Democratic Kampuchea, 1975–1979

Autocracy · Republic · Southeast Asia · Détente Era era

The Khmer Rouge emptied the cities and abolished money in a radical agrarian revolution that killed a large share of the population before a Vietnamese invasion ended it.

On taking Phnom Penh in 1975 the Khmer Rouge evacuated the cities, abolished money, markets and private property, and organized the population into agrarian communes. Perceived class enemies, ethnic minorities and suspected internal traitors were executed or worked and starved to death, killing an estimated fifth to a quarter of the population. Governance ran through the secretive party centre known as Angkar, with successive internal purges. Border clashes with Vietnam escalated into a full invasion that toppled the regime in January 1979.

Open Democratic Kampuchea 1975–1979 in the interactive 3D atlas →

Dominant patterns

  • Economic Crisis
  • Authoritarian Shift
  • Personalist Rule
  • Militarization
  • External Expansion

Political-science factor profile

Each factor 0–100; higher = stronger authoritarian / crisis pole (except institutional stability, where higher = stronger institutions).

Centralization of Power90
Media Control95
Repression100
Nationalism80
Militarization78
Economic Stress92
External Conflict72
Cult of Personality68
Elite Fragmentation45
Institutions20
Social Polarization70
Corruption & Patrimonialism25
Ideological Mobilization98
External Sovereignty70

Economy & society

GDP per capita$500 (intl-$)
GDP growth-10%/yr
Population6.5M people
Share of world population0.15%
Urban share10%
Life expectancy20 years

Closest historical twins

The country-eras whose structural profile most resembles Democratic Kampuchea 1975–1979, by similarity score (0–100).

  1. China, 1949–1965 – similarity 92/100 · shared: Economic Crisis, Authoritarian Shift, Personalist Rule, Militarization, External Expansion
  2. Iraq, 1979–2003 – similarity 88/100 · shared: Economic Crisis, Authoritarian Shift, Personalist Rule, Militarization, External Expansion
  3. Iran, 1979–2024 – similarity 87/100 · shared: Economic Crisis, Authoritarian Shift, Personalist Rule, Militarization, External Expansion
  4. USSR, 1929–1953 – similarity 84/100 · shared: Authoritarian Shift, Personalist Rule, Militarization, External Expansion
  5. Rwanda, 1990–1994 – similarity 83/100 · shared: Economic Crisis, Authoritarian Shift, Militarization, External Expansion
  6. Serbia, 1989–2000 – similarity 80/100 · shared: Economic Crisis, Authoritarian Shift, Personalist Rule, Militarization, External Expansion
  7. North Korea, 1994–2024 – similarity 79/100 · shared: Economic Crisis, Authoritarian Shift, Personalist Rule, Militarization
  8. Cuba, 1959–2006 – similarity 79/100 · shared: Economic Crisis, Authoritarian Shift, Personalist Rule, Militarization

What followed

  • The Cambodian genocide.
  • Overthrow by the 1979 Vietnamese invasion.