Cambodia: Reconstructing the Demographic Stab of the Past and Forecasting the Demographic Scar of the Future

Abstract

Cambodia went through 5 years of violent internal conflicts (1970–1975), including the spread of the American–Vietnamese war into the country, followed by four more years of brutal and chaotic Khmer Rouge government (1975–1979). The result was almost 2 million deaths. This article attempts to contribute to the reconstruction of the demographic history of Cambodia. This is done in three ways. First, by analysing scars in the pyramids corresponding to the recent past, present and future; second, by estimating major demographic events during the 1970s, especially excess deaths; and third, by comparing the size and composition of a simulated normal population with the real population.