City in Cambodia
Kampot
Kampot is a small riverside town in southern Cambodia, with 32,053 people in its town district at the 2019 census, and farmland and Bokor Mountain around it. Two private guides describe a small expat community of retirees and remote workers; a 2026 guide says healthcare there is limited to basic clinics. [N1] [E1] [E2]
Why it is here
Why Kampot is on the list.
A city is listed when there is evidence that people move there. This is the evidence.
The Fernshore Index
How it grades, factor by factor.
Each grade is against a published measure, with its source and the date we checked it. It is research information, not advice. Where we have no figure, the row says Unknown.
Cost of living
89 of 100StrongCountry figure
Price level 0.336 of United States prices (2025).
Source: Price level index (GDP), Cambodia. Checked 15 October 2026.
Climate
0 of 100WeakOwn figure
Kampot station: 1 comfortable month a year (December: average daily high 30.0 °C, on the 30 °C line, and 28.5 mm of rain). Every other month has a high above 30 °C, and May to October have 196 to 381 mm of rain a month.
Source: Climate statistics, Kampot. Checked 16 October 2026.
Safety
35 of 100MixedCountry figure
Global Peace Index 2026: 96th of 163.
Source: Global Peace Index 2026, overall rank. Checked 15 October 2026.
Healthcare
11 of 100WeakCountry figure
WHO UHC service coverage index 62 (2023).
Source: UHC service coverage index (SDG 3.8.1). Checked 15 October 2026.
Schools
UnknownCountry figure
Our research doesn't cover schools yet.
Community
UnknownCountry figure
Not covered by Expat Insider 2026
Lifestyle
UnknownCountry figure
Not covered by Expat Insider 2026
Work and career
15 of 100WeakCountry figure
Weak: we found no residence route for remote workers (the business extension covers freelancers but needs a work permit for longer renewals, and a dedicated visa is only a business group's proposal), and fixed broadband is 4.1 per 100 people (2024), under the 30 line.
Source: Handbook on Investing in Cambodia, 2023 edition (Visa rules, page 69); Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people, Cambodia; Cambodian hoteliers miss targets as EuroCham demands visa reform. Checked 16 October 2026.
Retirement
50 of 100MixedCountry figure
Mixed: the retirement extension (ER) of the ordinary visa can be renewed indefinitely, 1, 3, 6 or 12 months at a time, but a private guide says it is open only from age 55, and no path to permanent residence is described.
Source: Handbook on Investing in Cambodia, 2023 edition (Visa rules, page 69); Cambodia immigration guide (visa types and extensions). Checked 16 October 2026.
Internet
8 of 100WeakCountry figure
4.15 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people (2024).
Source: Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people, Cambodia. Checked 15 October 2026.
English
0 of 100WeakCountry figure
EF EPI 2025 score 390, last of 123; the line gives about -40, held at 0.
Source: EF English Proficiency Index 2025: Cambodia. Checked 16 October 2026.
Visa, United States passport
UnknownCountry figure
Research for United States passports is being checked
Visa, Canada passport
UnknownCountry figure
Research for Canada passports is being checked
Visa, Australia passport
UnknownCountry figure
Research for Australia passports is being checked
Visa, New Zealand passport
UnknownCountry figure
Research for New Zealand passports is being checked
The country
More on Cambodia.
Cities
Other cities in Cambodia.
Questions about Kampot.
How big is Kampot?
Krong Kampot, the town district, had 32,053 people (7,216 households) at the March 2019 census; Kampot province had 593,829. A 2026 private guide lists the population as 40,000, a figure it does not source. No count of foreign residents was found.
What do rents cost in Kampot?
A private expat guide (verified August 2026) gives $100 to $250 a month for a one-bedroom or studio, and $150 to $350 in the Old Town and riverfront. It puts a single person's comfortable monthly total at $400 to $700. These are one guide's ranges, not an average.
What is the weather like in Kampot?
Average daily highs run from 30.0 °C in December to 33.5 °C in May. Rain averages 20.8 mm in February but 380.7 mm in August. Canada says the rainy season runs from May to November. The WMO station feed covers 1982 to 2024.
What is the expat community like in Kampot?
A 2026 private guide describes a small, tight-knit group of artists, writers, retirees and remote workers, with a coworking space at $40 to $60 a month. An older guide describes expats from Thailand, France, Portugal, the US and Italy running restaurants. Neither gives a headcount.
What are healthcare and internet like in Kampot?
A 2026 private guide says only basic clinics are local, anything serious means Phnom Penh (about 2.5 hours) or Bangkok, and internet runs at about 15 to 30 Mbps and can fail in storms. Canada calls medical facilities poor and limited outside some foreign hospitals in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap.
Sources
Where each figure comes from.
Every figure on this page links to the page we read, with the date we checked it.
