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Cambodia

Cambodia (/kæmˈbdiə/ (listen);[11] also Kampuchea /ˌkæmpʊˈə/; Khmer: កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: Kâmpŭchéa [kampuciə]), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of 181,035 square kilometres (69,898 square miles), bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, Vietnam to the east, and the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest. The capital and largest city is Phnom Penh.

Kingdom of Cambodia
ព្រះរាជាណាចក្រកម្ពុជា (Khmer)
Preăh Réachéanachâkr Kâmpŭchéa
Motto: ជាតិ សាសនា ព្រះមហាក្សត្រ
Chéatĕ, Sasânéa, Preăh Môhaksâtr
"Nation, Religion, King"
Anthem: បទនគររាជ
Nôkôr Réach
"Majestic Kingdom"
Location of Cambodia (green)

in ASEAN (dark grey)  –  [Legend]

Capital
and largest city
Phnom Penh
11°33′N 104°55′E / 11.550°N 104.917°E / 11.550; 104.917
Official language
and national language
Khmer[1]
Official scriptKhmer[1]
Ethnic groups
(2019)
Religion
(2019)
Demonym(s)
GovernmentUnitary dominant-party parliamentary elective constitutional monarchy
• Monarch
Norodom Sihamoni
Hun Sen
Say Chhum
Heng Samrin
LegislatureParliament
Senate
National Assembly
Formation
• Funan
68–550
• Chenla
550–802
802–1431
1431–1863
11 August 1863
9 November 1953
24 September 1993
Area
• Total
181,035 km2 (69,898 sq mi) (88th)
• Water (%)
2.5
Population
• 2022 estimate
16,713,015[5] (72nd)
• Density
87/km2 (225.3/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)2022 estimate
• Total
$87.856 billion[6]
• Per capita
$5,493[6]
GDP (nominal)2022 estimate
• Total
$28.020 billion[6]
• Per capita
$1,752[6]
Gini (2013)36.0[7]
medium
HDI (2021) 0.593[8]
medium · 146th
Currency
[9][10]
Time zoneUTC+07:00 (ICT)
Date formatdd/mm/yyyy
Driving sideright
Calling code+855
ISO 3166 codeKH
Internet TLD.kh

The sovereign state of Cambodia has a population of over 17 million.[12] Buddhism is enshrined in the constitution as the official state religion, and is practised by more than 97% of the population.[13] Cambodia's minority groups include Vietnamese, Chinese, Chams and 30 hill tribes.[14] Cambodia has a tropical monsoon climate of two seasons, and the country is made up of a central floodplain around the Tonlé Sap lake and Mekong Delta, surrounded by mountainous regions. The capital and largest city is Phnom Penh, the political, economic and cultural centre of Cambodia. The kingdom is an elective constitutional monarchy with a monarch, currently Norodom Sihamoni, chosen by the Royal Council of the Throne as head of state. The head of government is the Prime Minister, currently Hun Sen, the longest serving non-royal leader in Southeast Asia, who has ruled since 1985.

The region now known as Cambodia has been inhabited since prehistoric times. In 802 AD, Jayavarman II declared himself king, uniting the warring Khmer princes of Chenla under the name "Kambuja".[15] This marked the beginning of the Khmer Empire, which flourished for over 600 years. The Indianised kingdom facilitated the spread of first Hinduism and then Buddhism to much of Southeast Asia and undertook many religious infrastructural projects throughout the region. Angkor Wat is the most famous of these structures and is designated as a World Heritage Site. In the fifteenth century, Cambodia experienced a decline of power, while its neighbors Vietnam and Thailand grew stronger. In 1863, Cambodia became a protectorate of France, and later was part of French Indochina.

After a period of Japanese occupation during the Second World War, Cambodia gained independence from France in 1953. Despite Cambodia's neutrality, the Vietnam War extended into the country in 1965 via the Ho Chi Minh and Sihanouk trails. A 1970 coup installed the US-aligned Khmer Republic, until being overthrown by the Khmer Rouge in 1975. The Khmer Rouge ruled the country and carried out the Cambodian genocide from 1975 until 1979, when they were ousted in the Cambodian–Vietnamese War. The Vietnamese-occupied People's Republic of Kampuchea became the de facto government, with attempts to rebuild the country after the genocide mired by limited international recognition and ongoing conflict.

Following the 1991 Paris Peace Accords which formally ended the war with Vietnam, Cambodia was governed briefly by a United Nations mission (1992–93). The UN withdrew after holding elections in which around 90 percent of the registered voters cast ballots. The 1997 coup d'état consolidated power under Prime Minister Hun Sen and the Cambodian People's Party (CPP), who remain in power. Although constitutionally a multi-party state,[16] the CPP dominates the political system and dissolved its main opposition party in 2017, making Cambodia a de facto one-party state.[17]

The United Nations designates Cambodia as a least developed country.[18] Cambodia is a member of the United Nations, ASEAN, the RCEP, the East Asia Summit, the WTO, the Non-Aligned Movement and La Francophonie. While per capita income remains low compared to most neighboring countries, Cambodia has one of the fastest-growing economies in Asia. Agriculture remains the dominant economic sector, with strong growth in textiles, construction, garments, and tourism leading to increased foreign investment and international trade.[19] Rich in biodiversity and seasonal tropical forests, Cambodia has a high rate of deforestation and is considered among the most vulnerable countries to climate change.

Etymology

The Kingdom of Cambodia is the official English name of the country. The English Cambodia is an anglicisation of the French Cambodge, which in turn is the French transliteration of the Khmer កម្ពុជា (Kâmpŭchéa, pronounced [kampuciə]). Kâmpŭchéa is the shortened alternative to the country's official name in Khmer ព្រះរាជាណាចក្រកម្ពុជា (Preăh Réachéanachâkr Kâmpŭchéa, pronounced [prĕəh riəciənaːcak kampuciə]. The Khmer endonym កម្ពុជា Kâmpŭchéa derives from the Sanskrit name कम्बोजदेश Kambojadeśa, composed of देश Deśa ("land of" or "country of") and कम्बोज (Kamboja), referring to the descendants of Kambu (a legendary Indian sage from the ancient Indian kingdom of Kamboja), whose descendant Kaundinya I (Hùntián (混塡) and Preah Thong (Khmer: ព្រះថោង)), a warrior belonging to the Kamboja-Pala dynasty, ruling over the historical region of Kalinga, situated on the Eastern Coastal Plains, went to war with the Nāga Queen Soma of the Funan region, resulting in a victory, which was eventually turned into a marriage proposal (holy union) by Queen Soma herself, resulting in the foundation of the first ancient Khmer kingdom.[20] The term Cambodia was already in use in Europe as early as 1524, since Antonio Pigafetta (an Italian explorer who followed Ferdinand Magellan in his circumnavigation of the globe) cites it in his work Relazione del primo viaggio intorno al mondo (1524–1525) as Camogia.[21]

Scholar George Coedes refers to a 10th-century inscription of a Cambodian dynastic legend in which the hermit Kambu Swayambhuva and the celestial nymph Mera unite and establish the Cambodian Solar royal dynasty (Kambu-Mera), that begins with the Chenla ruler Srutavarman and his son Sreshthavarman. Coedes suggests that the Kambu Swayambhuva legend has its origins in southern India, as a version of the Kanchi Pallava dynasty creation myth.[22][23]

Colloquially, Cambodians refer to their country as either Srok Khmer (ស្រុកខ្មែរ Srŏk Khmêr, pronounced [srok kʰmae]; meaning "Land of the Khmers"), or the slightly more formal ប្រទេសកម្ពុជា (Prâtés Kâmpŭchéa, pronounced [prɑteh kampuciə]; "Country of Kampuchea"). The name Cambodia is used most often in the Western world while Kampuchea is more widely used in the East.[24][25][26]

History

Pre-history

 
Glazed stoneware dating back to the 12th century

There exists sparse evidence for a Pleistocene human occupation of present-day Cambodia, which includes quartz and quartzite pebble tools found in terraces along the Mekong River, in Stung Treng and Kratié provinces, and in Kampot Province, although their dating is unreliable.[27] Some slight archaeological evidence shows communities of hunter-gatherers inhabited the region during Holocene: the most ancient archaeological discovery site in Cambodia is considered to be the cave of Laang Spean, in Battambang Province, which belongs to the Hoabinhian period. Excavations in its lower layers produced a series of radiocarbon dates around 6000 BC.[27][28] Upper layers in the same site gave evidence of transition to Neolithic, containing the earliest dated earthenware ceramics in Cambodia.[29]

Archaeological records for the period between Holocene and Iron Age remain equally limited. A pivotal event in Cambodian prehistory was the slow penetration of the first rice farmers from the north, which began in the late third millennium BC.[30] The most curious prehistoric evidence in Cambodia are the various "circular earthworks" discovered in the red soils near Memot and in the adjacent region of Vietnam in the latter 1950s. Their function and age are still debated, but some of them possibly date from second millennium BC.[31][32]

 
Khmer army going to war against the Cham, from a relief on the Bayon

Other prehistoric sites of somewhat uncertain date are Samrong Sen (not far from the ancient capital of Oudong), where the first investigations began in 1875,[33] and Phum Snay, in the northern province of Banteay Meanchey.[34] An excavation at Phum Snay revealed 21 graves with iron weapons and cranial trauma which could point to conflicts in the past, possible with larger cities in Angkor.[30][35][36] Prehistoric artefacts are often found during mining activities in Ratanakiri.[27]

Iron was worked by about 500 BC, with supporting evidence coming from the Khorat Plateau, in modern-day Thailand. In Cambodia, some Iron Age settlements were found beneath Baksei Chamkrong and other Angkorian temples while circular earthworks at the site of Lovea a few kilometres north-west of Angkor. Burials, much richer than other types of finds, testify to improvement of food availability and trade (even on long distances: in the 4th century BC trade relations with India were already opened) and the existence of a social structure and labour organisation.[37]

Among the artifacts from the Iron Age, glass beads are important evidence. Different kinds of glass beads recovered from several sites across Cambodia, such as the Phum Snay site in the northwest and the Prohear site in the southeast, show that there were two main trading networks at the time. The two networks were separated by time and space, which indicate that there was a shift from one network to the other at about 2nd–4th century AD, probably with changes in socio-political powers.[37]

Pre-Angkorian and Angkorian era

During the 3rd, 4th, and 5th centuries, the Indianised states of Funan and its successor, Chenla, coalesced in present-day Cambodia and southwestern Vietnam. For more than 2,000 years, what was to become Cambodia absorbed influences from India, passing them on to other Southeast Asian civilisations that are now Thailand and Laos.[38] Little else is known for certain of these polities, however Chinese chronicles and tribute records do make mention of them. It is believed that the territory of Funan may have held the port known to Alexandrian geographer Claudius Ptolemy as "Kattigara". The Chinese chronicles suggest that after Jayavarman I of Chenla died around 681, turmoil ensued which resulted in the division of the kingdom into Land Chenla and Water Chenla which was loosely ruled by weak princes under the dominion of Java.

The Khmer Empire grew out of these remnants of Chenla, becoming firmly established in 802 when Jayavarman II (reigned c. 790c. 835) declared independence from Java and proclaimed himself a Devaraja. He and his followers instituted the cult of the God-king and began a series of conquests that formed an empire which flourished in the area from the 9th to the 15th centuries.[39] During the rule of Jayavarman VIII the Angkor empire was attacked by the Mongol army of Kublai Khan, however, the king was able to buy peace.[40] Around the 13th century, Theravavada missionaries from Sri Lanka reintroduced Theravada Buddhism to Southeast Asia; having sent missionaries previously in 1190s.[41][42] The religion spread and eventually displaced Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism as the popular religion of Angkor; however it was not the official state religion until 1295 when Indravarman III took power.[43]

The Khmer Empire was Southeast Asia's largest empire during the 12th century. The empire's centre of power was Angkor, where a series of capitals were constructed during the empire's zenith. In 2007 an international team of researchers using satellite photographs and other modern techniques concluded that Angkor had been the largest pre-industrial city in the world with an urban sprawl of 2,980 square kilometres (1,151 square miles).[44] The city, which could have supported a population of up to one million people[45] and Angkor Wat, the best known and best-preserved religious temple at the site, still serves as a reminder of Cambodia's past as a major regional power. The empire, though in decline, remained a significant force in the region until its fall in the 15th century.

Post-Angkor Period

 
A map of Indochina in 1760

After a long series of wars with neighbouring kingdoms, Angkor was sacked by the Ayutthaya Kingdom and abandoned in 1432 because of ecological failure and infrastructure breakdown.[46][47] This led to a period of economic, social, and cultural stagnation when the kingdom's internal affairs came increasingly under the control of its neighbours. By this time, the Khmer penchant for monument building had ceased. Older faiths such as Mahayana Buddhism and the Hindu cult of the god-king had been supplanted by Theravada Buddhism.

The court moved the capital to Longvek where the kingdom sought to regain its glory through maritime trade. The first mention of Cambodia in European documents was in 1511 by the Portuguese. Portuguese travellers described the city as a place of flourishing wealth and foreign trade. Continued wars with Ayutthaya and the Vietnamese resulted in the loss of more territory and Longvek being conquered and destroyed by King Naresuan the Great of Ayutthaya in 1594. A new Khmer capital was established at Oudong south of Longvek in 1618, but its monarchs could survive only by entering into what amounted to alternating vassal relationships with the Siamese and Vietnamese for the next three centuries with only a few short-lived periods of relative independence.

The hill tribe people in Cambodia were "hunted incessantly and carried off as slaves by the Siamese (Thai), the Annamites (Vietnamese), and the Cambodians".[48][49]

In the nineteenth century, a renewed struggle between Siam and Vietnam for control of Cambodia resulted in a period when Cambodia became the Tây Thành Province of Nguyễn Vietnam, during which Vietnamese officials attempted to force the Khmers to adopt Vietnamese customs. This led to several rebellions against the Vietnamese and appeals to Thailand for assistance. The Siamese–Vietnamese War (1841–1845) ended with an agreement to place the country under joint suzerainty. This later led to the signing of a treaty for French Protection of Cambodia by King Norodom Prohmborirak.

French colonisation

 
 
Coronation of Norodom Sihanouk in 1941

In 1863, King Norodom, who had been installed by Siam,[15] sought the protection of Cambodia from Siam by French rule. In 1867, Rama IV signed a treaty with France, renouncing suzerainty over Cambodia in exchange for the control of Battambang and Siem Reap provinces which officially became part of Siam. The provinces were ceded back to Cambodia by a border treaty between France and Siam in 1907.

Cambodia continued as a protectorate of France from 1867 to 1953, administered as part of the colony of French Indochina, though occupied by the Japanese empire from 1941 to 1945.[50] and briefly existing as the puppet state of Kingdom of Kampuchea in mid-1945. Between 1874 and 1962, the total population increased from about 946,000 to 5.7 million.[51] After King Norodom's death in 1904, France manipulated the choice of king, and Sisowath, Norodom's brother, was placed on the throne. The throne became vacant in 1941 with the death of Monivong, Sisowath's son, and France passed over Monivong's son, Monireth, feeling he was too independently minded. Instead, Norodom Sihanouk, a maternal grandson of King Sisowath was enthroned. The French thought young Sihanouk would be easy to control.[50] They were wrong, however, and under the reign of King Norodom Sihanouk, Cambodia gained independence from France on 9 November 1953.[50]

Independence and Vietnam War

Cambodia became a constitutional monarchy under King Norodom Sihanouk. When French Indochina was given independence, Cambodia lost hope of regaining control over the Mekong Delta as it was awarded to Vietnam.[citation needed] Formerly part of the Khmer Empire, the area had been controlled by the Vietnamese since 1698,[52] with King Chey Chettha II granting the Vietnamese permission to settle in the area decades before.[53] This remains a diplomatic sticking point with over one million ethnic Khmers (the Khmer Krom) still living in this region. The Khmer Rouge attempted invasions to recover the territory which, in part, led to Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia and deposition of the Khmer Rouge.

In 1955, Sihanouk abdicated in favour of his father to participate in politics and was elected prime minister. Upon his father's death in 1960, Sihanouk again became head of state, taking the title of prince. As the Vietnam War progressed, Sihanouk adopted an official policy of neutrality in the Cold War. Sihanouk allowed the Vietnamese communists to use Cambodia as a sanctuary and a supply route for their arms and other aid to their armed forces fighting in South Vietnam. This policy was perceived as humiliating by many Cambodians. In December 1967 Washington Post journalist Stanley Karnow was told by Sihanouk that if the US wanted to bomb the Vietnamese communist sanctuaries, he would not object unless Cambodians were killed.[54]

The same message was conveyed to US President Johnson's emissary Chester Bowles in January 1968.[55] However, in public Sihanouk refuted the right of the U.S. to use air strikes in Cambodia, and on 26 March he said "these criminal attacks must immediately and definitively stop". On 28 March a press conference was held and Sihanouk appealed to the international media: "I appeal to you to publicise abroad this very clear stand of Cambodia—that is, I will, in any case, oppose all bombings on Cambodian territory under whatever pretext." Nevertheless, the public pleas of Sihanouk were ignored and the bombing continued.[56] Members of the government and army became resentful of Sihanouk's ruling style as well as his tilt away from the United States.

