Community
Indigenous peoples of Cambodia
Overview of the Indigenous peoples of Cambodia, most of them in the northeast
The Indigenous peoples of Cambodia, also called the Khmer Loeu, are the country's Indigenous ethnic groups, most of them living in the northeast and north.[1][2] Official statistics identify them by their mother tongues. A national report by the Ministry of Planning and the Ministry of Rural Development counts 22 Indigenous groups.[3]
Groups
The ministries' report finds six groups with more than 10,000 people each, together 88 percent of all Indigenous people: the Tampuan, Pnong (Bunong), Kreung, Kuy, Jarai and Prev (Brao).[3] The 2023 planning framework gives the same six groups with figures as of 2021: Tampuan 51,947, Bunong 47,296, Kreung 22,385, Brao 13,902, Kuy 13,530 and Jarai 13,326.[2]
Open Development Cambodia lists all 22 groups: Bunong, Kuy, Stieng, Mil, Kroal, Thmorn, Khaonh, Tampuan, Jarai, Kreung, Kavet, Saouch, Lun, Kachak, Brao, Raadear, Chorng, Por, Souy, Chaong, Lmoun and Mon. Its list spells several names differently: Kouy, Tompuonn, Charay, Kroeung and Praov.[1]
Population
Counts differ by year and method. The 1998 census identified 17 Indigenous peoples in 15 provinces, estimated at around 200,000 people, or about 1.2 percent of the population, Open Development Cambodia writes.[1] Counting by mother tongue, the ministries' report gives 171,193 people in 2008 (1.34 percent of the population) and 183,831 in 2013 (1.25 percent).[3]
Open Development Cambodia also cites 252,337 people in the 2014 commune database, 243,357 in socioeconomic data for 2015, and 276,878 from the Cambodia Indigenous Peoples Organization, undated.[1] The 2023 planning framework gives 448,282 people by mother tongue in the 2019 census, 2.9 percent of the population, a figure its census table labels "Ethnic Minorities".[2]
Where they live
Both government documents put 92.4 percent of Indigenous people in a few provinces. The ministries' report names six for 2013: Ratanakiri, Mondulkiri, Kratie, Stung Treng, Kampong Thom and Preah Vihear.[3] The 2023 planning framework names five, leaving out Preah Vihear.[2]
Land and policy
A National Policy on the Development of Indigenous Peoples, prepared by the Ministry of Rural Development, was approved in 2009.[1][2] The 2001 Land Law provides for communal land titles in articles 23 to 28. Article 25 allows collective ownership of land, and article 26 recognizes traditional authorities and customs in decisions on that land.[1]
By 2022, 152 Indigenous communities had registered with the Ministry of Interior as legal entities. Of these, 38 communities in four provinces held communal land titles covering 39,342 hectares: 25 in Ratanakiri, 7 in Mondulkiri, 4 in Kratie and 2 in Stung Treng.[1] Open Development Cambodia notes that many observers see the Land Law as strong protection on paper, but say weak implementation and enforcement leave Indigenous peoples exposed to commercial and state interests.[1]
Health
The ministries' report finds a high infant mortality rate among Indigenous children: 139 per 1,000 live births in 2008 and 126 in 2013, against 33 for all Cambodian babies in 2013.[3]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Open Development Cambodia, Ethnic minorities and indigenous people (March 7, 2023)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology and Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Indigenous Peoples Planning Framework, World Bank project P176615, draft (September 8, 2023)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Ministry of Planning and Ministry of Rural Development, National Report on Demographic and Socio-economic Situation of Indigenous Peoples in Cambodia: Preface and Report Summary, English unofficial translation (2021)