# Cambodia and Vietnam compared

Cambodia and Vietnam side by side: 43 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, and the 4 events their chronicles record of each other.

Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/khm-vs-vnm
Updated: 2026-08-10 (latest of the two dossiers' refreshes and the two chronicles' verification dates)

Two sourced records set beside each other — nothing on this page was written for the pair. Every figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two national dossiers; every event is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle. Figures are compared, never graded. A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero; each value shows its own observation year — vintages differ by indicator and nation.

## Formation

- Cambodia: 802 — Jayavarman II declares himself chakravartin on Mount Mahendraparvata
- Vietnam: 257 BCE — Thục Phán founds Âu Lạc from Nam Cương and Văn Lang

## Economy

| Metric | Cambodia | Observed | Vietnam | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP | $46 B | 2024 | $476 B | 2024 |
| GDP per capita | $2,628 | 2024 | $4,717 | 2024 |
| GDP growth | 6.0% | 2024 | 7.1% | 2024 |
| Inflation | 0.8% | 2024 | 3.6% | 2024 |
| Trade openness | 143.4% | 2024 | 173.9% | 2024 |

## Society

| Metric | Cambodia | Observed | Vietnam | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 18 m | 2024 | 101 m | 2024 |
| Life expectancy | 70.8 yrs | 2024 | 74.7 yrs | 2024 |
| Urban population | 40.9% | 2024 | 38.5% | 2024 |
| Fertility rate | 2.5 | 2024 | 1.9 | 2024 |

## Governance

| Metric | Cambodia | Observed | Vietnam | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voice & accountability | 27.6 | 2024 | 37.6 | 2024 |
| Political stability | 68.1 | 2024 | 66.0 | 2024 |
| Government effectiveness | 45.6 | 2024 | 49.5 | 2024 |
| Regulatory quality | 44.9 | 2024 | 50.7 | 2024 |
| Rule of law | 38.8 | 2024 | 51.6 | 2024 |
| Control of corruption | 22.9 | 2024 | 42.8 | 2024 |

## Health

| Metric | Cambodia | Observed | Vietnam | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health spending | 4.6% | 2023 | 4.6% | 2023 |
| Physicians | 0.21 | 2019 | 1.11 | 2021 |
| Under-5 mortality | 18.4 | 2024 | 17.3 | 2024 |
| Measles immunisation | 83.0% | 2024 | 98.0% | 2024 |
| Safe drinking water | 30.0% | 2024 | 58.6% | 2024 |

## Education

| Metric | Cambodia | Observed | Vietnam | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult literacy | 71.9% | 2021 | 96.1% | 2022 |
| Education spending | 2.2% | 2023 | 2.9% | 2022 |
| Primary enrolment | 109.0% | 2024 | 106.3% | 2024 |
| Secondary enrolment | 58.8% | 2024 | 93.4% | 2022 |
| Tertiary enrolment | 21.4% | 2024 | 37.6% | 2024 |

## Technology

| Metric | Cambodia | Observed | Vietnam | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R&D spending | 0.1% | 2015 | 0.4% | 2023 |
| Researchers (per million) | 30 | 2015 | 836 | 2023 |
| Internet users | 68.5% | 2024 | 84.2% | 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptions | 116 | 2024 | 128 | 2024 |
| High-tech exports | 5.3% | 2024 | 44.3% | 2023 |

## Geography

| Metric | Cambodia | Observed | Vietnam | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Land area | 176,520 km² | 2023 | 313,429 km² | 2023 |
| Forest area | 43.1% | 2023 | 47.4% | 2023 |
| Agricultural land | 34.9% | 2023 | 39.2% | 2023 |
| CO₂ per capita (t) | 1.1 | 2024 | 4.3 | 2024 |
| Renewable energy | 52.4% | 2021 | 24.2% | 2021 |

## Resources

| Metric | Cambodia | Observed | Vietnam | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resource rents | 0.8% | 2021 | 2.5% | 2021 |
| Oil rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.7% | 2021 |
| Mineral rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.1% | 2021 |
| Forest rents | 0.8% | 2021 | 1.1% | 2021 |
| Electricity access | 95.0% | 2023 | 99.8% | 2023 |
| Rare earths | — | — | 150 t | 2025 |
| Bauxite | — | — | 3.8 Mt | 2025 |
| Phosphate rock | — | — | 3.0 Mt | 2025 |

## Military

| Metric | Cambodia | Observed | Vietnam | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Military burden | 1.5% | 2024 | 1.8% | 2018 |
| Defense spending | $721 M | 2024 | $5.5 B | 2018 |
| Armed forces | 191,000 | 2020 | 522,000 | 2020 |

Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/<metric>.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/KHM.md and https://terralore.co/country/VNM.md.

## Entangled histories (4 events)

Events in which either nation's sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the record exactly as its own chronicle carries it, with that chronicle's sources.

- 1863 CE: **French protectorate established** — King Norodom signs a treaty placing Cambodia under French protection to fend off Siamese and Vietnamese pressure; Siam acknowledges the protectorate by 1867. (from the Cambodia chronicle; sources: Norodom; Cambodia Gains Independence from France)
- 17 October 1887: **French Indochina established** — France unites Cochinchina, Annam, Tonkin, and Cambodia into the Indochinese Union; Laos is added in 1893, binding Vietnam into a colonial federation centered on Hanoi. (from the Vietnam chronicle; sources: French Indochina / Conquest of Vietnam)
- December 1978 - January 1979: **Vietnamese intervention ends the regime** — Vietnam invades Cambodia, captures Phnom Penh in January 1979, ousts the Khmer Rouge, and ends the genocide, beginning a decade-long occupation. (from the Cambodia chronicle; sources: Cambodia: Vietnamese intervention; Cambodian genocide)
- 1979 CE: **Sino-Vietnamese War** — China invades northern Vietnam in response to Vietnam's ousting of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia; the brief but bloody border war deepens Vietnam's isolation. (from the Vietnam chronicle; sources: Vietnam)

## Sources

- World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://data.worldbank.org
- Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators
- Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.who.int/data/gho
- Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://childmortality.org
- R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://uis.unesco.org
- ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics
- Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex
- Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 — U.S. Geological Survey · Public domain (U.S. Government work) · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center

Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/KHM/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/VNM/chronicle.md.

Citation template: Terralore, "Cambodia and Vietnam compared", terralore.co/compare/khm-vs-vnm, retrieved <YYYY-MM-DD>.