It borders the provinces of Mondulkiri to the south and Stung Treng to the west and the countries of Laos (Attapeu in Khmer Language is Ach Krapeu) and Vietnam (Gia Lai and Kon Tum) to the north and east, respectively.

The slave trade economy ended during the French colonial era, but a harsh Khmerization campaign after Cambodia's independence again threatened Khmer Loeu ways of life.

[8] During the 1950s and 1960s, Norodom Sihanouk instituted a development and Khmerization campaign in northeast Cambodia that was designed to bring villages under government control, limit the influence of insurgents in the area, and "modernize" indigenous communities.

[10] After facing harsh working conditions and sometimes involuntary labor on the plantations, many Khmer Loeu left their traditional homes and moved farther from provincial towns.

[14] The Communist Party of Kampuchea headquarters was moved to Ratanakiri in 1966, and hundreds of Khmer Loeu joined CPK units.

[17] Between March 1969 and May 1970, the United States undertook a massive covert bombing campaign in the region, aiming to disrupt sanctuaries for communist Vietnamese troops.

Villagers were forced outside of main towns to escape the bombings, foraging for food and living on the run with the Khmer Rouge.

[20] The Khmer Loeu were forbidden from speaking their native languages or practicing their traditional customs and religion, which were seen as incompatible with communism.

[23] Preliminary studies indicate that bodies accounting for approximately 5% of Ratanakiri's residents were deposited in mass graves, a significantly lower rate than elsewhere in Cambodia.

[27] The national government has built roads, encouraged tourism and agriculture, and facilitated rapid immigration of lowland Khmers into Ratanakiri.

[29] Despite a 2001 law allowing indigenous communities to obtain collective title to traditional lands, some villages have been left nearly landless.

[32] The geography of Ratanakiri Province is diverse, encompassing rolling hills, mountains, plateaus, lowland watersheds, and crater lakes.

[34] In the far north of the province are mountains of the Annamite Range; the area is characterized by dense broadleaf evergreen forests, relatively poor soil, and abundant wildlife.

[39] Ratanakiri has some of the most biologically diverse lowland tropical rainforest and montane forest ecosystems in mainland Southeast Asia.

[34] Nearly half of Ratanakiri has been set aside in protected areas,[43] which include Lomphat Wildlife Sanctuary and Virachey National Park.

[47] Government in Ratanakiri is weak, largely due to the province's remoteness, ethnic diversity, and recent history of Khmer Rouge dominance.

[53] Political scientist Caroline Hughes has suggested that the CPP's overwhelming dominance in rural areas such as Ratanakiri stems from the central government's ability to suppress collective action, which in urban areas is offset by international donors and NGOs that provide support for opposition parties.

Many families are beginning to shift production to cash crops such as cashews, mangoes, and tobacco, a trend that has accelerated in recent years.

[34] Barter exchange remains widespread, and Khmer Loeu villagers tended to visit markets only once per year until quite recently.

[34] As of 2005, monetary income in the province averaged US$5 per month per person; purchased possessions such as motorcycles, televisions, and karaoke sets have become extremely desirable.

[71] John Dennis, a researcher for the Asian Development Bank, described the logging in Ratanakiri as a "human rights emergency".

[87] Within the Khmer Loeu population, 35% were Tampuan as of 1996, 24% were Jarai, 23% were Kreung, 11% were Brou, 3% were Kachok, and 3% were Kavet, with other groups making up the remaining one percent.

[97] Medical equipment and supplies are minimal, and most health facilities are staffed by nurses or midwives, who are often poorly trained and irregularly paid.

[100] Access to education is limited because of the expense of books, distance to schools, children's need to contribute to their families' livelihood, frequent absence of teachers, and instruction that is culturally inappropriate and in a language foreign to most students.

[110] Khmer Loeu typically practice subsistence slash and burn shifting cultivation in small villages of between 20 and 60 nuclear families.

[117] Some families have begun to plant maize to alleviate this problem; other sources of grain include potatoes, cassava, and taro.

[119] Houses in rural Ratanakiri are made from bamboo, rattan, wood, saek, and kanma leaves, all of which are collected from nearby forests; they typically last for around three years.

[122] Major sacrificial festivals in Ratanakiri occur during March and April, when fields are selected and prepared for the new planting season.

[127] Because of the province's high prevalence of malaria and its distance from regional centers, Ratanakiri was isolated from Western influences until the late 20th century.

[36] Major cultural shifts have occurred in recent years however, particularly in villages near roads and district towns; these changes have been attributed to contact with internal immigrants, government officials, and NGO workers.