muslim people settled for centuries
- Chinese: various dialectal variants spoken by the Sino-Cambodian community
- Languages of ethnic minorities: bunong, tampuan, jarai in remote provinces
Key points
The Khmer alphabet has 74 letters, making it one of the longest alphabets in the world. French, a colonial legacy, is still occasionally heard among older generations.