Khmer Republic (1970–75)

While visiting Beijing in 1970 Sihanouk was ousted by a military coup led by Prime Minister General Lon Nol and Prince Sisowath Sirik Matak. US support for the coup remains unproven.[57] However, once the coup was completed, the new regime, which immediately demanded that the Vietnamese communists leave Cambodia, gained the political support of the United States. The North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces, desperate to retain their sanctuaries and supply lines from North Vietnam, immediately launched armed attacks on the new government. The king urged his followers to help in overthrowing this government, hastening the onset of civil war.[58]

 
Tens of thousands of people were killed during the US bombing of Cambodia between 1970 and 1973.[59]

Soon Khmer Rouge rebels began using him to gain support. However, from 1970 until early 1972, the Cambodian conflict was largely one between the government and army of Cambodia, and the armed forces of North Vietnam. As they gained control of Cambodian territory, the Vietnamese communists imposed a new political infrastructure, which was eventually dominated by the Cambodian communists now referred to as the Khmer Rouge.[60] Between 1969 and 1973, Republic of Vietnam and US forces bombed Cambodia in an effort to disrupt the Viet Cong and Khmer Rouge.

Documents uncovered from the Soviet archives after 1991 reveal that the North Vietnamese attempt to overrun Cambodia in 1970 was launched at the explicit request of the Khmer Rouge and negotiated by Pol Pot's then second in command, Nuon Chea.[61] NVA units overran many Cambodian army positions while the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) expanded their small-scale attacks on lines of communication. In response to the North Vietnamese invasion, US President Richard Nixon announced that US and South Vietnamese ground forces had entered Cambodia in a campaign aimed at destroying NVA base areas in Cambodia (see Cambodian Incursion).[62] Although a considerable quantity of equipment was seized or destroyed by US and South Vietnamese forces, containment of North Vietnamese forces proved elusive.

The Khmer Republic's leadership was plagued by disunity among its three principal figures: Lon Nol, Sihanouk's cousin Sirik Matak, and National Assembly leader In Tam. Lon Nol remained in power in part because neither of the others was prepared to take his place. In 1972, a constitution was adopted, a parliament elected, and Lon Nol became president. But disunity, the problems of transforming a 30,000-man army into a national combat force of more than 200,000 men, and spreading corruption weakened the civilian administration and army.

The Communist insurgency inside Cambodia continued to grow, aided by supplies and military support from North Vietnam. Pol Pot and Ieng Sary asserted their dominance over the Vietnamese-trained communists, many of whom were purged. At the same time, the CPK forces became stronger and more independent of their Vietnamese patrons. By 1973, the CPK were fighting battles against government forces with little or no North Vietnamese troop support, and they controlled nearly 60% of Cambodia's territory and 25% of its population. The government made three unsuccessful attempts to enter into negotiations with the insurgents, but by 1974, the CPK were operating openly as divisions, and some of the NVA combat forces had moved into South Vietnam. Lon Nol's control was reduced to small enclaves around the cities and main transportation routes. More than 2 million refugees from the war lived in Phnom Penh and other cities.

On New Year's Day 1975, Communist troops launched an offensive which, in 117 days of the hardest fighting of the war, led to the collapse of the Khmer Republic. Simultaneous attacks around the perimeter of Phnom Penh pinned down Republican forces, while other CPK units overran fire bases controlling the vital lower Mekong resupply route. A US-funded airlift of ammunition and rice ended when Congress refused additional aid for Cambodia. The Lon Nol government in Phnom Penh surrendered on 17 April 1975, just five days after the US mission evacuated Cambodia.[63]

Khmer Rouge regime, 1975–1978

 
Rooms of the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum contain thousands of photos taken by the Khmer Rouge of their victims.
 
Choeung Ek, a known site of mass grave for genocide victims during the Khmer Rouge era

The Khmer Rouge reached Phnom Penh and took power in 1975. Led by Pol Pot, they changed the official name of the country to Democratic Kampuchea. The new regime modelled itself on Maoist China during the Great Leap Forward, immediately evacuated the cities, and sent the entire population on forced marches to rural work projects. They attempted to rebuild the country's agriculture on the model of the 11th century, discarded Western medicine, and destroyed temples, libraries, and anything considered Western.

Estimates as to how many people were killed by the Khmer Rouge regime range from approximately one to three million; the most commonly cited figure is two million (about a quarter of the population).[64][65][66] This era gave rise to the term Killing Fields, and the prison Tuol Sleng became notorious for its history of mass killing. Hundreds of thousands fled across the border into neighbouring Thailand. The regime disproportionately targeted ethnic minority groups. The Cham Muslims suffered serious purges with as much as half of their population exterminated.[67] Pol Pot was determined to keep his power and disenfranchise any enemies or potential threats, and thus increased his violent and aggressive actions against his people.[68]

Forced repatriation in 1970 and deaths during the Khmer Rouge era reduced the Vietnamese population in Cambodia from between 250,000 and 300,000 in 1969 to a reported 56,000 in 1984.[51] However, most of the victims of the Khmer Rouge regime were not ethnic minorities but ethnic Khmer. Professionals, such as doctors, lawyers and teachers, were also targeted. According to Robert D. Kaplan, "eyeglasses were as deadly as the yellow star" as they were seen as a sign of intellectualism.[69]

Religious institutions were targeted by the Khmer Rouge particularly fiercely. Religion was so viciously persecuted to such a terrifying extent that the vast majority of Cambodia's historic architecture, 95% of Cambodia's Buddhist temples, was completely destroyed.[70]

Vietnamese occupation and transition, 1978–1992

In November 1978, Vietnamese troops invaded Cambodia in response to border raids by the Khmer Rouge.[71] The People's Republic of Kampuchea (PRK), a pro-Soviet state led by the Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party, a party created by the Vietnamese in 1951, and led by a group of Khmer Rouge who had fled Cambodia to avoid being purged by Pol Pot and Ta Mok, was established.[clarification needed][72] It was fully beholden to the occupying Vietnamese army and under the direction of the Vietnamese ambassador to Phnom Penh. Its arms came from Vietnam and the Soviet Union.[73]

In opposition to the newly created state, a government-in-exile referred to as the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea (CGDK) was formed in 1981 from three factions.[73] This consisted of the Khmer Rouge, a royalist faction led by Sihanouk, and the Khmer People's National Liberation Front. Its credentials were recognised by the United Nations. The Khmer Rouge representative to the UN, Thiounn Prasith, was retained, but he had to work in consultation with representatives of the noncommunist Cambodian parties.[74][75] The refusal of Vietnam to withdraw from Cambodia led to economic sanctions[76] by the US and its allies.[specify]

Peace efforts began in Paris in 1989 under the State of Cambodia, culminating two years later in October 1991 in a Paris Comprehensive Peace Settlement. The UN was given a mandate to enforce a ceasefire and deal with refugees and disarmament known as the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC).[77]

Modern Cambodia (1993–present)

In 1993, the monarchy was restored with Norodom Sihanouk reinstated as King, and the first post-war election was coordinated by UNTAC. The election was won by FUNCINPEC led by Sihanouk's son Ranariddh in a hung parliament. A power-sharing agreement was agreed with Ranariddh and Hun Sen of the Cambodian People's Party both simultaneously being co-Prime Ministers after the CPP threatened to secede part of the country if power was fully transferred to FUNCINPEC. The stability established following the conflict was shaken in 1997 by a coup d'état led by the co-Prime Minister Hun Sen, who ousted Ranariddh and other parties represented in the government and consolidated power for the CPP.[78][79] After its government was able to stabilize under Sen, Cambodia was accepted into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on 30 April 1999.[80][81] Norodom Sihamoni was crowned Cambodia's king in 2004 after his father Sihanouk's abdication.[82]

During the late 1990s and early 2000s, reconstruction efforts progressed which led to some political stability through a multiparty democracy under a constitutional monarchy[13] although Sen's rule has been marred by human rights abuses and corruption.[83] Cambodia's economy grew rapidly in the 2000s and 2010s,[84] and it received considerable investment and infrastructure development support from China as part of its Belt and Road Initiative.[85]

 
Anti-government protests in support of opposition party CNRP took place in Cambodia following the 2013 general election.

A UN-backed war crimes tribunal, the Khmer Rouge Tribunal sought out to investigate crimes committed during the Democratic Kampuchea period and prosecute its leaders. However, Hun Sen has opposed extensive trials or investigations of former Khmer Rouge officials.[86] In July 2010, Kang Kek Iew was the first Khmer Rouge member found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity in his role as the former commandant of the S21 extermination camp and he was sentenced to life in prison.[87][88] In August 2014, the tribunal sentenced Khieu Samphan, the regime's 83-year-old former head of state, and Nuon Chea, its 88-year-old chief ideologue, to life in prison on war crimes charges for their role in the country's terror period in the 1970s.[needs update]

After the 2013 Cambodian general election, allegations of voter fraud from opposition party Cambodia National Rescue Party led to widespread anti-government protests that continued into the following year. The protests ended after a crackdown by government forces.[89][90]

The Cambodia National Rescue Party was dissolved ahead of the 2018 Cambodian general election and the ruling Cambodian People's Party also enacted tighter curbs on mass media.[91] The CPP won every seat in the National Assembly without a major opposition, effectively solidifying de facto one-party rule in the country.[92][93]

The global COVID-19 pandemic spread to Cambodia in early 2020. Despite minimising the disease's spread for much of 2020[94] the country's health system was put under strain by a major outbreak in early 2021, which prompted several lockdowns.[95] It also had a severe economic impact, with the tourism industry particularly affected due to international travel restrictions.[96]

Prime Minister Hun Sen, who assumed office 38 years ago and is one of the world’s longest-serving leaders, has a very firm grip on power. He has been accused of crackdowns on opponents and critics. In December 2021, Hun Sen announced his support for his son Hun Manet to succeed him after the next general election in 2023.[97] The CPP confirmed Manet as its future candidate for prime minister on 24 December 2021. In October 2022, Hun Sen warned CPP members that the country's newest and largest opposition party, the Candlelight Party, may be dissolved before the 2023 general election.[17] The warning comes after a June 2022 lawsuit filed by the National Election Committee against the party's deputy president, Son Chhay, accusing him of defamation by speaking out against electoral fraud by the CPP.[98]

Geography

 
Geographic map of Cambodia
 
Regional map of Cambodia

Cambodia has an area of 181,035 square kilometres (69,898 square miles) and lies entirely within the tropics, between latitudes 10° and 15°N, and longitudes 102° and 108°E. It borders Thailand to the north and west, Laos to the northeast, and Vietnam to the east and southeast. It has a 443-kilometre (275-mile) coastline along the Gulf of Thailand.[11][99]

Cambodia's landscape is characterised by a low-lying central plain that is surrounded by uplands and low mountains and includes the Tonle Sap (Great Lake) and the upper reaches of the Mekong River delta. Extending outward from this central region are transitional plains, thinly forested and rising to elevations of about 650 feet (200 metres) above sea level.

To the north the Cambodian plain abuts a sandstone escarpment, which forms a southward-facing cliff stretching more than 200 miles (320 kilometres) from west to east and rising abruptly above the plain to heights of 600 to 1,800 feet (180–550 metres). This cliff marks the southern limit of the Dângrêk Mountains.

Flowing south through Cambodia's eastern regions is the Mekong River. East of the Mekong the transitional plains gradually merge with the eastern highlands, a region of forested mountains and high plateaus that extend into Laos and Vietnam. In southwestern Cambodia two distinct upland blocks, the Krâvanh Mountains and the Dâmrei Mountains, form another highland region that covers much of the land area between the Tonle Sap and the Gulf of Thailand.

In this remote and largely uninhabited area, Phnom Aural, Cambodia's highest peak rises to an elevation of 5,949 feet (1,813 metres).[100] The southern coastal region adjoining the Gulf of Thailand is a narrow lowland strip, heavily wooded and sparsely populated, which is isolated from the central plain by the southwestern highlands.

The most distinctive geographical feature is the inundations of the Tonle Sap, measuring about 2,590 square kilometres (1,000 square miles) during the dry season and expanding to about 24,605 square kilometres (9,500 square miles) during the rainy season. This densely populated plain, which is devoted to wet rice cultivation, is the heartland of Cambodia.[101] Much of this area has been designated as a biosphere reserve.[101]

Climate

Cambodia's climate, like that of the rest of Southeast Asia, is dominated by monsoons, which are known as tropical wet and dry because of the distinctly marked seasonal differences.

Cambodia has a temperature range from 21 to 35 °C (70 to 95 °F) and experiences tropical monsoons. Southwest monsoons blow inland bringing moisture-laden winds from the Gulf of Thailand and Indian Ocean from May to October. The northeast monsoon ushers in the dry season, which lasts from November to April. The country experiences the heaviest precipitation from September to October with the driest period occurring from January to February.

According to the International Development Research Center and The United Nations, Cambodia is considered Southeast Asia's most vulnerable country to the effects of climate change, alongside the Philippines.[102][103] Nearly all provinces in Cambodia are affected by climate change.[104] Rural coastal populations are particularly at risk. Shortages of clean water, extreme flooding, mudslides, higher sea levels and potentially destructive storms are of particular concern, according to the Cambodia Climate Change Alliance. Climate change has also had a major impact on water levels, ecology and productivity of the Tonlé Sap in recent years, affecting the food security and agriculture of a large proportion of Cambodia's population.[105][106]

Cambodia has two distinct seasons. The rainy season, which runs from May to October, can see temperatures drop to 22 °C (72 °F) and is generally accompanied with high humidity. The dry season lasts from November to April when temperatures can rise up to 40 °C (104 °F) around April. Disastrous flooding occurred in 2001 and again in 2002, with some degree of flooding almost every year.[107] Severe flooding also affected 17 provinces in Cambodia during the 2020 Pacific typhoon season.[108]

Biodiversity and conservation

Cambodia's biodiversity is largely founded on its seasonal tropical forests, containing some 180 recorded tree species, and riparian ecosystems. There are 212 mammal species, 536 bird species, 240 reptile species, 850 freshwater fish species (Tonle Sap Lake area), and 435 marine fish species recorded by science. Much of this biodiversity is contained around the Tonle Sap Lake and the surrounding biosphere.[109]

The Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve is a reserve surrounding the Tonle Sap lake. It encompasses the lake and nine provinces: Kampong Thom, Siem Reap, Battambang, Pursat, Kampong Chhnang, Banteay Meanchey, Pailin, Oddar Meanchey and Preah Vihear. In 1997, it was successfully nominated as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.[110] Other key habitats include the evergreen and dry Dipterocarp forests of Mondolkiri province, protected by Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary, Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary, and Srepok Wildlife Sanctuary, as well as Ratanakiri province, and the Cardamom Mountains ecosystem, including Preah Monivong National Park, Botum-Sakor National Park, and the Phnom Aural Wildlife Sanctuary and Phnom Samkos Wildlife Sanctuary.

The Worldwide Fund for Nature recognises six distinct terrestrial ecoregions in Cambodia – the Cardamom Mountains rain forests, Central Indochina dry forest, Southeast Indochina dry evergreen forest, Southern Annamite Range tropical forest, Tonle Sap freshwater swamp forest, and Tonle Sap-Mekong peat swamp forest.[111]

 
Waterfall at Phnom Kulen
 
Prey Lang Forest

The rate of deforestation in Cambodia is one of the highest in the world and it is often perceived as the most destructive, singular environmental issue in the country.[112] Cambodia's primary forest cover fell from over 70% in 1969 to just 3.1% in 2007. In total, Cambodia lost 25,000 km2 (9,700 sq mi) of forest between 1990 and 2005 – 3,340 km2 (1,290 sq mi) of which was primary forest. Since 2007, less than 3,220 km2 (1,243 sq mi) of primary forest remain with the result that the future sustainability of the forest reserves of Cambodia is under severe threat.[113][114]

In 2010–2015, the annual rate of deforestation was 1.3%. The environmental degradation also includes national parks and wildlife sanctuaries on a large scale and many endangered and endemic species are now threatened with extinction due to loss of habitats. There are many reasons for the deforestation in Cambodia, which range from opportunistic illegal loggings to large scale clearings from big construction projects and agricultural activities. The global issue of land grabbing is particularly rampant in Cambodia. The deforestation involves the local population, Cambodian businesses and authorities as well as transnational corporations from all over the world.[115][116]

Plans for hydroelectric development in the Greater Mekong Subregion, by Laos in particular, pose a "real danger to the food supply of Vietnam and Cambodia. Upstream dams will imperil the fish stocks that provide the vast majority of Cambodia's protein and could also denude the Mekong River of the silt Vietnam needs for its rice basket." The rich fisheries of Tonle Sap, the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia, largely supply the impoverished country's protein. The lake is unusual: It all but disappears in the dry season and then expands massively as water flow from the Mekong backs up when the rains come. "Those fish are so important for their livelihoods, both economically and nutritionally", said Gordon Holtgrieve, a professor at the University of Washington who researches Cambodia's freshwater fish and he points out that none of the dams that are either built or being built on the Mekong river "are pointing at good outcomes for the fisheries".[117]

In the 2010s, the Cambodian government and educational system has increased its involvement and co-operation with both national and international environmental groups.[118][119][120] A new National Environmental Strategy and Action Plan (NESAP) for Cambodia is to be implemented from late 2016 to 2023 and contains new ideas for how to incite a green and environmentally sustainable growth for the country.[121]

Politics

Government

 
Norodom Sihamoni, King of Cambodia

National politics in Cambodia take place within the framework of the nation's constitution of 1993. The government is a constitutional monarchy operated as a parliamentary representative democracy. The Prime Minister of Cambodia, an office held by Hun Sen since 1985, is the head of government, while the King of Cambodia (currently Norodom Sihamoni) is the head of state. The prime minister is appointed by the king, on the advice and with the approval of the National Assembly. The prime minister and the ministerial appointees exercise executive power.

