Cambodia Facts

THE OVERVIEW OF CAMBODIA
The Kingdom of Cambodia is a country in Southeast Asia with a population of more than 13 million. Cambodia is the successor state of the once powerful Hindu and Buddhist Khmer Empire, which ruled most of the Indochinese Peninsula between the 11th and 14th centuries.
A citizen of Cambodia is usually identified as “Cambodian” or “Khmer”, which strictly refers to ethnic Khmers. Most Cambodians are Theravada Buddhists of Khmer extraction, but the country also has a substantial number of predominantly Muslim Cham, as well as small hill tribes.
The country shares a border with Thailand to its west and northwest, with Laos to its northeast, and with Cambodia to its east and southeast. In the south it faces the Gulf of Thailand. The geography of Cambodia is dominated by the Mekong river and the Tonlé Sap , an important source of fish. Its low geography means much of the country sits near to below sea level, and its main source of water from the Mekong reverses its water flow in the wet season into the neighbouring Tonle Sap River. The most densely populated areas lie on the fertile central plains of the Mekong-Tonle basin.
The ancient temples, empty beaches, mighty rivers, remote forests and the famed Angkor Wat await visitor’s discovery. Cambodia has emerged from the decades of war and isolation that made it a byword for atrocities and political instability and is well and truly back on the South-East Asian travel map.

CAMBODIA FAST FACTS

Capital(and largest city)
Phnom Penh11°33'N 104°55'E

Official languages
Khmer

Government
Democratic constitutional monarchy

King
Norodom Sihamoni

Prime Minister
Hun Sen

Independence
from France

Declared
1949

Recognized
1953

Area
– Total: 181,035 km² (89th)69,898 sq mi – Water: (%) 2.5

Population
– July 2005 estimate: 14,071,000 (63rd)- 1998 census : 11,437,656- Density: 78/km² (111th)201/sq mi

GDP (PPP) 2005 estimate
– Total: 2005 estimate- Per capita: $2,399 (133rd)

HDI (2003)
0.704 (medium) (108th)

Currency
Riel currency code = KHR

Time zone
UTC+7

Internet 
TLD .kh

Calling code
+ 855