- [N1] General Population Census of the Kingdom of Cambodia 2019: national report on final census results, National Institute of Statistics, Ministry of Planning, Cambodia. Checked 16 October 2026. Table P-07 (PDF page 195): Krong Kampot, the town district of Kampot province, 32,053 people (7,216 households) in March 2019; the province had 593,829.
- [E1] Living in Kampot, Cambodia 2026: cost of living, neighborhoods and expat tips, expatlife.ai (private expat guide, not official). Checked 16 October 2026. Marked 'Verified August 13, 2026'. 'The expat community is small but tight-knit': artists, writers, retirees and remote workers. A 'small riverside town', population listed as 40,000, on the Kampot River with Bokor Mountain behind and farmland around; Kep beach 25 minutes away; 'very limited healthcare: only basic clinics'; internet listed at about 15 to 30 Mbps; no headcount.
- [E2] Kampot city guide, Move to Cambodia (private relocation guide, not official). Checked 16 October 2026. Footer copyright 2025; the newest post shown is dated 9 November 2020. Says Kampot is 'becoming increasingly popular with both tourists and expats' and describes a restaurant scene run by expats from Thailand, France, Portugal, the US and Italy. No headcount, and no mention of retirees.
- [W1] Climate statistics, Kampot, World Meteorological Organization (World Weather Information Service), with data from the Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology, Cambodia. Checked 16 October 2026. Kampot station: mean daily highs 30.0 to 33.5 °C (January 31.0, February 31.6, March 31.9, April 33.0, May 33.5, June 32.7, July 32.1, August 30.7, September 30.9, October 30.6, November 30.6, December 30.0); rainfall in mm: 23.5, 20.8, 83.4, 123.9, 196.4, 201.4, 247.0, 380.7, 219.5, 242.8, 127.6, 28.5. Only December passes both tests (high 30.0 °C, which is on the 30 °C line, and 28.5 mm), so 1 comfortable month. Data period given by the WMO feed: 1982 to 2024.
- [C1] Price level index (GDP), Cambodia, World Bank. Checked 15 October 2026. 2025: 33.62 (United States = 100), read from the World Bank API on 15 October 2026.
- [S1] Global Peace Index 2026, overall rank, Institute for Economics and Peace. Checked 15 October 2026. Cambodia ranks 96th of 163 countries.
- [H1] UHC service coverage index (SDG 3.8.1), World Health Organization. Checked 15 October 2026. Cambodia: 62 out of 100 (2023).
- [K1] Handbook on Investing in Cambodia, 2023 edition (Visa rules, page 69), Council for the Development of Cambodia (government investment body), with the Australian government. Checked 16 October 2026. July 2023 edition, so about three years old. Says a foreigner enters on an E-class (ordinary) visa with a 30-day stay that can be extended after entry at the Immigration Department, and that extensions of more than 30 days become multiple-entry. The business extension (EB) is for foreigners working or starting a business in Cambodia, freelancers, and their spouse and children, and those wishing to work must also get a work permit and foreign employment card. 'EB (Business), ER (retirement), ES (student) can be renewed indefinitely (1, 3, 6 or 12 months' option) but the renewal of a business visa for a long period is subject to having a work permit.' States no age, income or deposit figure for the retirement extension (ER) and describes no route to permanent residence or for remote workers. A footnote (citing a private guide) says that during the first six months or year the EB visa can be obtained without a work permit.
- [K2] Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people, Cambodia, International Telecommunication Union, via the World Bank. Checked 15 October 2026. 2024: 4.15 per 100 people, read from the World Bank API on 15 October 2026.
- [K3] Cambodian hoteliers miss targets as EuroCham demands visa reform, Cambodge Mag (news site), reporting the European Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia's White Book 2027. Checked 16 October 2026. Page dated 'Aug 6' (year not shown; it refers to the White Book 2027, published 19 May). Reports EuroCham recommending 'an accessible 3-to-6-month entry option for digital nomads and remote professionals' and a low-friction route to the standard Type E visa and work permit for long stays. This is a business group's proposal, not government policy.
- [R1] Cambodia immigration guide (visa types and extensions), Acclime (corporate-services firm, private guide, not official). Checked 16 October 2026. Page text mentions 2026 and gives 'updated 24 July 2025' near its end. Says the retirement extension (ER) 'is only available to foreigners aged 55 or above who can financially support themselves' and has proof of retirement such as a pension or social security, issued for one, three, six or 12 months; the EB extension covers workers, people starting a business and freelancers, and does not by itself allow work (a work permit and foreign employment card are also needed).
- [F1] EF English Proficiency Index 2025: Cambodia, EF Education First (private test-taker index). Checked 16 October 2026. Score 390, rank 123 of 123 countries and regions (last), 18 points down on the previous score; the 2026 edition was not yet published on 16 October 2026.