Legislative powers are shared by the executive and the bicameral Parliament of Cambodia (សភាតំណាងរាស្ត្រ, sâphéa tâmnang réastrâ), which consists of a lower house, the National Assembly (រដ្ឋសភា, rôdthâsâphéa) and an upper house, the Senate (ព្រឹទ្ធសភា, prœ̆tthôsâphéa). Members of the 123-seat National Assembly are elected through a system of proportional representation and serve for a maximum term of five years. The Senate has 61 seats, two of which are appointed by the king and two others by the National Assembly, and the rest elected by the commune councillors from the 24 provinces of Cambodia. Senators serve six-year terms.[122]

On 14 October 2004, King Norodom Sihamoni was selected by a special nine-member Royal Throne Council, part of a selection process that was quickly put in place after the abdication of King Norodom Sihanouk a week prior. Sihamoni's selection was endorsed by Prime Minister Hun Sen and National Assembly Speaker Prince Norodom Ranariddh (the king's half-brother and current chief advisor), both members of the throne council. He was enthroned in Phnom Penh on 29 October 2004.

Officially a multiparty democracy, in reality, "the country remains a one-party state dominated by the Cambodian People's Party and Prime Minister Hun Sen, a recast Khmer Rouge official in power since 1985. The open doors to new investment during his reign have yielded the most access to a coterie of cronies of his and his wife, Bun Rany."[attribution needed][123] Cambodia's government has been described by the Human Rights Watch's Southeast Asian director, David Roberts, as a "relatively authoritarian coalition via a superficial democracy".[124]

Prime Minister Hun Sen has vowed to rule until he is 74.[125][89] He is a former Khmer Rouge member who defected. His government is regularly accused of ignoring human rights and suppressing political dissent. The 2013 election results were disputed by Hun Sen's opposition, leading to demonstrations in the capital. Demonstrators were injured and killed in Phnom Penh where a reported 20,000 protesters gathered, with some clashing with riot police.[126] From a humble farming background, Hun Sen was just 33 when he took power in 1985, and is by some considered a long-ruling dictator.[127]

Since the 2017 crackdowns on political dissent and free press, Cambodia has been described as a de facto one-party state.[128][129][130]

Foreign relations

 
Prime minister Hun Sen meets with US president Joe Biden during the ASEAN Summit held in Phnom Penh, 12 November 2022.

The foreign relations of Cambodia are handled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under Prak Sokhon. Cambodia is a member of the United Nations, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund. It is a member of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), ASEAN, and joined the WTO in 2004. In 2005 Cambodia attended the inaugural East Asia Summit in Malaysia.

Cambodia has established diplomatic relations with numerous countries; the government reports twenty embassies in the country[131] including many of its Asian neighbours and those of important players during the Paris peace negotiations, including the US, Australia, Canada, China, the European Union (EU), Japan, and Russia.[132] As a result of its international relations, various charitable organisations have assisted with social, economic, and civil infrastructure needs.

 
Prime minister Hun Sen with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Moscow, 19 May 2016.

While the violent ruptures of the 1970s and 1980s have passed, several border disputes between Cambodia and its neighbours persist. There are disagreements over some offshore islands and sections of the boundary with Vietnam and undefined maritime boundaries. Cambodia and Thailand also have border disputes, with troops clashing over land immediately adjacent to the Preah Vihear temple in particular, leading to a deterioration in relations. Most of the territory belongs to Cambodia, but a combination of Thailand disrespecting international law, Thai troops upbuild in the area and lack of resources for the Cambodian military have left the situation unsettled since 1962.[133][134]

Cambodia and China have cultivated ties in the 2010s. A Chinese company with the support of the People's Liberation Army built a deep-water seaport along 90 km (56 mi) stretch of Cambodian coastline of the Gulf of Thailand in Koh Kong province; the port is sufficiently deep to be used by cruise ships, bulk carriers or warships. Cambodia's diplomatic support has been invaluable to Beijing's effort to claim disputed areas in the South China Sea. Because Cambodia is a member of ASEAN, and because under ASEAN rules "the objections of one member can thwart any group initiative", Cambodia is diplomatically useful to China as a counterweight to southeast Asian nations that have closer ties to the United States.[135]

Military

 
Royal Cambodian Army officers marching

The Royal Cambodian Army, Royal Cambodian Navy, Royal Cambodian Air Force and Royal Gendarmerie collectively form the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, under the command of the Ministry of National Defence, presided over by the Prime Minister of Cambodia. His Majesty King Norodom Sihamoni is the Supreme Commander of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF), and the country's Prime Minister Hun Sen effectively holds the position of commander-in-chief.

The introduction of a revised command structure early in 2000 was a key prelude to the reorganisation of the Cambodian military. This saw the defence ministry form three subordinate general departments responsible for logistics and finance, materials and technical services, and defence services under the High Command Headquarters (HCHQ).

The minister of National Defense is General Tea Banh. Banh has served as defence minister since 1979. The Secretaries of State for Defense are Chay Saing Yun and Por Bun Sreu.

In 2010, the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces comprised about 102,000 active personnel (200,000 reserve). Total Cambodian military spending stands at 3% of national GDP. The Royal Gendarmerie of Cambodia total more than 7,000 personnel. Its civil duties include providing security and public peace, to investigate and prevent organised crime, terrorism, and other violent groups; to protect state and private property; to help and assist civilians and other emergency forces in a case of emergency, natural disaster, civil unrest, and armed conflicts.

Hun Sen has accumulated highly centralised power in Cambodia, including a praetorian guard that 'appears to rival the capabilities of the country's regular military units', and is allegedly used by Hun Sen to quell political opposition.'[136] Cambodia signed the UN treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.[137]

Political culture

 
Left to right: Senate President Say Chhum, National Assembly President Heng Samrin and Prime Minister Hun Sen, on Independence Day, 9 November 2019.

The Cambodian People's Party (CPP) is the sole dominant-party in Cambodia. Since 2018, the CPP commands all but four seats in Parliament, including all 125 seats in the National Assembly and 58 of 62 seats in the Senate.

Hun Sen and his government have seen much controversy. Hun Sen was a former Khmer Rouge commander who was originally installed by the Vietnamese and, after the Vietnamese left the country, maintains his strong man position by violence and oppression when deemed necessary.[138] In 1997, fearing the growing power of his co-prime minister, Prince Norodom Ranariddh, Hun launched a coup, using the army to purge Ranariddh and his supporters. Ranariddh was ousted and fled to Paris while other opponents of Hun Sen were arrested, tortured, and some summarily executed.[138][139]

In addition to political oppression, the Cambodian government has been accused of corruption in the sale of vast areas of land to foreign investors resulting in the eviction of thousands of villagers[140] as well as taking bribes in exchange for grants to exploit Cambodia's oil wealth and mineral resources.[141] Cambodia is consistently listed as one of the most corrupt governments in the world.[142][143][144] Amnesty International currently recognises one prisoner of conscience in the country: 33-year-old land rights activist Yorm Bopha.[145]

Journalists covering a protest over disputed election results in Phnom Penh on 22 September 2013 say they were deliberately attacked by police and men in plain clothes, with slingshots and stun guns. The attack against the president of the Overseas Press Club of Cambodia, Rick Valenzuela, was captured on video. The violence came amid political tensions as the opposition boycotted the opening of Parliament due to concerns about electoral fraud. Seven reporters sustained minor injuries while at least two Cambodian protesters were hit by slingshot projectiles and hospitalized.[146]

In 2017, Cambodia's Supreme Court dissolved the main opposition party, Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), paving the way for a return to a yet more authoritarian political system.[147]

Corruption

The level of corruption in Cambodia exceeds most countries in the world. Despite adopting an 'Anti-Corruption Law' in 2010, corruption prevails throughout the country. Corruption affects the judiciary, the police, and other state institutions. Favouritism by government officials and impunity is commonplace. Lack of a clear distinction between the courts and the executive branch of government also makes for a deep politicisation of the judicial system.[148]

Examples of areas where Cambodians encounter corrupt practices in their everyday lives include obtaining medical services, dealing with alleged traffic violations, and pursuing fair court verdicts. Companies deal with extensive red tape when obtaining licenses and permits, especially construction-related permits, and the demand for and supply of bribes are commonplace in this process. The 2010 Anti-Corruption Law provided no protection to whistle-blowers, and whistle-blowers can be jailed for up to 6 months if they report corruption that cannot be proven.[148]

Legal profession

The Cambodian legal profession was established in 1932. By 1978, due to the Khmer Rouge regime, the entire legal system was eradicated. Judges and lawyers were executed after being deemed "class enemies" and only 6–12 legal professionals actually survived and remained in the country.[149] Lawyers did not reappear until 1995 when the Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia was created.[150][151]

Human rights

 
Cambodia's deputy opposition leader Kem Sokha (left) has been arrested in September 2017 while opposition leader Sam Rainsy (right) has lived in exile since November 2015

A US State Department report says "forces under Hun Sen and the Cambodian People's Party have committed frequent and large-scale abuses, including extrajudicial killings and torture, with impunity".[152] According to the 2016 Global Slavery Index, an estimated 256,800 people are enslaved in modern-day Cambodia, or 1.65% of the population.[153]

Forced land evictions by senior officials, security forces, and government-connected business leaders are commonplace in Cambodia.[154] Land has been confiscated from hundreds of thousands of Cambodians over more than a decade for the purpose of self-enrichment and maintaining power of various groups of special interests.[155] Credible non-governmental organisations estimate that "770,000 people have been adversely affected by land grabbing covering at least four million hectares (nearly 10 million acres) of land that have been confiscated", says Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH).[156]

On 14 March 2018, the UN expert on the human rights situation in Cambodia "expressed serious concerns about restrictions on the media, freedom of expression and political participation ahead of a national election in July".[157] Some critics of the government have been arrested for allegedly spreading fake news about the COVID-19 pandemic in Cambodia.[158][159]

Administrative divisions

The autonomous municipality (reach thani) and provinces (khaet) of Cambodia are first-level administrative divisions. Cambodia is divided into 25 provinces including the autonomous municipality.

Municipalities and districts are the second-level administrative divisions of Cambodia. The provinces are subdivided into 159 districts and 26 municipalities. The districts and municipalities in turn are further divided into communes (khum) and quarters (sangkat).

Number Province Capital Area (km2) Population
(2019)[4]
1 Banteay Meanchey Serei Saophoan 6,679 861,883
2 Battambang Battambang 11,702 997,169
3 Kampong Cham Kampong Cham 4,549 899,791
4 Kampong Chhnang Kampong Chhnang 5,521 527,027
5 Kampong Speu Chbar Mon 7,017 877,523
6 Kampong Thom Stung Saen 13,814 681,549
7 Kampot Kampot 4,873 593,829
8 Kandal Ta Khmau 3,179 1,201,581
9 Kep Kep 336 42,665
10 Koh Kong Khemarak Phoumin 10,090 125,902
11 Kratié Kratié 11,094 374,755
12 Mondulkiri Senmonorom 14,288 92,213
13 Oddar Meanchey Samraong 6,158 276,038
14 Pailin Pailin 803 75,112
15 Phnom Penh Phnom Penh 679 2,281,951
16 Preah Sihanouk Preah Sihanouk 1,938 310,072
17 Preah Vihear Preah Vihear 13,788 254,827
18 Pursat Pursat 12,692 419,952
19 Prey Veng Prey Veng 4,883 1,057,720
20 Ratanakiri Banlung 10,782 217,453
21 Siem Reap Siem Reap 10,299 1,014,234
22 Stung Treng Stung Treng 11,092 165,713
23 Svay Rieng Svay Rieng 2,966 525,497
24 Takéo Doun Kaev 3,563 900,914
25 Tboung Khmom Suong 5,250 776,841
 

Economy

 
Real GPD per capita development of Cambodia
 
A proportional representation of Cambodia exports, 2019
 
The Cambodian position on the Human Development Index, 1970–2010

In 2017 Cambodia's per capita income is $4,022 in PPP and $1,309 in nominal per capita. The United Nations designates Cambodia as a least developed country. Most rural households depend on agriculture and its related sub-sectors. Rice, fish, timber, garments, and rubber are Cambodia's major exports. The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) reintroduced more than 750 traditional rice varieties to Cambodia from its rice seed bank in the Philippines.[160] These varieties had been collected in the 1960s.

Based on the Economist, IMF: Annual average GDP growth for the period 2001–2010 was 7.7% making it one of the world's top ten countries with the highest annual average GDP growth. Tourism was Cambodia's fastest-growing industry, with arrivals increasing from 219,000 in 1997 to over 2 million in 2007. In 2004, inflation was at 1.7% and exports at US$1.6 billion.

 
Food stands in Siem Reap.

In the Cambodia country assessment "Where Have All The Poor Gone? Cambodia Poverty Assessment 2013", the World Bank concludes: "Over the seven years from 2004 through 2011, Cambodian economic growth was tremendous, ranking amid the best in the world. Moreover, household consumption increased by nearly 40 percent. And this growth was pro-poor—not only reducing inequality but also proportionally boosting poor people's consumption further and faster than that of the non-poor. As a result, the poverty rate dropped from 52.2 to 20.5 percent, surpassing all expectations and far exceeding the country's Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) poverty target. However, the majority of these people escaped poverty only slightly: they remain highly vulnerable—even to small shocks—which could quickly bring them back into poverty."[161]

"Two decades of economic growth have helped make Cambodia a global leader in reducing poverty. The success story means the Southeast Asian nation that overcame a vicious civil war now is classified as a lower-middle income economy by the World Bank Group (WBG). Among 69 countries that have comparable data, Cambodia ranked fourth in terms of the fastest poverty reduction in the world from 2004 to 2008. (See more details of Cambodia's achievements on poverty reduction. The poverty rate fell to 10 percent in 2013, and further reduction of poverty is expected for both urban and rural households throughout 2015–2016. However, human development, particularly in the areas of health and education, remains an important challenge and development priority for Cambodia"[162]

Oil and natural gas deposits found beneath Cambodia's territorial waters in 2005 yield great potential but remain mostly untapped, due in part to territorial disputes with Thailand.[163][164]

The National Bank of Cambodia is the central bank of the kingdom and provides regulatory oversight to the country's banking sector and is responsible in part for increasing the foreign direct investment in the country. Between 2010 and 2012 the number of regulated banks and micro-finance institutions increased from 31 covered entities to over 70 individual institutions underlining the growth within the Cambodian banking and finance sector.

In 2012, Credit Bureau Cambodia was established with direct regulatory oversight by the National Bank of Cambodia.[165] The Credit Bureau further increases the transparency and stability within the Cambodian Banking Sector as all banks and microfinance companies are now required by law to report accurate facts and figures relating to loan performance in the country.

One of the largest challenges facing Cambodia is still the fact that the older population often lacks education, particularly in the countryside, which suffers from a lack of basic infrastructure. Fear of renewed political instability and corruption within the government discourage foreign investment and delay foreign aid, although there has been significant aid from bilateral and multilateral donors. Donors pledged $504 million to the country in 2004,[13] while the Asian Development Bank alone has provided $850 million in loans, grants, and technical assistance.[166] Bribes are often demanded from companies operating in Cambodia when obtaining licences and permits, such as construction-related permits.[167]

 
Farmers harvesting rice in Battambang Province

Cambodia ranked among the worst places in the world for organised labour in the 2015 International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) Global Rights Index, landing in the category of countries with "no guarantee of rights".'[168]

In April 2016 Cambodia's National Assembly has adopted a Law on Trade Unions. "The law was proposed at a time when workers have been staging sustained protests in factories and in the streets demanding wage increases and improvements in their working conditions".[169] The concerns about Cambodia's new law are shared not only by labour and rights groups but international organisations more generally. The International Labour Organization Country Office for Thailand, Cambodia and Lao PDR, has noted that the law has "several key concerns and gaps".[170]

Independent unions and employers remain divided. "How can a factory with 25 unions survive?" asked Van Sou Ieng, chairman of the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC), adding that it was "incomprehensible to expect an employer to negotiate a dispute with 25 different union leaders. A law was necessary to rein in the country's unions, Van Sou Ieng said. According to GMAC, last year there were 3,166 unions for the more than 500,000 workers employed in the country's 557 garment and textile exporting factories, and 58 footwear factories. Though garment production is already Cambodia's largest industry, which accounts for 26.2 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product, Van Sou Ieng said without the trade union law, foreign investors will not come to do business".[171] "Only with the trade union law will we, employers, be able to survive.... not only Cambodia, every country has trade union law. Those who criticise [the law] should do businesses, and [then] they will understand."

