The largest of the
ethnic groups in Cambodia are the
Khmer, who comprise approximately 90% of the total population and primarily inhabit the lowland Mekong subregion and the central plains. The Khmer historically have lived near the
lower Mekong River in a contiguous arc that runs from the southern
Khorat Plateau where modern-day
Thailand,
Laos and
Cambodia meet in the northeast, stretching southwest through the lands surrounding
Tonle Sap lake to the
Cardamom Mountains, then continues back southeast to the mouth of the Mekong River in southeastern
Vietnam.