Cambodia Emigration and Immigration

Online Sources

 * 1873-1914 French Oversees Cambodia Civil Registration and Parish Records, 1873-1914, index and images.
 * 1890-1960 Passenger Lists Leaving UK 1890-1960 at Findmypast; index & images, ($)

British Overseas Subjects

 * British Armed Forces and Overseas Births and Baptisms, Cambodia, index and images, ($)
 * British Armed Forces and Overseas Banns and Marriages, Cambodia, index and images, ($)
 * British Armed Forces and Overseas Deaths and Burials, index and images, ($)

Cambodia Emigration and Immigration
"Emigration" means moving out of a country. "Immigration" means moving into a country. Emigration and immigration sources list the names of people leaving (emigrating) or arriving (immigrating) in the country. These sources may be passenger lists, permissions to emigrate, or records of passports issued. The information in these records may include the emigrants’ names, ages, occupations, destinations, and places of origin or birthplaces. Sometimes they also show family groups.

Historical Background

 * The region now known as Cambodia has been inhabited since prehistoric times. In 802 AD, Jayavarman II united the warring Khmer princes of Chenla under the name "Kambuja". This marked the beginning of the Khmer Empire, which flourished for over 600 years.
 * The Indianized kingdom facilitated the spread of first Hinduism and then Buddhism to much of Southeast Asia.
 * In the fifteenth century, Cambodia experienced a decline of power, while its neighbors Vietnam and Thailand grew stronger.
 * In 1863, Cambodia became a protectorate of France, and later was incorporated into French Indochina.
 * The country was under Japanese occupation during the Second World War before French control was restored.
 * Cambodia gained independence from France in 1953.


 * The largest ethnic group in Cambodia are the Khmers, who comprise around 90% of the total population in Cambodia, and are indigenous to the lowland Mekong subregion in which they inhabit. The Vietnamese are the second-largest ethnic minority in Cambodia, with an estimated 16,000 living in provinces concentrated in the southeast of the country adjacent to the Mekong Delta. Chinese Cambodians are approximately 0.1% of the population.Most Chinese are descended from 19th–20th-century settlers who came in search of trade and commerce opportunities during the time of the French protectorate. Most are urban dwellers, engaged primarily in commerce.
 * Prior to the Cambodian Civil War which lasted from between 1970 until the Khmer Rouge victory on April 17, 1975, there were an estimated 30,000 colons, or French citizens living in the country. After the civil war began most left to go back to France or to live in the United States.
 * After the United Nations helped restore the monarchy in the early 1990s, the number of Western individuals (termed Barang by the Khmer) living in the country swelled into the tens of thousands. And due to the further economic boom of the 21st century, these numbers have only risen.
 * Expatriate workers from across the globe probably number around 150,000 in the capital of Phnom Penh alone. These diplomats, investors, archaeologists, lawyers, artists, entrepreneurs, and NGO employees include sizeable numbers of Europeans, Americans and Australians, as well as those from neighbouring Southeast Asian states, Koreans, Japanese, Chinese and Russians, along with smaller numbers of Africans.

Emigration From Cambodia
KNOMAD Statistics: Emigrants: 1,114,226. Top destination countries: Thailand, United States, France, Australia, Canada, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Lao PDR