Textiles

 
Cambodian Exports Treemap in 2017.

The garment industry represents the largest portion of Cambodia's manufacturing sector, accounting for 80% of the country's exports. In 2012, the exports grew to $4.61 billion up 8% over 2011. In the first half of 2013, the garment industry reported exports worth $1.56 billion.[172] The sector employs 335,400 workers, of which 91% are female.

Better Factories Cambodia was created in 2001 as a unique partnership between the UN's International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group. The programme engages with workers, employers, and governments to improve working conditions and boost the competitiveness of the garment industry.[173] On 18 May 2018, the Project Advisory Committee (PAC) of the ILO Better Factories Cambodia Programme met in Phnom Penh to provide input into the draft conclusions and recommendations of the BFC's independent mid-term evaluation, as well as to discuss options on how to further strengthen the programme's transparent reporting initiative.

The members of the PAC concurred with the findings of the evaluation related to the impact the programme has had on the Cambodian garment sector and workers, including: a. contributing to sustained overall growth of the garment industry b. improving the lives of at least half a million Cambodian workers of factories in the BFC programme and many more of their family members; c. ensuring that workers receive correct wages and social protection benefits d. virtually eliminating child labour in the sector e. making Cambodia's garment factories safer overall f. creating a "level playing field" for labour across garment sector g. influencing business practices through (1) using factory data to highlight areas for improvement and (2) being a core part of risk management strategies of international brands/buyers.[174]

Tourism

 
Every year, nearly 2.6 million[175] tourists visit Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

The tourism industry is the country's second-greatest source of hard currency after the textile industry.[77] International visitor arrivals in 2018 topped six million, a ten-fold increase since the beginning of the 21st century.[176] Tourism employs 26% of the country's workforce, which translates into roughly 2.5 million jobs for Cambodians.[177]

Besides Phom Penh and Angkor Wat, other tourist destinations include Sihanoukville in the southwest which has several popular beaches and Battambang in the northwest, both of which are popular stops for backpackers who make up a significant portion of visitors to Cambodia.[178] The area around Kampot and Kep including the Bokor Hill Station are also of interest to visitors. Tourism has increased steadily each year in the relatively stable period since the 1993 UNTAC elections.[179]

Most international arrivals in 2018 were Chinese. Tourism receipts exceeded US$4.4 billion in 2018, accounting for almost ten percent of the kingdom's gross national product. The Angkor Wat historical park in Siem Reap Province, the beaches in Sihanoukville, the capital city Phnom Penh, and Cambodia's 150 casinos (up from just 57 in 2014)[180] are the main attractions for foreign tourists.

Cambodia's reputation as a safe destination for tourism however has been hindered by civil and political unrest [181][182][183] and several high-profile examples of serious crime committed against tourists visiting the kingdom.[184][185][186]

Cambodia's tourist souvenir industry employs a lot of people around the main places of interest. The quantity of souvenirs that are produced is not sufficient to face the increasing number of tourists and a majority of products sold to the tourists on the markets are imported from China, Thailand, and Vietnam.[187] Some of the locally produced souvenirs include:

  • Krama (traditional scarf)
  • Ceramics
  • Soap, candles, spices[188]
  • Wood carvings, lacquerware, silver plate[189]
  • Painted bottles containing infused rice wine

Agriculture

Agriculture is the mainstay of the Cambodian economy. Agriculture accounted for 90 percent of GDP in 1985 and employed approximately 80 percent of the workforce. Rice is the principal commodity. Major secondary crops include maize, cassava, sweet potatoes, groundnuts, soybeans, sesame seeds, dry beans, and rubber. The principal commercial crop is rubber. In the 1980s it was an important primary commodity, second only to rice, and one of the country's few sources of foreign exchange.

Transport

 
National Highway 4

The civil war and neglect severely damaged Cambodia's transport system. With assistance from other countries, Cambodia has been upgrading the main highways to international standards and most are vastly improved from 2006. Most main roads are now paved.

Cambodia has two rail lines, totalling about 612 kilometres (380 miles) of single, one-metre (3-foot-3-inch) gauge track.[190] The lines run from the capital to Sihanoukville on the southern coast. Trains are again running to and from the Cambodian capital and popular destinations in the south. After 14 years, regular rail services between the two cities restarted recently – offering a safer option than road for travellers.[191] Trains also run from Phnom Penh to Sisophon (although trains often run only as far as Battambang). As of 1987, only one passenger train per week operated between Phnom Penh and Battambang but a US$141 million project, funded mostly by the Asian Development Bank, has been started to revitalise the languishing rail system that will "(interlink) Cambodia with major industrial and logistics centers in Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City".[190]

Besides the main inter-provincial traffic artery connecting Phnom Penh with Sihanoukville, resurfacing a former dirt road with concrete/asphalt and bridging five major river crossings have now permanently connected Phnom Penh with Koh Kong, and hence there is now uninterrupted road access to neighbouring Thailand and its road network.

 
Phnom Penh airport shuttle train

Cambodia's road traffic accident rate is high by world standards. In 2004, the number of road fatalities per 10,000 vehicles was ten times higher in Cambodia than in the developed world, and the number of road deaths had doubled in the preceding three years.[192]

Cambodia's extensive inland waterways were important historically in international trade. The Mekong and the Tonle Sap River, their numerous tributaries, and the Tonle Sap provided avenues of considerable length, including 3,700 kilometres (2,300 miles) navigable all year by craft drawing 0.6 metres (2.0 feet) and another 282 kilometres (175 miles) navigable to craft drawing 1.8 metres (5.9 feet).[193]

Cambodia has two major ports, Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville, and five minor ones. Phnom Penh, at the junction of the Bassac, the Mekong, and the Tonle Sap Rivers, is the only river port capable of receiving 8,000-ton ships during the wet season and 5,000-ton ships during the dry season.

With increasing economic activity has come an increase in automobile use, though motorcycles still predominate.[194] "Cyclo" (as hand-me-down French) or Cycle rickshaws were popular in 1990s but are increasingly replaced by remorques (carriages attached to motorcycles) and rickshaws imported from India. Cyclos are unique to Cambodia in that the cyclist sits behind the passenger seat.[195]

Cambodia has three commercial airports. In 2018, they handled a record of 10 million passengers.[196] Phnom Penh International Airport is the busiest airport in Cambodia. Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport is the second busiest, and serves the most international flights in and out of Cambodia. Sihanouk International Airport, is in the coastal city of Sihanoukville.

Science and technology

A National Committee for Science and Technology representing 11 ministries has been in place since 1999. Although seven ministries are responsible for the country's 33 public universities, the majority of these institutions come under the umbrella of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports.[197]

In 2010, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports approved a Policy on Research Development in the Education Sector. This move represented the first step towards a national approach to research and development across the university sector and the application of research for the purposes of national development.[197]

This policy was followed by the country's first National Science and Technology Master Plan 2014–2020. It was officially launched by the Ministry of Planning in December 2014, as the culmination of a two-year process supported by the Korea International Cooperation Agency. The plan makes provision for establishing a science and technology foundation to promote industrial innovation, with a particular focus on agriculture, primary industry and ICTs.[197][198] Cambodia was ranked 109th in the Global Innovation Index in 2021, down from 98th in 2019.[199][200][201][202]

Energy

Cambodia has high potential for developing renewable energy resources. Even though the country has not attracted much international investment in renewable energy by 2020, the country serves as a model to learn from for other ASEAN countries in terms of conducting solar power auctions.[203] To attract more investment in renewable energy, the government could improve renewable energy governance, adopt clear targets, develop an effective regulatory framework, improve project bankability and facilitate market entry for international investors.[203] Cambodia is highly vulnerable to the negative effects of climate change and it is advised that the country focuses more on developing renewable energy as part of climate change mitigation measures.[204]

Society

Demographics

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
19625,728,771—    
19806,600,000+0.79%
19949,900,000+2.94%
199610,700,000+3.96%
199811,437,656+3.39%
200412,800,000+1.89%
200813,395,682+1.14%
201314,700,000+1.88%
201915,552,211+0.94%
National Institute of Statistics: General Population Census of the Kingdom of Cambodia 2019, Chapter 2, p. 6[4]

The first official census conducted by the French protectorate of Cambodia was in 1921; however, only men aged 20 to 60 were counted as its purpose was for the collection of taxes.[205] After the 1962 population census was conducted, Cambodia's civil conflicts and instability lead to a 36-year-long gap before the country could have another official census in 1998.[206]

At present, fifty percent of the Cambodian population is younger than 22 years old. At a 1.04 female to male ratio, Cambodia has the most female-biased sex ratio in the Greater Mekong Subregion.[207] Among the Cambodian population aged over 65, the female to male ratio is 1.6:1.[13]

The total fertility rate in Cambodia was 2.5 children per woman in 2018.[208] The fertility rate was 4.0 children in 2000.[209] Women in urban areas have 2.2 children on average, compared with 3.3 children per woman in rural areas.[209] Fertility is highest in Mondol Kiri and Rattanak Kiri Provinces, where women have an average of 4.5 children, and lowest in Phnom Penh where women have an average of 2.0 children.[209]

Ethnic groups

 
An ethnic map of Cambodia

The vast majority of Cambodia's population is of ethnic Khmer origin (over 95%) who are speakers of the Khmer language, the country's sole official language. Cambodia's population is largely homogeneous. Its minority groups include Chams (1.2%), Vietnamese (0.1%) and Chinese (0.1%).[13]

The largest ethnic group in Cambodia are the Khmers, who comprise around 90% of the total population in Cambodia, and are indigenous to the lowland Mekong subregion in which they inhabit. The Khmers historically have lived near the lower Mekong River in a contiguous diagonal arc, from where modern-day Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia meet in the northwest, all the way to the mouth of the Mekong River in southeastern Vietnam.

The Vietnamese are the second-largest ethnic minority in Cambodia, with an estimated 16,000 living in provinces concentrated in the southeast of the country adjacent to the Mekong Delta. Although the Vietnamese language has been determined to be a Mon–Khmer language, there are very few cultural connections between the two peoples because the early Khmers were influenced by the Indian cultural sphere while the Vietnamese are part of the Chinese cultural sphere.[210] Ethnic tensions between the Khmer and the Vietnamese can be traced to the Post-Angkor Period (from the 16th to 19th centuries), during which time a nascent Vietnam and Thailand each attempted to vassalise a weakened post-Angkor Cambodia, and effectively dominate all of Indochina.[210]

Chinese Cambodians are approximately 0.1% of the population.[211][212] Most Chinese are descended from 19th–20th-century settlers who came in search of trade and commerce opportunities during the time of the French protectorate. Most are urban dwellers, engaged primarily in commerce.

The indigenous ethnic groups of the mountains are known collectively as Montagnards or Khmer Loeu, a term meaning "Highland Khmer". They are descended from neolithic migrations of Mon–Khmer speakers via southern China and Austronesian speakers from insular Southeast Asia. Being isolated in the highlands, the various Khmer Loeu groups were not Indianized like their Khmer cousins and consequently are culturally distant from modern Khmers and often from each other, observing many pre-Indian-contact customs and beliefs.

The Cham are descended from the Austronesian people of Champa, a former kingdom on the coast of central and southern present-day Vietnam and former rival to the Khmer Empire. The Cham in Cambodia number under a million and often maintain separate villages in the southeast of the country. Almost all Cham in Cambodia are Muslims.

Largest cities

 
Largest cities or towns in Cambodia
2019 Census[213]
Rank Name Province Pop. Rank Name Province Pop.
 
Phnom Penh
 
Siem Reap
1 Phnom Penh 2,281,951 11 Chbar Mon Kampong Speu 50,359  
Battambang
 
Sisophon
2 Siem Reap Siem Reap 245,494 12 Bavet Svay Rieng 43,783
3 Battambang Battambang 119,251 13 Doun Kaev Takéo 43,402
4 Sisophon Banteay Meanchey 99,019 14 Svay Rieng Svay Rieng 41,424
5 Poipet Banteay Meanchey 98,934 15 Kampong Chhnang Kampong Chhnang 41,080
6 Ta Khmau Kandal 75,629 16 Kampong Cham Kampong Cham 38,365
7 Sihanoukville Preah Sihanouk 73,036 17 Pailin Pailin 37,393
8 Samraong Oddar Meanchey 70,944 18 Prey Veng Prey Veng 36,254
9 Pursat Pursat 58,355 19 Suong Tboung Khmum 35,054
10 Stueng Saen Kampong Thom 53,118 20 Kampot Kampot 32,053

Women

 
Cambodian couple wearing traditional wedding outfit (Sompot, Sbai, Chong Kben).

Khmer women are traditionally expected to be modest, soft-spoken, well-mannered,[214] industrious,[215] act as the family's caregivers and caretakers[214] and financial controllers,[215] maintain their virginity until marriage, become faithful wives,[214] and act as advisors to their husbands.[215] The "light" walking and refinement of Cambodian women is further described as being "quiet in [...] movements that one cannot hear the sound of their silk skirt rustling".[215] As financial controllers, the women of Cambodia can be identified as having household authority at the familial level.

Languages

The Khmer language is a member of the Mon–Khmer subfamily of the Austroasiatic language group. French, once the language of government in Indochina, is still spoken by many older Cambodians, and is also the language of instruction in some schools and universities that are funded by the government of France. There is also a French-language newspaper and some TV channels are available in French. Cambodia is a member of La Francophonie. Cambodian French, a remnant of the country's colonial past, is a dialect found in Cambodia and is sometimes used in government, particularly in court. Since 1993, there has been a growing use of English, which has been replacing French as the main foreign language. English is widely taught in several universities and there is also a significant press in that language, while street signs are now bilingual in Khmer and English.[216] Due to this shift, mostly English is now used in Cambodia's international relationships, and it has replaced French both on Cambodia's stamps and, since 2002, on Cambodian currency.[217]

The Khmer script is derived from the South Indian Pallava script.

Religion

 
Pchum Ben, also known as "Ancestors Day", is an important religious festival celebrated by Khmer Buddhists.

Theravada Buddhism is the official religion of Cambodia, practised by more than 95 percent of the population with an estimated 4,392 monastery temples throughout the country.[218] Cambodian Buddhism is deeply influenced by Hinduism and native animism.

The close interrelationship between spirits and the community, the efficacy of apotropaic and luck-attracting actions and charms, and the possibility of manipulating one's life through contact with spiritual entities such as the "baromey" spirits originates from the native folk religion. Hinduism has left little trace beyond the magical practices of Tantricism and a host of Hindu gods now assimilated into the spirit world (for example, the important neak ta spirit called Yeay Mao is the modern avatar of the Hindu goddess Kali).

Mahayana Buddhism is the religion of the majority of Chinese and Vietnamese in Cambodia. Elements of other religious practices, such as the veneration of folk heroes and ancestors, Confucianism, and Taoism mix with Chinese Buddhism are also practised.

Islam is followed by about 2% of the population and comes in three varieties, two practised by the Cham people and a third by the descendants of Malays, resident in the country for generations. Cambodia's Muslim population is reported to be 80% ethnic Cham.[219]

Health

 
Cambodian medical students watching a surgery operation

Cambodian life expectancy was 75 years in 2021,[220] a major improvement since 1995 when the average life expectancy was 55.[221] Health care is offered by both public and private practitioners and research has found that trust in health providers is a key factor in improving the uptake of health care services in rural Cambodia.[222] The government plans to increase the quality of healthcare in the country by raising awareness of HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases.

Cambodia's infant mortality rate has decreased from 86 per 1,000 live births in 1998 to 24 in 2018.[223]

In the province with worst health indicators, Ratanakiri, 22.9% of children die before age five.[224]

Cambodia was once one of the most landmined countries in the world. According to some estimates, unexploded land mines have been responsible for over 60,000 civilian deaths and thousands more maimed or injured since 1970.[225] The number of reported landmine casualties has sharply decreased, from 800 in 2005 to 111 in 2013 (22 dead and 89 injured).[226] Adults that survive landmines often require amputation of one or more limbs and have to resort to begging for survival.[225] Cambodia is expected to be free of land mines by 2020[227] but the social and economic legacy, including orphans and one in 290 people being an amputee,[228] is expected to affect Cambodia for years to come.

In Cambodia, landmines and exploded ordnance alone have caused 44,630 injuries between 1979 and 2013, according to the Cambodia Mine/UXO Victim Information System.[229]

Education

The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports is responsible for establishing national policies and guidelines for education in Cambodia. The Cambodian education system is heavily decentralised, with three levels of government, central, provincial, and district – responsible for its management. The constitution of Cambodia promulgates free compulsory education for nine years, guaranteeing the universal right to basic quality education.

