Vietnamese in Cambodia


Population
Main Language
Largest Religion
Christian
Evangelical
Progress
Progress Gauge

Introduction / History

The Vietnamese come to Cambodia for many reasons. Some have lived there for generations. Vietnamese began migrating to Cambodia as early as the seventeenth century. In 1863, when Cambodia became a French colony, many Vietnamese were brought to Cambodia by the French to work on plantations and occupy civil servant positions. During the Lon Nol Regime (1970-1975) and Pol Pot regime (1975-1979), many of the Vietnamese living in Cambodia were killed. Others were either repatriated or escaped to Vietnam or Thailand. During the ten year Vietnamese occupation of Cambodia from 1979 until 1989 many of the Vietnamese who had previously lived in Cambodia returned. Along with them came friends and relatives. Also, many former South Vietnamese soldiers came to Cambodia fleeing persecution from the communist government. Today Vietnamese come to Cambodia looking for work.


What Are Their Lives Like?

While many Vietnamese come to Cambodia looking for a better life, few find it. Due to Vietnam's ten year occupation of Cambodia, most Cambodians harbor a deep distrust and dislike of the Vietnamese. Most Vietnamese in Cambodia live in poverty with inadequate food and housing and no access to clean water. Many are without land, living in floating villages on the lake or rivers. Diseases such as tuberculosis and AIDS are spreading among the people. They have limited access to medical care and educational systems. They earn their living as fishermen, vendors and common laborers.
However, there is a growing number of middle-class Vietnamese. They own restaurants, computer shops, beauty salons or other small businesses. Most Vietnamese maintain their own language, culture and traditions, with little integration into Khmer culture.


What Are Their Beliefs?

If asked, a majority of Vietnamese would claim to be Buddhist. However, though most Vietnamese would identify themselves as Buddhist, they are unfamiliar with the teachings and practices of Buddhism. The Vietnamese follow Mahayana Buddhism, not the Theravada Buddhism of Cambodian. The more important religious practices of the Vietnamese center around ancestor worship and animism. Food and beverage are regularly offered to deceased relatives and other spirits. On special holidays, paper votives representing money and gold are burned and sent to the deceased ancestors. It is their belief that these spirits have the ability to influence the lives of the living, so they must be appeased. They live in constant fear that an unappeased spirit will bring misfortune upon them and their families.


What Are Their Needs?

The majority of the Vietnamese of Cambodia live in extreme poverty. They lack clean water, sanitation facilities, schools, basic health care and jobs. But their greatest need is the joy and hope that comes in knowing Christ. Many of the Vietnamese have never heard the gospel.


Prayer Points

Pray that God will send harvesters to this field and open doors to the gospel among the Vietnamese of Cambodia.
Pray for a spiritual hunger among the Vietnamese that drives them to read the Bible and listen to Christian radio programs.
Pray for a church planting movement in Vietnam and Cambodia.


Scripture Prayers for the Vietnamese in Cambodia.


References

quora.com/What-is-the-main-religion-in-Vietnamquora.com/What-is-the-main-religion-in-Vietnam
wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam


Profile Source:   Joshua Project  

People Name General Vietnamese
People Name in Country Vietnamese
Pronunciation vee-et-nahm-EEZ
Alternate Names Annamese; Annanese; Ching; Cing; Gin; Jhing; King; Kinh; Kinh (Việt); Viet
Population this Country 827,000
Population all Countries 86,819,000
Total Countries 36
Indigenous No
Progress Scale 1
Unreached Yes
Frontier People Group No
GSEC 2  (per PeopleGroups.org)
Pioneer Workers Needed 17
People ID 12700
ROP3 Code 105018
ROP25 Code 304033
ROP25 Name Vietnamese (Kinh)
Country Cambodia
Region Asia, Southeast
Continent Asia
10/40 Window Yes
National Bible Society Website
Persecution Rank Not ranked
Location in Country Phnom Penh; generally dispersed longstanding population; communities in urban areas, including Siemreab, Preah Sihanouk, Ta Khmau, others.   Source:  Ethnologue 2016
Country Cambodia
Region Asia, Southeast
Continent Asia
10/40 Window Yes
National Bible Society Website
Persecution Rank Not ranked
Location in Country Phnom Penh; generally dispersed longstanding population; communities in urban areas, including Siemreab, Preah Sihanouk, Ta Khmau, others..   Source:  Ethnologue 2016
Map of Vietnamese in Cambodia Ethnolinguistic map or other map

Primary Religion: Buddhism
Religion Subdivision: Mahayana
Major Religion Percent
Buddhism
66.00 %
Christianity  (Evangelical 0.17 %)
3.00 %
Ethnic Religions
0.00 %
Hinduism
0.00 %
Islam
1.00 %
Non-Religious
19.00 %
Other / Small
11.00 %
Unknown
0.00 %
Primary Language Vietnamese (827,000 speakers)
Language Code vie   Ethnologue Listing
Language Written Yes   ScriptSource Listing
Total Languages 1
Primary Language Vietnamese (827,000 speakers)
Language Code vie   Ethnologue Listing
Total Languages 1
People Groups Speaking Vietnamese

Primary Language:  Vietnamese

Bible Translation Status  (Years)
Bible-Portions Yes  (1890-1989)
Bible-New Testament Yes  (1914-2011)
Bible-Complete Yes  (1916-2020)
FCBH NT (www.bible.is) Online
YouVersion NT (www.bible.com) Online
Possible Print Bibles
Amazon
World Bibles
Forum Bible Agencies
National Bible Societies
World Bible Finder
Virtual Storehouse
Resource Type Resource Name Source
Audio Recordings Audio Bible teaching Global Recordings Network
Audio Recordings DAVAR Partners recording, complete Bible DAVAR Partners International
Audio Recordings General Ministry Resources General / Other
Audio Recordings Online Audio Scripture Talking Bibles
Audio Recordings Story of Jesus audio Jesus Film Project
Film / Video God's Story video God's Story
Film / Video Indigitube.tv Video / Animation Create International
Film / Video Jesus Film: view in Vietnamese Jesus Film Project
Film / Video Love letter to you from scripture Father's Love Letter
Film / Video LUMO film of Gospels Bible Media Group/LUMO
Film / Video Magdalena video Jesus Film Project
Film / Video My Last Day video, anime Jesus Film Project
Film / Video Rivka video Jesus Film Project
Film / Video Story of Jesus for Children Jesus Film Project
Film / Video The Hope Video Mars Hill Media
Film / Video World Christian Videos World Christian Videos
General Bible for Children Bible for Children
General Biblical answers to your questions Got Questions Ministry
General Faith Comes By Hearing - Bible in text or audio or video Faith Comes by Hearing
General Faith Comes By Hearing - Bible in text or audio or video Faith Comes by Hearing
General Faith Comes By Hearing - Bible in text or audio or video Faith Comes by Hearing
General Faith Comes By Hearing - Bible in text or audio or video Faith Comes by Hearing
General Faith Comes By Hearing - Bible in text or audio or video Faith Comes by Hearing
General Faith Comes By Hearing - Bible in text or audio or video Faith Comes by Hearing
General Faith Comes By Hearing - Bible in text or audio or video Faith Comes by Hearing
Photo Source Copyrighted © 2024  Dragon Images - Shutterstock  All rights reserved.  Used with permission
Map Source People Group location: Cambodia Research Network. Map geography: ESRI / GMI. Map design: Joshua Project.  
Profile Source Joshua Project 
Data Sources Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more.



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