Language in Cambodia

Article 5 of Cambodia's Constitution establishes Khmer as the official language and script, while Article 69 directs the state to protect and promote Khmer. The Royal Academy of Cambodia and its National Council of Khmer Language (NCKL) support dictionaries, terminology, linguistic research, spelling conventions and literature. Khmer originals of laws and other legal norms have priority over translations. Khmer speech varies between Phnom Penh, Battambang, Siem Reap and rural areas. Phnom Penh speech can differ from written and formal Khmer. Cambodia has no nationwide official dialect status and no complete current dialect atlas; regional speech differences mainly affect informal use rather than the language of national administration. Cambodia's 2019 census recorded Khmer as the mother tongue of 14,893,134 people, or 95.8% of the population. It recorded 448,282 people with minority languages, 94,450 with Chinese, 78,090 with Vietnamese, 13,636 with Lao, 6,650 with Thai and 17,969 with other mother tongues. A separate ethnic-minority report counts 455,610 people in its minority category, so that figure should not be added to the census total. Among the groups listed in that report, Cham account for 275,217 people, followed by Punong or Pnong, Tampuan or Tumpuon, Jarai or Charai, Kreung or Kroeng, Kuoy and Prov. Indigenous languages are especially relevant in Ratanakkiri, Mondulkiri, Kratie and Stung Treng. The 2019 census recorded, among the population aged seven and older, 90.9% as Khmer-only, 5.1% as Khmer plus English, 2.5% as Khmer plus another language and 1.5% as speaking a language other than Khmer. Among ethnic-minority groups, the corresponding figures were 55.1% Khmer-only, 1.7% Khmer plus English, 31.7% Khmer plus another language and 11.5% speaking another language. Adult literacy was recorded at 87.7% for the general population and 74.6% for ethnic-minority groups, showing a significant access gap between language communities and between urban and rural areas. The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport and Provincial Offices support bilingual or multilingual programmes in northeastern Cambodia. Teaching materials and audio resources exist for Pnong, Tampuon, Kavet, Kroeng and Jarai, and multilingual textbooks for Grades 1 to 3 support transitions between community schools and state schools. Khmer remains the main language of formal education and literacy. Programme coverage, language availability and continuation depend on the province, school and local programme; no nationwide entitlement to schooling in every mother tongue has been established. National administrative and regulatory documents are primarily in Khmer. The National Election Committee provides voting and legal information in Khmer, so electoral and procedural access is largely Khmer-based. Sector-specific rules can differ: trademark applications may use Khmer or English, while other languages require a Khmer or English translation. In courts and legal proceedings, the Khmer original controls, and a translation is not automatically equal in legal force. Cambodia has no general nationwide entitlement to free interpretation for every administrative act. Private translation can create a separate cost, while public programme participation has no single nationwide language fee or uniform deadline. Khmer dominates registered national television, radio and online media. The Ministry of Information registers these media units, and English, Chinese and other language services also exist, although no current official nationwide breakdown of media language shares is available. Chapei Dang Veng connects Khmer oral language with intergenerational transmission, cultural and religious knowledge and social or political commentary. Minority languages remain strongly connected to local communities and cultural life, but their formal reach is fragmented. The Constitution protects equality regardless of language and recognizes expression, press, assembly and association. In practice, national participation, election information, forms and legal procedures rely mainly on Khmer. English and other languages can provide functional access in education, business and international administration, but the state does not impose a general requirement or provide a comprehensive multilingual administration. Khmer is nationally indispensable, while Cham and Indigenous languages have greater practical relevance in specific communities and northeastern provinces.