The 2019 Cambodian census estimated that 88.5% of the population was literate (91.1% of men and 86.2% of women).[4] Male youth age (15–24 years) have a literacy rate of 89% compared to 86% for females.[230]

The education system in Cambodia continues to face many challenges, but during the past years, there have been significant improvements, especially in terms of primary net enrolment gains, the introduction of program based-budgeting, and the development of a policy framework which helps disadvantaged children to gain access to education. The country has also significantly invested in vocational education, especially in rural areas, to tackle poverty and unemployment. [231][232] Two of Cambodia's most acclaimed universities are based in Phnom Penh.

Traditionally, education in Cambodia was offered by the wats (Buddhist temples), thus providing education exclusively for the male population.[233] During the Khmer Rouge regime, education suffered significant setbacks. Education has also suffered setbacks from child labour, A study by Kim (2011) reports that most employed children in Cambodia are enrolled in school but their employment is associated with late school entry, negative impacts on their learning outcomes, and increased drop out rates.[234]

With respect to academic performance among Cambodian primary school children, research showed that parental attitudes and beliefs played a significant role.[235] Specifically, the study found that poorer academic achievement among children were associated with parents holding stronger fatalistic beliefs (i.e., human strength cannot change destiny). The study further found that "length of residence" of parents in the community in which they stay predicted better academic achievement among their children. Overall, the study pointed out to the role of social capital in educational performance and access in the Cambodian society in which family attitudes and beliefs are central to the findings.

Crime

In 2017, Cambodia had a homicide rate of 2.4 per 100,000 population.[236]

Prostitution is illegal in Cambodia but yet appears to be prevalent. In a series of 1993 interviews of women about prostitution, three quarters of the interviewees found being a prostitute to be a norm and a profession they felt was not shameful having.[237] That same year, it was estimated that there were about 100,000 sex workers in Cambodia.[237]

On 18 August 2019, Prime Minister Hun Sen signed a directive banning the Finance Ministry from issuing new online gambling licenses, while operators currently holding online licenses would only be allowed to continue operating until those licenses expire. The directive cited the fact that "some foreigners have used this form of gambling to cheat victims inside and outside the country" as justifying the new policy.[238] Cambodia had issued over 150 such licenses before the new policy was announced.[239]

Culture

 
The 19th-century illustration tale of Vorvong & Sorvong

Various factors contribute to the Cambodian culture including Theravada Buddhism, Hinduism, French colonialism, Angkorian culture, and modern globalization. The Cambodian Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts is responsible for promoting and developing Cambodian culture. Cambodian culture not only includes the culture of the lowland ethnic majority, but also some 20 culturally distinct hill tribes colloquially known as the Khmer Loeu, a term coined by Norodom Sihanouk to encourage unity between the highlanders and lowlanders.

Rural Cambodians wear a krama scarf which is a unique aspect of Cambodian clothing. The sampeah is a traditional Cambodian greeting or a way of showing respect to others. Khmer culture, as developed and spread by the Khmer empire, has distinctive styles of dance, architecture, and sculpture, which have been exchanged with neighbouring Laos and Thailand throughout history. Angkor Wat (Angkor means "city" and Wat means "temple") is the best-preserved example of Khmer architecture from the Angkorian era along with hundreds of other temples that have been discovered in and around the region.

Traditionally, the Khmer people have a recorded information on Tra leaves. Tra leaf books record legends of the Khmer people, the Ramayana, the origin of Buddhism and other prayer books. They are taken care of by wrapping in cloth to protect from moisture and the climate.[240]

 
Boat racing during Bon Om Touk

Bon Om Touk (Cambodian Water & Moon Festival), the annual boat rowing contest, is the most attended Cambodian national festival. Held at the end of the rainy season when the Mekong River begins to sink back to its normal levels allowing the Tonle Sap River to reverse flow, approximately 10% of Cambodia's population attends this event each year to play games, give thanks to the moon, watch fireworks, dine, and attend the boat race in a carnival-type atmosphere.[241]

Popular games include soccer, kicking a sey, which is similar to a footbag, and chess. Based on the classical Indian solar calendar and Theravada Buddhism, the Cambodian New Year is a major holiday that takes place in April. Recent artistic figures include singers Sinn Sisamouth and Ros Serey Sothea (and later Preap Sovath and Sokun Nisa), who introduced new musical styles to the country.

Every year, Cambodians visit pagodas across the country to mark the Pchum Ben (Ancestors' Day). During the 15-day festival, people offer prayers and food to the spirits of their dead relatives. For most Cambodians, it is a time to remember their relatives, who died during 1975–1979 Khmer Rouge regime.[242]

Cuisine

 
 
 
 
Clockwise from top left: Curry soup (samlar kari), coconut prahok dip (prahok k'tis), num banhchok and samlar kako.

Rice is the staple grain, as in other Southeast Asian countries. Fish from the Mekong and Tonlé Sap rivers is also an important part of the diet. The supply of fish and fish products for food and trade as of 2000 was 20 kilograms (44 pounds) per person or 2 ounces per day per person.[243] Some of the fish can be made into prahok for longer storage.

The cuisine of Cambodia contains tropical fruits, soups and noodles. Key ingredients are kaffir lime, lemon grass, garlic, fish sauce, soy sauce, tamarind, ginger, oyster sauce, coconut milk and black pepper. Some delicacies are num banh chok (នំបញ្ចុក), fish amok (អាម៉ុកត្រី) and aping (អាពីង). The country also boasts various distinct local street foods.

French influence on Cambodian cuisine includes the Cambodian red curry with toasted baguette bread. The toasted baguette pieces are dipped in the curry and eaten. Cambodian red curry is also eaten with rice and rice vermicelli noodles. Probably the most popular dine out dish, kuy teav, is a pork broth rice noodle soup with fried garlic, scallions, green onions that may also contain various toppings such as beef balls, shrimp, pork liver or lettuce. Kampot pepper is reputed to be the best in the world and accompanies crab at the Kep crab shacks and squid in the restaurants on the Ou Trojak Jet river.[244] The cuisine is relatively unknown to the world compared to that of its neighbours Thailand and Vietnam.

Drinks

Cambodians drink plenty of tea, grown in Mondulkiri Province and around Kirirom.[245] te krolap is a strong tea, made by putting water and a mass of tea leaves into a small glass, placing a saucer on top, and turning the whole thing upside down to brew. When it's dark enough, the tea is decanted into another cup and plenty of sugar added, but no milk. Lemon tea te kdau kroch chhma, made with Chinese red-dust tea and lemon juice, is refreshing both hot and iced and is generally served with a hefty dose of sugar.[246]

Regarding coffee, the beans are generally imported from Laos and Vietnam – although domestically produced coffee from Ratanakiri Province and Mondulkiri Province can be found in some places. Beans are traditionally roasted with butter and sugar, plus various other ingredients that might include anything from rum to pork fat, giving the beverage a strange, sometimes faintly chocolatey aroma.[246]

Cambodia has several industrial breweries, located mainly in Sihanoukville Province and Phnom Penh. There are also a growing number of microbreweries in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap.[247][248] Between 2014 and 2018, the number of craft beer breweries rose from two to nine. As of 2019, there are 12 brewpubs or microbreweries in Cambodia.[249]

Rice wine is a popular alcoholic drink. Its quality varies widely and it is often infused with fruits or medicinal herbs.[250] When prepared with macerated fruits or spices, like the Sombai liqueur, it is called sra tram (soaked wine) and has gained more and more popularity with the development of tourism as it is smoother to drink than plain rice wine.[251][252][253]

Sports

Football (soccer) is one of the most popular sports, although professional organised sports are not as prevalent in Cambodia as in western countries because of the economic conditions. Soccer was brought to Cambodia by the French and became popular with the locals.[254] The Cambodia national football team managed fourth in the 1972 Asian Cup, but development has slowed since the civil war.

Western sports such as basketball, volleyball, bodybuilding, field hockey, rugby union, golf, and baseball are gaining popularity. Volleyball is by far the most popular sport in the country. Native sports include traditional boat racing, buffalo racing, Pradal Serey, Khmer traditional wrestling and Bokator. Cambodia first participated in the Olympics during the 1956 Summer Olympic Games sending equestrian riders. Cambodia also hosted the GANEFO Games, the alternative to the Olympics, in the 1960s.

Dance

 
Apsara dancers at Angkor Wat
 
Khmer Apsara dancers

Cambodian dance can be divided into three main categories: Khmer classical dance, folk dance, and social dances. The exact origins of Khmer classical dance are disputed. Most native Khmer scholars trace modern dance forms back to the time of Angkor, seeing similarities in the temple engravings of the period, while others hold that modern Khmer dance styles were learned (or re-learned) from Siamese court dancers in the 1800s.

Khmer classical dance is the form of stylised performance art established in the royal courts of Cambodia exhibited for both entertainment and ceremonial purposes.[255] The dances are performed by intricately costumed, highly trained men and women on public occasions for tribute, invocation or to enact traditional stories and epic poems such as Reamker, the Khmer version of the Ramayana.[256] Known formally as Robam Preah Reach Troap (របាំព្រះរាជទ្រព្យ "theater of royal wealth") it is set to the music of a pinpeat ensemble accompanied by a vocal chorus.

Cambodian folk dance, often performed to mahori music, celebrates the various cultural and ethnic groups of Cambodia. Folk dances originated in the villages and are performed, for the most part, by the villagers for the villagers.[257] The movements are less stylised and the clothing worn is that of the people the dancers are portraying, such as hill tribes, Chams or farmers. Typically faster-paced than classical dance, folk dances display themes of the "common person" such as love, comedy or warding off evil spirits.[257]

Social dances are those performed by guests at banquets, parties or other informal social gatherings. Khmer traditional social dances are analogous to those of other Southeast Asian nations. Examples include the circle dances Romvong and Romkbach as well as Saravan and Lam Leav. Modern western popular dances including Cha-cha, Bolero, and the Madison, have also influenced Cambodian social dance.

Libraries

The National Library of Cambodia opened in 1924.[258] It suffered much destruction during the Khmer Rouge era.[259]

Music

 
Sinn Sisamouth, a famous Cambodian singer

Traditional Cambodian music dates back as far as the Khmer Empire.[260] Royal dances like the Apsara Dance are icons of the Cambodian culture as are the Mahori ensembles that accompany them. More rural forms of music include Chapei and Ayai. The former is popular among the older generation and is most often a solo performance of a man plucking a Cambodian guitar (chapei) in between a cappella verses. The lyrics usually have moral or religious theme.

A Yai can be performed solo or by a man and woman and is often comedic in nature. It is a form of lyrical poetry, often full of double entendres, that can be either scripted or completely impromptu and ad-libbed. When sung by a duo, the man and women take turns, "answering" the other's verse or posing riddles for the other to solve, with short instrumental breaks in between verses. Pleng kaah (lit. "wedding music") is a set of traditional music and songs played both for entertainment and as accompaniment for the various ceremonial parts of a traditional, days-long Khmer wedding.

Cambodian popular music is performed with western style instruments or a mixture of traditional and western instruments. Dance music is composed in particular styles for social dances. The music of crooner Sinn Sisamouth, Ros Sereysothea, and Pen Ran from the 1960s to the 1970s is considered to be the classic pop music of Cambodia. During the Khmer Rouge Revolution, many classic and popular singers of the 1960s and 1970s were murdered, starved to death, or overwork to death by the Khmer Rouge.[261] and many original master tapes from the period were lost or destroyed.

In the 1980s, Keo Surath, (a refugee resettled in the United States) and others carried on the legacy of the classic singers, often remaking their popular songs. The 1980s and 1990s also saw the rise in popularity of kantrum, a music style of the Khmer Surin set to modern instrumentation.[262]

The Australian hip hop group Astronomy Class has recorded with Kak Channthy, a native born Cambodian female singer.[263][264]

The Dengue Fever rock and roll band features a Cambodian female singer and back-up band from California. It is classified as "world music" and combines Cambodian music with Western-style rock.

See also

References

Citations

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  263. ^ Knox, Claire (21 June 2013). "The Show Must Go On Tour". The Phnom Penh Post. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  264. ^ Jackson, Will (2 May 2014). "7 Questions with Shannon Kennedy". The Phnom Penh Post. Retrieved 12 May 2014.

Cited sources and further reading

  • Deth, Sok Udom, and Serkan Bulut, eds. Cambodia's Foreign Relations in Regional and Global Contexts (Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, 2017; comprehensive coverage) full book online free[dead link].
    • Path Kosal, "Introduction: Cambodia's Political History and Foreign Relations, 1945–1998" pp 1–26
  • Strangio, Sebastian. Cambodia: From Pol Pot to Hun Sen and Beyond (2020)
  • Un, Kheang. Cambodia: Return to Authoritarianism (2019) excerpt
  • Morris, Stephen J. (1999). Why Vietnam Invaded Cambodia. Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-3049-0.
  •   This article incorporates text from a free content work. Licensed under CC BY-SA IGO 3.0. Text taken from UNESCO Science Report: Towards 2030, 698-713, UNESCO, UNESCO Publishing. To learn how to add open license text to Wikipedia articles, please see this how-to page. For information on reusing text from Wikipedia, please see the terms of use.

