The Europeans and the Indians constituted the smallest ethnic minorities in Cambodia prior to 1975. In 1950 there were about 4,500 Europeans and about 2,500 Indians in addition to small numbers of other Asians in that country. More than 90 percent of the Europeans lived in Phnom Penh, and the next largest number lived in Kampong Cham. A small Burmese minority, the Kola, was found in unspecified numbers in the gem-mining areas of Batdambang and Rotanokiri provinces in prewar days. Many of the Europeans served as technical advisers to the Cambodian government, or they worked for Western businesses. The Indians often were involved in moneylending and in small businesses, such as those that sold books and cloth. In the 1980s, Soviet and East European advisers supported the PRK government, but no accurate estimate of their numbers was available.

Data as of December 1987