Culture of Laos to connect Lao peoples on both the right and left banks. However, the political history of Laos has been complicated by frequent warfare and colonial conquests by European and regional rivals. As a result, Laos today has cultural influence from France, Thailand, China, Vietnam, Burma and Cambodia. The history of Laos is unique with a national character defined by its diversity in both culture and customs. , Laos has an estimated population of 6.5 million. The Lao government recognizes 47 distinct ethnicities, which are further sub-divided into 149 subgroups. Lao society is traditionally categorized into three broad groups based on
French language in Cambodia French language in Cambodia Cambodia is the smallest of the three Francophone communities in Southeast Asia, the others being found in Vietnam and Laos. Out of all Asian Francophone nations, Cambodia is where French has declined the most. In 2014, French was spoken by people as a foreign language, which is 3% of the country's population and by only 873 people as a mother tongue according to the country's 2008 census. The French language began its presence in Cambodia in the late 19th century after French explorers and merchants made their way from Vietnam into Cambodia. In 1863, Cambodia became