External links

cambodia, this, article, about, modern, country, southeast, asia, first, kingdom, 1953, 1970, song, song, kampuchea, redirects, here, other, uses, kampuchea, disambiguation, listen, also, kampuchea, khmer, កម, ungegn, kâmpŭchéa, kampuciə, officially, kingdom, . This article is about the modern country in Southeast Asia For the First Kingdom of Cambodia see Cambodia 1953 1970 For the song see Cambodia song Kampuchea redirects here For other uses see Kampuchea disambiguation Cambodia k ae m ˈ b oʊ d i e listen 11 also Kampuchea ˌ k ae m p ʊ ˈ tʃ iː e Khmer កម ព ជ UNGEGN Kampŭchea kampucie officially the Kingdom of Cambodia is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia spanning an area of 181 035 square kilometres 69 898 square miles bordered by Thailand to the northwest Laos to the north Vietnam to the east and the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest The capital and largest city is Phnom Penh Kingdom of Cambodiaព រ រ ជ ណ ចក រកម ព ជ Khmer Preăh Reacheanachakr KampŭcheaFlag Royal armsMotto ជ ត ស សន ព រ មហ ក សត រ Cheatĕ Sasanea Preăh Mohaksatr Nation Religion King Anthem បទនគររ ជ Nokor Reach Majestic Kingdom source source track track track track track track track Show globeShow map of Southeast AsiaLocation of Cambodia green in ASEAN dark grey Legend Capitaland largest cityPhnom Penh11 33 N 104 55 E 11 550 N 104 917 E 11 550 104 917Official languageand national languageKhmer 1 Official scriptKhmer 1 Ethnic groups 2019 95 6 Khmer2 4 Cham1 5 Chinese0 2 Vietnamese0 3 Other 2 Religion 2019 97 1 Buddhism official 3 2 0 Islam0 3 Christianity0 5 Others 4 Demonym s CambodianKhmerGovernmentUnitary dominant party parliamentary elective constitutional monarchy MonarchNorodom Sihamoni Prime MinisterHun Sen President of the SenateSay Chhum President of the National AssemblyHeng SamrinLegislatureParliament Upper houseSenate Lower houseNational AssemblyFormation Funan68 550 Chenla550 802 Khmer Empire802 1431 Middle period1431 1863 French protectorate11 August 1863 Independence from France9 November 1953 Current constitution24 September 1993Area Total181 035 km2 69 898 sq mi 88th Water 2 5Population 2022 estimate16 713 015 5 72nd Density87 km2 225 3 sq mi GDP PPP 2022 estimate Total 87 856 billion 6 Per capita 5 493 6 GDP nominal 2022 estimate Total 28 020 billion 6 Per capita 1 752 6 Gini 2013 36 0 7 mediumHDI 2021 0 593 8 medium 146thCurrencyRiel KHR de jure United States dollar USD de facto 9 10 Time zoneUTC 07 00 ICT Date formatdd mm yyyyDriving siderightCalling code 855ISO 3166 codeKHInternet TLD khYou may need rendering support to display the Khmer text in this article correctly The sovereign state of Cambodia has a population of over 17 million 12 Buddhism is enshrined in the constitution as the official state religion and is practised by more than 97 of the population 13 Cambodia s minority groups include Vietnamese Chinese Chams and 30 hill tribes 14 Cambodia has a tropical monsoon climate of two seasons and the country is made up of a central floodplain around the Tonle Sap lake and Mekong Delta surrounded by mountainous regions The capital and largest city is Phnom Penh the political economic and cultural centre of Cambodia The kingdom is an elective constitutional monarchy with a monarch currently Norodom Sihamoni chosen by the Royal Council of the Throne as head of state The head of government is the Prime Minister currently Hun Sen the longest serving non royal leader in Southeast Asia who has ruled since 1985 The region now known as Cambodia has been inhabited since prehistoric times In 802 AD Jayavarman II declared himself king uniting the warring Khmer princes of Chenla under the name Kambuja 15 This marked the beginning of the Khmer Empire which flourished for over 600 years The Indianised kingdom facilitated the spread of first Hinduism and then Buddhism to much of Southeast Asia and undertook many religious infrastructural projects throughout the region Angkor Wat is the most famous of these structures and is designated as a World Heritage Site In the fifteenth century Cambodia experienced a decline of power while its neighbors Vietnam and Thailand grew stronger In 1863 Cambodia became a protectorate of France and later was part of French Indochina After a period of Japanese occupation during the Second World War Cambodia gained independence from France in 1953 Despite Cambodia s neutrality the Vietnam War extended into the country in 1965 via the Ho Chi Minh and Sihanouk trails A 1970 coup installed the US aligned Khmer Republic until being overthrown by the Khmer Rouge in 1975 The Khmer Rouge ruled the country and carried out the Cambodian genocide from 1975 until 1979 when they were ousted in the Cambodian Vietnamese War The Vietnamese occupied People s Republic of Kampuchea became the de facto government with attempts to rebuild the country after the genocide mired by limited international recognition and ongoing conflict Following the 1991 Paris Peace Accords which formally ended the war with Vietnam Cambodia was governed briefly by a United Nations mission 1992 93 The UN withdrew after holding elections in which around 90 percent of the registered voters cast ballots The 1997 coup d etat consolidated power under Prime Minister Hun Sen and the Cambodian People s Party CPP who remain in power Although constitutionally a multi party state 16 the CPP dominates the political system and dissolved its main opposition party in 2017 making Cambodia a de facto one party state 17 The United Nations designates Cambodia as a least developed country 18 Cambodia is a member of the United Nations ASEAN the RCEP the East Asia Summit the WTO the Non Aligned Movement and La Francophonie While per capita income remains low compared to most neighboring countries Cambodia has one of the fastest growing economies in Asia Agriculture remains the dominant economic sector with strong growth in textiles construction garments and tourism leading to increased foreign investment and international trade 19 Rich in biodiversity and seasonal tropical forests Cambodia has a high rate of deforestation and is considered among the most vulnerable countries to climate change Contents 1 Etymology 2 History 2 1 Pre history 2 2 Pre Angkorian and Angkorian era 2 3 Post Angkor Period 2 4 French colonisation 2 5 Independence and Vietnam War 2 6 Khmer Republic 1970 75 2 7 Khmer Rouge regime 1975 1978 2 8 Vietnamese occupation and transition 1978 1992 2 9 Modern Cambodia 1993 present 3 Geography 3 1 Climate 3 2 Biodiversity and conservation 4 Politics 4 1 Government 4 2 Foreign relations 4 3 Military 4 4 Political culture 4 5 Corruption 4 6 Legal profession 4 7 Human rights 4 8 Administrative divisions 5 Economy 5 1 Textiles 5 2 Tourism 5 3 Agriculture 5 4 Transport 5 5 Science and technology 5 6 Energy 6 Society 6 1 Demographics 6 2 Ethnic groups 6 3 Largest cities 6 4 Women 6 5 Languages 6 6 Religion 6 7 Health 6 8 Education 6 9 Crime 7 Culture 7 1 Cuisine 7 2 Drinks 7 3 Sports 7 4 Dance 7 5 Libraries 7 6 Music 8 See also 9 References 9 1 Citations 9 2 Cited sources and further reading 10 External linksEtymologyMain article Names of Cambodia The Kingdom of Cambodia is the official English name of the country The English Cambodia is an anglicisation of the French Cambodge which in turn is the French transliteration of the Khmer កម ព ជ Kampŭchea pronounced kampucie Kampŭchea is the shortened alternative to the country s official name in Khmer ព រ រ ជ ណ ចក រកម ព ជ Preăh Reacheanachakr Kampŭchea pronounced prĕeh riecienaːcak kampucie The Khmer endonym កម ព ជ Kampŭchea derives from the Sanskrit name कम ब जद श Kambojadesa composed of द श Desa land of or country of and कम ब ज Kamboja referring to the descendants of Kambu a legendary Indian sage from the ancient Indian kingdom of Kamboja whose descendant Kaundinya I Huntian 混塡 and Preah Thong Khmer ព រ ថ ង a warrior belonging to the Kamboja Pala dynasty ruling over the historical region of Kalinga situated on the Eastern Coastal Plains went to war with the Naga Queen Soma of the Funan region resulting in a victory which was eventually turned into a marriage proposal holy union by Queen Soma herself resulting in the foundation of the first ancient Khmer kingdom 20 The term Cambodia was already in use in Europe as early as 1524 since Antonio Pigafetta an Italian explorer who followed Ferdinand Magellan in his circumnavigation of the globe cites it in his work Relazione del primo viaggio intorno al mondo 1524 1525 as Camogia 21 Scholar George Coedes refers to a 10th century inscription of a Cambodian dynastic legend in which the hermit Kambu Swayambhuva and the celestial nymph Mera unite and establish the Cambodian Solar royal dynasty Kambu Mera that begins with the Chenla ruler Srutavarman and his son Sreshthavarman Coedes suggests that the Kambu Swayambhuva legend has its origins in southern India as a version of the Kanchi Pallava dynasty creation myth 22 23 Colloquially Cambodians refer to their country as either Srok Khmer ស រ កខ ម រ Srŏk Khmer pronounced srok kʰmae meaning Land of the Khmers or the slightly more formal ប រទ សកម ព ជ Prates Kampŭchea pronounced prɑteh kampucie Country of Kampuchea The name Cambodia is used most often in the Western world while Kampuchea is more widely used in the East 24 25 26 HistoryMain article History of Cambodia Pre history Main article Early history of Cambodia Glazed stoneware dating back to the 12th century There exists sparse evidence for a Pleistocene human occupation of present day Cambodia which includes quartz and quartzite pebble tools found in terraces along the Mekong River in Stung Treng and Kratie provinces and in Kampot Province although their dating is unreliable 27 Some slight archaeological evidence shows communities of hunter gatherers inhabited the region during Holocene the most ancient archaeological discovery site in Cambodia is considered to be the cave of Laang Spean in Battambang Province which belongs to the Hoabinhian period Excavations in its lower layers produced a series of radiocarbon dates around 6000 BC 27 28 Upper layers in the same site gave evidence of transition to Neolithic containing the earliest dated earthenware ceramics in Cambodia 29 Archaeological records for the period between Holocene and Iron Age remain equally limited A pivotal event in Cambodian prehistory was the slow penetration of the first rice farmers from the north which began in the late third millennium BC 30 The most curious prehistoric evidence in Cambodia are the various circular earthworks discovered in the red soils near Memot and in the adjacent region of Vietnam in the latter 1950s Their function and age are still debated but some of them possibly date from second millennium BC 31 32 Khmer army going to war against the Cham from a relief on the Bayon Other prehistoric sites of somewhat uncertain date are Samrong Sen not far from the ancient capital of Oudong where the first investigations began in 1875 33 and Phum Snay in the northern province of Banteay Meanchey 34 An excavation at Phum Snay revealed 21 graves with iron weapons and cranial trauma which could point to conflicts in the past possible with larger cities in Angkor 30 35 36 Prehistoric artefacts are often found during mining activities in Ratanakiri 27 Iron was worked by about 500 BC with supporting evidence coming from the Khorat Plateau in modern day Thailand In Cambodia some Iron Age settlements were found beneath Baksei Chamkrong and other Angkorian temples while circular earthworks at the site of Lovea a few kilometres north west of Angkor Burials much richer than other types of finds testify to improvement of food availability and trade even on long distances in the 4th century BC trade relations with India were already opened and the existence of a social structure and labour organisation 37 Among the artifacts from the Iron Age glass beads are important evidence Different kinds of glass beads recovered from several sites across Cambodia such as the Phum Snay site in the northwest and the Prohear site in the southeast show that there were two main trading networks at the time The two networks were separated by time and space which indicate that there was a shift from one network to the other at about 2nd 4th century AD probably with changes in socio political powers 37 Pre Angkorian and Angkorian era Main articles Kingdom of Funan Chenla and Khmer Empire Angkor Wat Faces of Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara at Prasat Bayon During the 3rd 4th and 5th centuries the Indianised states of Funan and its successor Chenla coalesced in present day Cambodia and southwestern Vietnam For more than 2 000 years what was to become Cambodia absorbed influences from India passing them on to other Southeast Asian civilisations that are now Thailand and Laos 38 Little else is known for certain of these polities however Chinese chronicles and tribute records do make mention of them It is believed that the territory of Funan may have held the port known to Alexandrian geographer Claudius Ptolemy as Kattigara The Chinese chronicles suggest that after Jayavarman I of Chenla died around 681 turmoil ensued which resulted in the division of the kingdom into Land Chenla and Water Chenla which was loosely ruled by weak princes under the dominion of Java The Khmer Empire grew out of these remnants of Chenla becoming firmly established in 802 when Jayavarman II reigned c 790 c 835 declared independence from Java and proclaimed himself a Devaraja He and his followers instituted the cult of the God king and began a series of conquests that formed an empire which flourished in the area from the 9th to the 15th centuries 39 During the rule of Jayavarman VIII the Angkor empire was attacked by the Mongol army of Kublai Khan however the king was able to buy peace 40 Around the 13th century Theravavada missionaries from Sri Lanka reintroduced Theravada Buddhism to Southeast Asia having sent missionaries previously in 1190s 41 42 The religion spread and eventually displaced Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism as the popular religion of Angkor however it was not the official state religion until 1295 when Indravarman III took power 43 The Khmer Empire was Southeast Asia s largest empire during the 12th century The empire s centre of power was Angkor where a series of capitals were constructed during the empire s zenith In 2007 an international team of researchers using satellite photographs and other modern techniques concluded that Angkor had been the largest pre industrial city in the world with an urban sprawl of 2 980 square kilometres 1 151 square miles 44 The city which could have supported a population of up to one million people 45 and Angkor Wat the best known and best preserved religious temple at the site still serves as a reminder of Cambodia s past as a major regional power The empire though in decline remained a significant force in the region until its fall in the 15th century Post Angkor Period Main article Post Angkor Period A map of Indochina in 1760 After a long series of wars with neighbouring kingdoms Angkor was sacked by the Ayutthaya Kingdom and abandoned in 1432 because of ecological failure and infrastructure breakdown 46 47 This led to a period of economic social and cultural stagnation when the kingdom s internal affairs came increasingly under the control of its neighbours By this time the Khmer penchant for monument building had ceased Older faiths such as Mahayana Buddhism and the Hindu cult of the god king had been supplanted by Theravada Buddhism The court moved the capital to Longvek where the kingdom sought to regain its glory through maritime trade The first mention of Cambodia in European documents was in 1511 by the Portuguese Portuguese travellers described the city as a place of flourishing wealth and foreign trade Continued wars with Ayutthaya and the Vietnamese resulted in the loss of more territory and Longvek being conquered and destroyed by King Naresuan the Great of Ayutthaya in 1594 A new Khmer capital was established at Oudong south of Longvek in 1618 but its monarchs could survive only by entering into what amounted to alternating vassal relationships with the Siamese and Vietnamese for the next three centuries with only a few short lived periods of relative independence The hill tribe people in Cambodia were hunted incessantly and carried off as slaves by the Siamese Thai the Annamites Vietnamese and the Cambodians 48 49 In the nineteenth century a renewed struggle between Siam and Vietnam for control of Cambodia resulted in a period when Cambodia became the Tay Thanh Province of Nguyễn Vietnam during which Vietnamese officials attempted to force the Khmers to adopt Vietnamese customs This led to several rebellions against the Vietnamese and appeals to Thailand for assistance The Siamese Vietnamese War 1841 1845 ended with an agreement to place the country under joint suzerainty This later led to the signing of a treaty for French Protection of Cambodia by King Norodom Prohmborirak French colonisation King Sisowath Coronation of Norodom Sihanouk in 1941 In 1863 King Norodom who had been installed by Siam 15 sought the protection of Cambodia from Siam by French rule In 1867 Rama IV signed a treaty with France renouncing suzerainty over Cambodia in exchange for the control of Battambang and Siem Reap provinces which officially became part of Siam The provinces were ceded back to Cambodia by a border treaty between France and Siam in 1907 Cambodia continued as a protectorate of France from 1867 to 1953 administered as part of the colony of French Indochina though occupied by the Japanese empire from 1941 to 1945 50 and briefly existing as the puppet state of Kingdom of Kampuchea in mid 1945 Between 1874 and 1962 the total population increased from about 946 000 to 5 7 million 51 After King Norodom s death in 1904 France manipulated the choice of king and Sisowath Norodom s brother was placed on the throne The throne became vacant in 1941 with the death of Monivong Sisowath s son and France passed over Monivong s son Monireth feeling he was too independently minded Instead Norodom Sihanouk a maternal grandson of King Sisowath was enthroned The French thought young Sihanouk would be easy to control 50 They were wrong however and under the reign of King Norodom Sihanouk Cambodia gained independence from France on 9 November 1953 50 Independence and Vietnam War Main article Kingdom of Cambodia 1953 70 Cambodia became a constitutional monarchy under King Norodom Sihanouk When French Indochina was given independence Cambodia lost hope of regaining control over the Mekong Delta as it was awarded to Vietnam citation needed Formerly part of the Khmer Empire the area had been controlled by the Vietnamese since 1698 52 with King Chey Chettha II granting the Vietnamese permission to settle in the area decades before 53 This remains a diplomatic sticking point with over one million ethnic Khmers the Khmer Krom still living in this region The Khmer Rouge attempted invasions to recover the territory which in part led to Vietnam s invasion of Cambodia and deposition of the Khmer Rouge Norodom Sihanouk and Mao Zedong in 1956 In 1955 Sihanouk abdicated in favour of his father to participate in politics and was elected prime minister Upon his father s death in 1960 Sihanouk again became head of state taking the title of prince As the Vietnam War progressed Sihanouk adopted an official policy of neutrality in the Cold War Sihanouk allowed the Vietnamese communists to use Cambodia as a sanctuary and a supply route for their arms and other aid to their armed forces fighting in South Vietnam This policy was perceived as humiliating by many Cambodians In December 1967 Washington Post journalist Stanley Karnow was told by Sihanouk that if the US wanted to bomb the Vietnamese communist sanctuaries he would not object unless Cambodians were killed 54 The same message was conveyed to US President Johnson s emissary Chester Bowles in January 1968 55 However in public Sihanouk refuted the right of the U S to use air strikes in Cambodia and on 26 March he said these criminal attacks must immediately and definitively stop On 28 March a press conference was held and Sihanouk appealed to the international media I appeal to you to publicise abroad this very clear stand of Cambodia that is I will in any case oppose all bombings on Cambodian territory under whatever pretext Nevertheless the public pleas of Sihanouk were ignored and the bombing continued 56 Members of the government and army became resentful of Sihanouk s ruling style as well as his tilt away from the United States Khmer Republic 1970 75 Main article Cambodian Civil War While visiting Beijing in 1970 Sihanouk was ousted by a military coup led by Prime Minister General Lon Nol and Prince Sisowath Sirik Matak US support for the coup remains unproven 57 However once the coup was completed the new regime which immediately demanded that the Vietnamese communists leave Cambodia gained the political support of the United States The North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces desperate to retain their sanctuaries and supply lines from North Vietnam immediately launched armed attacks on the new government The king urged his followers to help in overthrowing this government hastening the onset of civil war 58 Tens of thousands of people were killed during the US bombing of Cambodia between 1970 and 1973 59 Operation Eagle Pull Soon Khmer Rouge rebels began using him to gain support However from 1970 until early 1972 the Cambodian conflict was largely one between the government and army of Cambodia and the armed forces of North Vietnam As they gained control of Cambodian territory the Vietnamese communists imposed a new political infrastructure which was eventually dominated by the Cambodian communists now referred to as the Khmer Rouge 60 Between 1969 and 1973 Republic of Vietnam and US forces bombed Cambodia in an effort to disrupt the