Cambodia

Through the ages

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Cambodia fought or stood against, from the first to today.

1. Champa1145 to 1220

   Angkor and the Cham kingdoms of today's central Vietnam raid each other for centuries. Suryavarman II takes the Cham capital in 1145, a Cham fleet sacks Angkor in 1177, and Jayavarman VII drives them out and rules Champa from 1203 to 1220.

2. 🇹🇭 Ayutthaya Kingdom1352 to 1594

   The Thai kingdom of Ayutthaya attacks Angkor repeatedly and sacks it around 1431, pushing the Khmer court south. After a long struggle, Siamese troops capture the Khmer capital of Longvek in 1594.

3. 🇻🇳 Nguyen Vietnam1620 to 1847

   From the 1620s Vietnamese settlers move into the Mekong delta, and the Nguyen rulers annex it piece by piece. Emperor Minh Mang rules Cambodia directly from 1835, until a Khmer revolt in 1840 and a war with Siam lead to a shared protectorate in the late 1840s.

4. 🇹🇭 Siam1794 to 1907

   Siam annexes Battambang and Siem Reap in 1794, crowns Khmer kings in Bangkok and fights Vietnam over Cambodia from 1841 to 1845. Under French pressure it returns the northwest, with Angkor, in 1907.

5. 🇫🇷 France1863 to 1953

   King Norodom accepts a French protectorate in 1863. A treaty forced on him in 1884 provokes a rebellion that lasts until 1886. After the Second World War, Sihanouk's royal crusade for independence ends French rule in 1953.

6. 🇹🇭 ThailandSince 1958Still open

   Cambodia and Thailand dispute the temple of Preah Vihear and the land around it. The World Court rules for Cambodia in 1962 and 2013, but troops clash between 2008 and 2011, and a soldier is killed in a new border clash in May 2025.

7. 🇺🇸 United States1969 to 1973

   To strike North Vietnamese bases and supply lines, the United States secretly bombs eastern Cambodia from 1969, invades it briefly in 1970 and keeps bombing until August 1973, killing many civilians and helping the Khmer Rouge recruit.

8. 🇻🇳 Vietnam1977 to 1989

   Khmer Rouge troops raid Vietnamese border villages, killing civilians. Vietnam invades in December 1978, takes Phnom Penh in January 1979 and occupies the country, fighting Khmer Rouge guerrillas along the Thai border until it withdraws in 1989.

Today

Cambodia now

Most Cambodians consider themselves to be Khmers, descendants of the Angkor Empire that extended over much of Southeast Asia and reached its zenith between the 10th and 13th centuries. Attacks by the Thai and Cham (from present-day Vietnam) weakened the empire, ushering in a long period of decline. The king placed the country under French protection in 1863, and it became part of French Indochina in 1887. Following Japanese occupation in World War II, Cambodia gained full independence from France in 1953.

Capital

Phnom Penh

Government

parliamentary constitutional monarchy

Area

181,035 km²

Through time

Then and now

• Population17.4 million2023 · 4.4 million in 1950
• Life expectancy70.7 years2023 · 38.9 years in 1950
• GDP per person$3,9442022 · $768 in 1950
• Living in cities41%2025 · 8% in 1950
• Literacy72%2021 · 18% in 1950
• Political regimeElectoral autocracy2025 · Closed autocracy in 1950
• Military alliancesNone of these2024 · None of these in 1950
• Military spending1.5% of GDP2025
• War deaths1.0 per 100,0002025

Population: HYDE 3.3, Gapminder and UN WPP. GDP per capita: Maddison Project Database 2023. Urban share: UN WPP. Life expectancy: Riley, HMD, UN WPP. Literacy: OWID historical estimates, World Bank, UNESCO. Military spending: SIPRI. War deaths: UCDP. Political regime: V-Dem, Regimes of the World. All via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0). Alliances and organization memberships: compiled by Atlas. Satellites in orbit: CelesTrak SATCAT. Modern borders, backcast.

Relations

Close partners and tensions

Summarised from World Bank and Wikipedia data, updated 23 October 2026.