Viet Cong and Khmer Rouge Documents uncovered from the Soviet archives after 1991 reveal that the North Vietnamese attempt to overrun Cambodia in 1970 was launched at the explicit request of the Khmer Rouge and negotiated by Pol Pot s then second in command Nuon Chea 61 NVA units overran many Cambodian army positions while the Communist Party of Kampuchea CPK expanded their small scale attacks on lines of communication In response to the North Vietnamese invasion US President Richard Nixon announced that US and South Vietnamese ground forces had entered Cambodia in a campaign aimed at destroying NVA base areas in Cambodia see Cambodian Incursion 62 Although a considerable quantity of equipment was seized or destroyed by US and South Vietnamese forces containment of North Vietnamese forces proved elusive The Khmer Republic s leadership was plagued by disunity among its three principal figures Lon Nol Sihanouk s cousin Sirik Matak and National Assembly leader In Tam Lon Nol remained in power in part because neither of the others was prepared to take his place In 1972 a constitution was adopted a parliament elected and Lon Nol became president But disunity the problems of transforming a 30 000 man army into a national combat force of more than 200 000 men and spreading corruption weakened the civilian administration and army The Communist insurgency inside Cambodia continued to grow aided by supplies and military support from North Vietnam Pol Pot and Ieng Sary asserted their dominance over the Vietnamese trained communists many of whom were purged At the same time the CPK forces became stronger and more independent of their Vietnamese patrons By 1973 the CPK were fighting battles against government forces with little or no North Vietnamese troop support and they controlled nearly 60 of Cambodia s territory and 25 of its population The government made three unsuccessful attempts to enter into negotiations with the insurgents but by 1974 the CPK were operating openly as divisions and some of the NVA combat forces had moved into South Vietnam Lon Nol s control was reduced to small enclaves around the cities and main transportation routes More than 2 million refugees from the war lived in Phnom Penh and other cities On New Year s Day 1975 Communist troops launched an offensive which in 117 days of the hardest fighting of the war led to the collapse of the Khmer Republic Simultaneous attacks around the perimeter of Phnom Penh pinned down Republican forces while other CPK units overran fire bases controlling the vital lower Mekong resupply route A US funded airlift of ammunition and rice ended when Congress refused additional aid for Cambodia The Lon Nol government in Phnom Penh surrendered on 17 April 1975 just five days after the US mission evacuated Cambodia 63 Khmer Rouge regime 1975 1978 Main articles Democratic Kampuchea and Khmer Rouge Rooms of the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum contain thousands of photos taken by the Khmer Rouge of their victims Choeung Ek a known site of mass grave for genocide victims during the Khmer Rouge era The Khmer Rouge reached Phnom Penh and took power in 1975 Led by Pol Pot they changed the official name of the country to Democratic Kampuchea The new regime modelled itself on Maoist China during the Great Leap Forward immediately evacuated the cities and sent the entire population on forced marches to rural work projects They attempted to rebuild the country s agriculture on the model of the 11th century discarded Western medicine and destroyed temples libraries and anything considered Western Estimates as to how many people were killed by the Khmer Rouge regime range from approximately one to three million the most commonly cited figure is two million about a quarter of the population 64 65 66 This era gave rise to the term Killing Fields and the prison Tuol Sleng became notorious for its history of mass killing Hundreds of thousands fled across the border into neighbouring Thailand The regime disproportionately targeted ethnic minority groups The Cham Muslims suffered serious purges with as much as half of their population exterminated 67 Pol Pot was determined to keep his power and disenfranchise any enemies or potential threats and thus increased his violent and aggressive actions against his people 68 Forced repatriation in 1970 and deaths during the Khmer Rouge era reduced the Vietnamese population in Cambodia from between 250 000 and 300 000 in 1969 to a reported 56 000 in 1984 51 However most of the victims of the Khmer Rouge regime were not ethnic minorities but ethnic Khmer Professionals such as doctors lawyers and teachers were also targeted According to Robert D Kaplan eyeglasses were as deadly as the yellow star as they were seen as a sign of intellectualism 69 Religious institutions were targeted by the Khmer Rouge particularly fiercely Religion was so viciously persecuted to such a terrifying extent that the vast majority of Cambodia s historic architecture 95 of Cambodia s Buddhist temples was completely destroyed 70 Vietnamese occupation and transition 1978 1992 Main articles People s Republic of Kampuchea and Cambodian Vietnamese War In November 1978 Vietnamese troops invaded Cambodia in response to border raids by the Khmer Rouge 71 The People s Republic of Kampuchea PRK a pro Soviet state led by the Kampuchean People s Revolutionary Party a party created by the Vietnamese in 1951 and led by a group of Khmer Rouge who had fled Cambodia to avoid being purged by Pol Pot and Ta Mok was established clarification needed 72 It was fully beholden to the occupying Vietnamese army and under the direction of the Vietnamese ambassador to Phnom Penh Its arms came from Vietnam and the Soviet Union 73 In opposition to the newly created state a government in exile referred to as the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea CGDK was formed in 1981 from three factions 73 This consisted of the Khmer Rouge a royalist faction led by Sihanouk and the Khmer People s National Liberation Front Its credentials were recognised by the United Nations The Khmer Rouge representative to the UN Thiounn Prasith was retained but he had to work in consultation with representatives of the noncommunist Cambodian parties 74 75 The refusal of Vietnam to withdraw from Cambodia led to economic sanctions 76 by the US and its allies specify Peace efforts began in Paris in 1989 under the State of Cambodia culminating two years later in October 1991 in a Paris Comprehensive Peace Settlement The UN was given a mandate to enforce a ceasefire and deal with refugees and disarmament known as the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia UNTAC 77 Modern Cambodia 1993 present Main article Modern Cambodia In 1993 the monarchy was restored with Norodom Sihanouk reinstated as King and the first post war election was coordinated by UNTAC The election was won by FUNCINPEC led by Sihanouk s son Ranariddh in a hung parliament A power sharing agreement was agreed with Ranariddh and Hun Sen of the Cambodian People s Party both simultaneously being co Prime Ministers after the CPP threatened to secede part of the country if power was fully transferred to FUNCINPEC The stability established following the conflict was shaken in 1997 by a coup d etat led by the co Prime Minister Hun Sen who ousted Ranariddh and other parties represented in the government and consolidated power for the CPP 78 79 After its government was able to stabilize under Sen Cambodia was accepted into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ASEAN on 30 April 1999 80 81 Norodom Sihamoni was crowned Cambodia s king in 2004 after his father Sihanouk s abdication 82 During the late 1990s and early 2000s reconstruction efforts progressed which led to some political stability through a multiparty democracy under a constitutional monarchy 13 although Sen s rule has been marred by human rights abuses and corruption 83 Cambodia s economy grew rapidly in the 2000s and 2010s 84 and it received considerable investment and infrastructure development support from China as part of its Belt and Road Initiative 85 Anti government protests in support of opposition party CNRP took place in Cambodia following the 2013 general election A UN backed war crimes tribunal the Khmer Rouge Tribunal sought out to investigate crimes committed during the Democratic Kampuchea period and prosecute its leaders However Hun Sen has opposed extensive trials or investigations of former Khmer Rouge officials 86 In July 2010 Kang Kek Iew was the first Khmer Rouge member found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity in his role as the former commandant of the S21 extermination camp and he was sentenced to life in prison 87 88 In August 2014 the tribunal sentenced Khieu Samphan the regime s 83 year old former head of state and Nuon Chea its 88 year old chief ideologue to life in prison on war crimes charges for their role in the country s terror period in the 1970s needs update After the 2013 Cambodian general election allegations of voter fraud from opposition party Cambodia National Rescue Party led to widespread anti government protests that continued into the following year The protests ended after a crackdown by government forces 89 90 The Cambodia National Rescue Party was dissolved ahead of the 2018 Cambodian general election and the ruling Cambodian People s Party also enacted tighter curbs on mass media 91 The CPP won every seat in the National Assembly without a major opposition effectively solidifying de facto one party rule in the country 92 93 The global COVID 19 pandemic spread to Cambodia in early 2020 Despite minimising the disease s spread for much of 2020 94 the country s health system was put under strain by a major outbreak in early 2021 which prompted several lockdowns 95 It also had a severe economic impact with the tourism industry particularly affected due to international travel restrictions 96 Prime Minister Hun Sen who assumed office 38 years ago and is one of the world s longest serving leaders has a very firm grip on power He has been accused of crackdowns on opponents and critics In December 2021 Hun Sen announced his support for his son Hun Manet to succeed him after the next general election in 2023 97 The CPP confirmed Manet as its future candidate for prime minister on 24 December 2021 In October 2022 Hun Sen warned CPP members that the country s newest and largest opposition party the Candlelight Party may be dissolved before the 2023 general election 17 The warning comes after a June 2022 lawsuit filed by the National Election Committee against the party s deputy president Son Chhay accusing him of defamation by speaking out against electoral fraud by the CPP 98 GeographyMain article Geography of Cambodia Geographic map of Cambodia Regional map of Cambodia Cambodia has an area of 181 035 square kilometres 69 898 square miles and lies entirely within the tropics between latitudes 10 and 15 N and longitudes 102 and 108 E It borders Thailand to the north and west Laos to the northeast and Vietnam to the east and southeast It has a 443 kilometre 275 mile coastline along the Gulf of Thailand 11 99 Cambodia s landscape is characterised by a low lying central plain that is surrounded by uplands and low mountains and includes the Tonle Sap Great Lake and the upper reaches of the Mekong River delta Extending outward from this central region are transitional plains thinly forested and rising to elevations of about 650 feet 200 metres above sea level To the north the Cambodian plain abuts a sandstone escarpment which forms a southward facing cliff stretching more than 200 miles 320 kilometres from west to east and rising abruptly above the plain to heights of 600 to 1 800 feet 180 550 metres This cliff marks the southern limit of the Dangrek Mountains Flowing south through Cambodia s eastern regions is the Mekong River East of the Mekong the transitional plains gradually merge with the eastern highlands a region of forested mountains and high plateaus that extend into Laos and Vietnam In southwestern Cambodia two distinct upland blocks the Kravanh Mountains and the Damrei Mountains form another highland region that covers much of the land area between the Tonle Sap and the Gulf of Thailand In this remote and largely uninhabited area Phnom Aural Cambodia s highest peak rises to an elevation of 5 949 feet 1 813 metres 100 The southern coastal region adjoining the Gulf of Thailand is a narrow lowland strip heavily wooded and sparsely populated which is isolated from the central plain by the southwestern highlands The most distinctive geographical feature is the inundations of the Tonle Sap measuring about 2 590 square kilometres 1 000 square miles during the dry season and expanding to about 24 605 square kilometres 9 500 square miles during the rainy season This densely populated plain which is devoted to wet rice cultivation is the heartland of Cambodia 101 Much of this area has been designated as a biosphere reserve 101 Climate Koppen climate classification map of Cambodia Cambodia s climate like that of the rest of Southeast Asia is dominated by monsoons which are known as tropical wet and dry because of the distinctly marked seasonal differences Cambodia has a temperature range from 21 to 35 C 70 to 95 F and experiences tropical monsoons Southwest monsoons blow inland bringing moisture laden winds from the Gulf of Thailand and Indian Ocean from May to October The northeast monsoon ushers in the dry season which lasts from November to April The country experiences the heaviest precipitation from September to October with the driest period occurring from January to February According to the International Development Research Center and The United Nations Cambodia is considered Southeast Asia s most vulnerable country to the effects of climate change alongside the Philippines 102 103 Nearly all provinces in Cambodia are affected by climate change 104 Rural coastal populations are particularly at risk Shortages of clean water extreme flooding mudslides higher sea levels and potentially destructive storms are of particular concern according to the Cambodia Climate Change Alliance Climate change has also had a major impact on water levels ecology and productivity of the Tonle Sap in recent years affecting the food security and agriculture of a large proportion of Cambodia s population 105 106 Cambodia has two distinct seasons The rainy season which runs from May to October can see temperatures drop to 22 C 72 F and is generally accompanied with high humidity The dry season lasts from November to April when temperatures can rise up to 40 C 104 F around April Disastrous flooding occurred in 2001 and again in 2002 with some degree of flooding almost every year 107 Severe flooding also affected 17 provinces in Cambodia during the 2020 Pacific typhoon season 108 Biodiversity and conservation Main article Wildlife of CambodiaSee also List of protected areas of Cambodia Macaques at Phnom Pros Kampong Cham Province Cambodia s biodiversity is largely founded on its seasonal tropical forests containing some 180 recorded tree species and riparian ecosystems There are 212 mammal species 536 bird species 240 reptile species 850 freshwater fish species Tonle Sap Lake area and 435 marine fish species recorded by science Much of this biodiversity is contained around the Tonle Sap Lake and the surrounding biosphere 109 The Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve is a reserve surrounding the Tonle Sap lake It encompasses the lake and nine provinces Kampong Thom Siem Reap Battambang Pursat Kampong Chhnang Banteay Meanchey Pailin Oddar Meanchey and Preah Vihear In 1997 it was successfully nominated as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve 110 Other key habitats include the evergreen and dry Dipterocarp forests of Mondolkiri province protected by Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary and Srepok Wildlife Sanctuary as well as Ratanakiri province and the Cardamom Mountains ecosystem including Preah Monivong National Park Botum Sakor National Park and the Phnom Aural Wildlife Sanctuary and Phnom Samkos Wildlife Sanctuary The Worldwide Fund for Nature recognises six distinct terrestrial ecoregions in Cambodia the Cardamom Mountains rain forests Central Indochina dry forest Southeast Indochina dry evergreen forest Southern Annamite Range tropical forest Tonle Sap freshwater swamp forest and Tonle Sap Mekong peat swamp forest 111 Waterfall at Phnom Kulen Prey Lang Forest The rate of deforestation in Cambodia is one of the highest in the world and it is often perceived as the most destructive singular environmental issue in the country 112 Cambodia s primary forest cover fell from over 70 in 1969 to just 3 1 in 2007 In total Cambodia lost 25 000 km2 9 700 sq mi of forest between 1990 and 2005 3 340 km2 1 290 sq mi of which was primary forest Since 2007 less than 3 220 km2 1 243 sq mi of primary forest remain with the result that the future sustainability of the forest reserves of Cambodia is under severe threat 113 114 In 2010 2015 the annual rate of deforestation was 1 3 The environmental degradation also includes national parks and wildlife sanctuaries on a large scale and many endangered and endemic species are now threatened with extinction due to loss of habitats There are many reasons for the deforestation in Cambodia which range from opportunistic illegal loggings to large scale clearings from big construction projects and agricultural activities The global issue of land grabbing is particularly rampant in Cambodia The deforestation involves the local population Cambodian businesses and authorities as well as transnational corporations from all over the world 115 116 Plans for hydroelectric development in the Greater Mekong Subregion by Laos in particular pose a real danger to the food supply of Vietnam and Cambodia Upstream dams will imperil the fish stocks that provide the vast majority of Cambodia s protein and could also denude the Mekong River of the silt Vietnam needs for its rice basket The rich fisheries of Tonle Sap the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia largely supply the impoverished country s protein The lake is unusual It all but disappears in the dry season and then expands massively as water flow from the Mekong backs up when the rains come Those fish are so important for their livelihoods both economically and nutritionally said Gordon Holtgrieve a professor at the University of Washington who researches Cambodia s freshwater fish and he points out that none of the dams that are either built or being built on the Mekong river are pointing at good outcomes for the fisheries 117 In the 2010s the Cambodian government and educational system has increased its involvement and co operation with both national and international environmental groups 118 119 120 A new National Environmental Strategy and Action Plan NESAP for Cambodia is to be implemented from late 2016 to 2023 and contains new ideas for how to incite a green and environmentally sustainable growth for the country 121 PoliticsMain articles Politics of Cambodia and List of political parties in Cambodia Government Norodom Sihamoni King of Cambodia National politics in Cambodia take place within the framework of the nation s constitution of 1993 The government is a constitutional monarchy operated as a parliamentary representative democracy The Prime Minister of Cambodia an office held by Hun Sen since 1985 is the head of government while the King of Cambodia currently Norodom Sihamoni is the head of state The prime minister is appointed by the king on the advice and with the approval of the National Assembly The prime minister and the ministerial appointees exercise executive power Legislative powers are shared by the executive and the bicameral Parliament of Cambodia សភ ត ណ ងរ ស ត រ saphea tamnang reastra which consists of a lower house the National Assembly រដ ឋសភ rodthasaphea and an upper house the Senate ព រ ទ ធសភ prœ tthosaphea Members of the 123 seat National Assembly are elected through a system of proportional representation and serve for a maximum term of five years The Senate has 61 seats two of which are appointed by the king and two others by the National Assembly and the rest elected by the commune councillors from the 24 provinces of Cambodia Senators serve six year terms 122 On 14 October 2004 King Norodom Sihamoni was selected by a special nine member Royal Throne Council part of a selection process that was quickly put in place after the abdication of King Norodom Sihanouk a week prior Sihamoni s selection was endorsed by Prime Minister Hun Sen and National Assembly Speaker Prince Norodom Ranariddh the king s half brother and current chief advisor both members of the throne council He was enthroned in Phnom Penh on 29 October 2004 Officially a multiparty democracy in reality the country remains a one party state dominated by the Cambodian People s Party and Prime Minister Hun Sen a recast Khmer Rouge official in power since 1985 The open doors to new investment during his reign have yielded the most access to a coterie of cronies of his and his wife Bun Rany attribution needed 123 Cambodia s government has been described by the Human Rights Watch s Southeast Asian director David Roberts as a relatively authoritarian coalition via a superficial democracy 124 Prime Minister Hun Sen has vowed to rule until he is 74 125 89 He is a former Khmer Rouge member who defected His government is regularly accused of ignoring human rights and suppressing political dissent The 2013 election results were disputed by Hun Sen s opposition leading to demonstrations in the capital Demonstrators were injured and killed in Phnom Penh where a reported 20 000 protesters gathered with some clashing with riot police 126 From a humble farming background Hun Sen was just 33 when he took power in 1985 and is by some considered a long ruling dictator 127 Since the 2017 crackdowns on political dissent and free press Cambodia has been described as a de facto one party state 128 129 130 Foreign relations Main article Foreign relations of Cambodia Prime minister Hun Sen meets with US president Joe Biden during the ASEAN Summit held in Phnom Penh 12 November 2022 The foreign relations of Cambodia are handled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under Prak Sokhon Cambodia is a member of the United Nations the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund It is a member of the Asian Development Bank ADB ASEAN and joined the WTO in 2004 In 2005 Cambodia attended the inaugural East Asia Summit in Malaysia Cambodia has established diplomatic relations with numerous countries the government reports twenty embassies in the country 131 including many of its Asian neighbours and those of important players during the Paris peace negotiations including the US Australia Canada China the European Union EU Japan and Russia 132 As a result of its international relations various charitable organisations have assisted with social economic and civil infrastructure needs Prime minister Hun Sen with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Moscow 19 May 2016 While the violent ruptures of the 1970s and 1980s have passed several border disputes between Cambodia and its neighbours persist There are disagreements over some offshore islands and sections of the boundary with Vietnam and undefined maritime boundaries Cambodia and Thailand also have border disputes with troops clashing over land immediately adjacent to the Preah Vihear temple in particular leading to a deterioration in relations Most of the territory belongs to Cambodia but a combination of Thailand disrespecting international law Thai troops upbuild in the area and lack of resources for the Cambodian military have left the situation unsettled since 1962 133 134 Cambodia and China have cultivated ties in the 2010s A Chinese company with the support of the People s Liberation Army built a deep water seaport along 90 km 56 mi stretch of Cambodian coastline of the Gulf of Thailand in Koh Kong province the port is sufficiently deep to be used by cruise ships bulk carriers or warships Cambodia s diplomatic support has been invaluable to Beijing s effort to claim disputed areas in the South China Sea Because Cambodia is a member of ASEAN and because under ASEAN rules the objections of one member can thwart any group initiative Cambodia is diplomatically useful to China as a counterweight to southeast Asian nations that have closer ties to the United States 135 Military Main article Royal Cambodian Armed Forces Royal Cambodian Army officers marching The Royal Cambodian Army Royal Cambodian Navy Royal Cambodian Air Force and Royal Gendarmerie collectively form the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces under the command of the Ministry of National Defence presided over by the Prime Minister of Cambodia His Majesty King Norodom Sihamoni is the Supreme Commander of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces RCAF and the country s Prime Minister Hun Sen effectively holds the position of commander in chief The introduction of a revised command structure early in 2000 was a key prelude to the reorganisation of the Cambodian military This saw the defence ministry form three subordinate general departments responsible for logistics and finance materials and technical services and defence services under the High Command Headquarters HCHQ The minister of National Defense is General Tea Banh Banh has served as defence minister since 1979 The Secretaries of State for Defense are Chay Saing Yun and Por Bun Sreu In 2010 the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces comprised about 102 000 active personnel 200 000 reserve Total Cambodian military spending stands at 3 of national GDP The Royal Gendarmerie of Cambodia total more than 7 000 personnel Its civil duties include providing security and public peace to investigate and prevent organised crime terrorism and other violent groups to protect state and private property to help and assist civilians and other emergency forces in a case of emergency natural disaster civil unrest and armed conflicts Hun Sen has accumulated highly centralised power in Cambodia including a praetorian guard that appears to rival the capabilities of the country s regular military units and is allegedly used by Hun Sen to quell political opposition 136 Cambodia signed the UN treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons 137 Political culture Left to right Senate President Say Chhum National Assembly President Heng Samrin and Prime Minister Hun Sen on Independence Day 9 November 2019 The Cambodian People s Party CPP is the sole dominant party in Cambodia Since 2018 the CPP commands all but four seats in Parliament including all 125 seats in the National Assembly and 58 of 62 seats in the Senate Hun Sen and his government have seen much controversy Hun Sen was a former Khmer Rouge commander who was originally installed by the Vietnamese and after the Vietnamese left the country maintains his strong man position by violence and oppression when deemed necessary 138 In 1997 fearing the growing power of his co prime minister Prince Norodom Ranariddh Hun launched a coup using the army to purge Ranariddh and his supporters Ranariddh was ousted and fled to Paris while other opponents of Hun Sen were arrested tortured and some summarily executed 138 139 In addition to political oppression the Cambodian government has been accused of corruption in the sale of vast areas of land to foreign investors resulting in the eviction of thousands of villagers 140 as well as taking bribes in exchange for grants to exploit Cambodia s oil wealth and mineral resources 141 Cambodia is consistently listed as one of the most corrupt governments in the world 142 143 144 Amnesty International currently recognises one prisoner of conscience in the country 33 year old land rights activist Yorm Bopha 145 Journalists covering a protest over disputed election results in Phnom Penh on 22 September 2013 say they were deliberately attacked by police and men in plain clothes with slingshots and stun guns The attack against the president of the Overseas Press Club of Cambodia Rick Valenzuela was captured on video The violence came amid political tensions as the opposition boycotted the opening of Parliament due to concerns about electoral fraud Seven reporters sustained minor injuries while at least two Cambodian protesters were hit by slingshot projectiles and hospitalized 146 In 2017 Cambodia s Supreme Court dissolved the main opposition party Cambodia National Rescue Party CNRP paving the way for a return to a yet more authoritarian political system 147 Corruption Further information Corruption in Cambodia The level of corruption in Cambodia exceeds most countries in the world Despite adopting an Anti Corruption Law in 2010 corruption prevails throughout the country Corruption affects the judiciary the police and other state institutions Favouritism by government officials and impunity is commonplace Lack of a clear distinction between the courts and the executive branch of government also makes for a deep politicisation of the judicial system 148 Examples of areas where Cambodians encounter corrupt practices in their everyday lives include obtaining medical services dealing with alleged traffic violations and pursuing fair court verdicts Companies deal with extensive red tape when obtaining licenses and permits especially construction related permits and the demand for and supply of bribes are commonplace in this process The 2010 Anti Corruption Law provided no protection to whistle blowers and whistle blowers can be jailed for up to 6 months if they report corruption that cannot be proven 148 Legal profession The Cambodian legal profession was established in 1932 By 1978 due to the Khmer Rouge regime the entire legal system was eradicated Judges and lawyers were executed after being deemed class enemies and only 6 12 legal professionals actually survived and remained in the country 149 Lawyers did not reappear until 1995 when the Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia was created 150 151 Human rights Main article Human rights in Cambodia Cambodia s deputy opposition leader Kem Sokha left has been arrested in September 2017 while opposition leader Sam Rainsy right has lived in exile since November 2015 A US State Department report says forces under Hun Sen and the Cambodian People s Party have committed frequent and large scale abuses including extrajudicial killings and torture with impunity 152 According to the 2016 Global Slavery Index an estimated 256 800 people are enslaved in modern day Cambodia or 1 65 of the population 153 Forced land evictions by senior officials security forces and government connected business leaders are commonplace in Cambodia 154 Land has been confiscated from hundreds of thousands of Cambodians over more than a decade for the purpose of self enrichment and maintaining power of various groups of special interests 155 Credible non governmental organisations estimate that 770 000 people have been adversely affected by land grabbing covering at least four million hectares nearly 10 million acres of land that have been confiscated says Paris based International Federation for Human Rights FIDH 156 On 14 March 2018 the UN expert on the human rights situation in Cambodia expressed serious concerns about restrictions on the media freedom of expression and political participation ahead of a national election in July 157 Some critics of the government have been arrested for allegedly spreading fake news about the COVID 19 pandemic in Cambodia 158 159 Administrative divisions Main article Administrative divisions of Cambodia The autonomous municipality reach thani and provinces khaet of Cambodia are first level administrative divisions Cambodia is divided into 25 provinces including the autonomous municipality Municipalities and districts are the second level administrative divisions of Cambodia The provinces are subdivided into 159 districts and 26 municipalities The districts and municipalities in turn are further divided into communes khum and quarters sangkat Number Province Capital Area km2 Population 2019 4 1 Banteay Meanchey Serei Saophoan 6 679 861 8832 Battambang Battambang 11 702 997 1693 Kampong Cham Kampong Cham 4 549 899 7914 Kampong Chhnang Kampong Chhnang 5 521 527 0275 Kampong Speu Chbar Mon 7 017 877 5236 Kampong Thom Stung Saen 13 814 681 5497 Kampot Kampot 4 873 593 8298 Kandal Ta Khmau 3 179 1 201 5819 Kep Kep 336 42 66510 Koh Kong Khemarak Phoumin 10 090 125 90211 Kratie Kratie 11 094 374 75512 Mondulkiri Senmonorom 14 288 92 21313 Oddar Meanchey Samraong 6 158 276 03814 Pailin Pailin 803 75 11215 Phnom Penh Phnom Penh 679 2 281 95116 Preah Sihanouk Preah Sihanouk 1 938 310 07217 Preah Vihear Preah Vihear 13 788 254 82718 Pursat Pursat 12 692 419 95219 Prey Veng Prey Veng 4 883 1 057 72020 Ratanakiri Banlung 10 782 217 45321 Siem Reap Siem Reap 10 299 1 014 23422 Stung Treng Stung Treng 11 092 165 71323 Svay Rieng Svay Rieng 2 966 525 49724 Takeo Doun Kaev 3 563 900 91425 Tboung Khmom Suong 5 250 776 841 EconomyMain article Economy of Cambodia Real GPD per capita development of Cambodia A proportional representation of Cambodia exports 2019 The Cambodian position on the Human Development Index 1970 2010 In 2017 Cambodia s per capita income is 4 022 in PPP and 1 309 in nominal per capita The United Nations designates Cambodia as a least developed country Most rural households depend on agriculture and its related sub sectors Rice fish timber garments and rubber are Cambodia s major exports The International Rice Research Institute IRRI reintroduced more than 750 traditional rice varieties to Cambodia from its rice seed bank in the Philippines 160 These varieties had been collected in the 1960s Based on the Economist IMF Annual average GDP growth for the period 2001 2010 was 7 7 making it one of the world s top ten countries with the highest annual average GDP growth Tourism was Cambodia s fastest growing industry with arrivals increasing from 219 000 in 1997 to over 2 million in 2007 In 2004 inflation was at 1 7 and exports at US 1 6 billion Food stands in Siem Reap In the Cambodia country assessment Where Have All The Poor Gone Cambodia Poverty Assessment 2013 the World Bank concludes Over the seven years from 2004 through 2011 Cambodian economic growth was tremendous ranking amid the best in the world Moreover household consumption increased by nearly 40 percent And this growth was pro poor not only reducing inequality but also proportionally boosting poor people s consumption further and faster than that of the non poor As a result the poverty rate dropped from 52 2 to 20 5 percent surpassing all expectations and far exceeding the country s Millennium Development Goals MDGs poverty target However the majority of these people escaped poverty only slightly they remain highly vulnerable even to small shocks which could quickly bring them back into poverty 161 Two decades of economic growth have helped make Cambodia a global leader in reducing poverty The success story means the Southeast Asian nation that overcame a vicious civil war now is classified as a lower middle income economy by the World Bank Group WBG Among 69 countries that have comparable data Cambodia ranked fourth in terms of the fastest poverty reduction in the world from 2004 to 2008 See more details of Cambodia s achievements on poverty reduction The poverty rate fell to 10 percent in 2013 and further reduction of poverty is expected for both urban and rural households throughout 2015 2016 However human development particularly in the areas of health and education remains an important challenge and development priority for Cambodia 162 Oil and natural gas deposits found beneath Cambodia s territorial waters in 2005 yield great potential but remain mostly untapped due in part to territorial disputes with Thailand 163 164 Paddy field in Siem Reap Province The National Bank of Cambodia is the central bank of the kingdom and provides regulatory oversight to the country s banking sector and is responsible in part for increasing the foreign direct investment in the country Between 2010 and 2012 the number of regulated banks and micro finance institutions increased from 31 covered entities to over 70 individual institutions underlining the growth within the Cambodian banking and finance sector In 2012 Credit Bureau Cambodia was established with direct regulatory oversight by the National Bank of Cambodia 165 The Credit Bureau further increases the transparency and stability within the Cambodian Banking Sector as all banks and microfinance companies are now required by law to report accurate facts and figures relating to loan performance in the country One of the largest challenges facing Cambodia is still the fact that the older population often lacks education particularly in the countryside which suffers from a lack of basic infrastructure Fear of renewed political instability and corruption within the government discourage foreign investment and delay foreign aid although there has been significant aid from bilateral and multilateral donors Donors pledged 504 million to the country in 2004 13 while the Asian Development Bank alone has provided 850 million in loans grants and technical assistance 166 Bribes are often demanded from companies operating in Cambodia when obtaining licences and permits such as construction related permits 167 Farmers harvesting rice in Battambang Province Cambodia ranked among the worst places in the world for organised labour in the 2015 International Trade Union Confederation ITUC Global Rights Index landing in the category of countries with no guarantee of rights 168 In April 2016 Cambodia s National Assembly has adopted a Law on Trade Unions The law was proposed at a time when workers have been staging sustained protests in factories and in the streets demanding wage increases and improvements in their working conditions 169 The concerns about Cambodia s new law are shared not only by labour and rights groups but international organisations more generally The International Labour Organization Country Office for Thailand Cambodia and Lao PDR has noted that the law has several key concerns and gaps 170 Independent unions and employers remain divided How can a factory with 25 unions survive asked Van Sou Ieng chairman of the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia GMAC adding that it was incomprehensible to expect an employer to negotiate a dispute with 25 different union leaders A law was necessary to rein in the country s unions Van Sou Ieng said According to GMAC last year there were 3 166 unions for the more than 500 000 workers employed in the country s 557 garment and textile exporting factories and 58 footwear factories Though garment production is already Cambodia s largest industry which accounts for 26 2 percent of the country s Gross Domestic Product Van Sou Ieng said without the trade union law foreign investors will not come to do business 171 Only with the trade union law will we employers be able to survive not only Cambodia every country has trade union law Those who criticise the law should do businesses and then they will understand Textiles Cambodian Exports Treemap in 2017 The garment industry represents the largest portion of Cambodia s manufacturing sector accounting for 80 of the country s exports In 2012 the exports grew to 4 61 billion up 8 over 2011 In the first half of 2013 the garment industry reported exports worth 1 56 billion 172 The sector employs 335 400 workers of which 91 are female Better Factories Cambodia was created in 2001 as a unique partnership between the UN s International Labour Organization ILO and the International Finance Corporation IFC a member of the World Bank Group The programme engages with workers employers and governments to improve working conditions and boost the competitiveness of the garment industry 173 On 18 May 2018 the Project Advisory Committee PAC of the ILO Better Factories Cambodia Programme met in Phnom Penh to provide input into the draft conclusions and recommendations of the BFC s independent mid term evaluation as well as to discuss options on how to further strengthen the programme s transparent reporting initiative The members of the PAC concurred with the findings of the evaluation related to the impact the programme has had on the Cambodian garment sector and workers including a contributing to sustained overall growth of the garment industry b improving the lives of at least half a million Cambodian workers of factories in the BFC programme and many more of their family members c ensuring that workers receive correct wages and social protection benefits d virtually eliminating child labour in the sector e making Cambodia s garment factories safer overall f creating a level playing field for labour across garment sector g influencing business practices through 1 using factory data to highlight areas for improvement and 2 being a core part of risk management strategies of international brands buyers 174 Tourism This section needs to be updated Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information August 2019 Main article Tourism in Cambodia Every year nearly 2 6 million 175 tourists visit Angkor Wat in Siem Reap Cambodia The tourism industry is the country s second greatest source of hard currency after the textile industry 77 International visitor arrivals in 2018 topped six million a ten fold increase since the beginning of the 21st century 176 Tourism employs 26 of the country s workforce which translates into roughly 2 5 million jobs for Cambodians 177 Besides Phom Penh and Angkor Wat other tourist destinations include Sihanoukville in the southwest which has several popular beaches and Battambang in the northwest both of which are popular stops for backpackers who make up a significant portion of visitors to Cambodia 178 The area around Kampot and Kep including the Bokor Hill Station are also of interest to visitors Tourism has increased steadily each year in the relatively stable period since the 1993 UNTAC elections 179 Most international arrivals in 2018 were Chinese Tourism receipts exceeded US 4 4 billion in 2018 accounting for almost ten percent of the kingdom s gross national product The Angkor Wat historical park in Siem Reap Province the beaches in Sihanoukville the capital city Phnom Penh and Cambodia s 150 casinos up from just 57 in 2014 180 are the main attractions for foreign tourists Cambodia s reputation as a safe destination for tourism however has been hindered by civil and political unrest 181 182 183 and several high profile examples of serious crime committed against tourists visiting the kingdom 184 185 186 Cambodia s tourist souvenir industry employs a lot of people around the main places of interest The quantity of souvenirs that are produced is not sufficient to face the increasing number of tourists and a majority of products sold to the tourists on the markets are imported from China Thailand and Vietnam 187 Some of the locally produced souvenirs include Krama traditional scarf Ceramics Soap candles spices 188 Wood carvings lacquerware silver plate 189 Painted bottles containing infused rice wineAgriculture Further information Agriculture in Cambodia Agriculture is the mainstay of the Cambodian economy Agriculture accounted for 90 percent of GDP in 1985 and employed approximately 80 percent of the workforce Rice is the principal commodity Major secondary crops include maize cassava sweet potatoes groundnuts soybeans sesame seeds dry beans and rubber The principal commercial crop is rubber In the 1980s it was an important primary commodity second only to rice and one of the country s few sources of foreign exchange Transport Main article Transport in Cambodia National Highway 4 The civil war and neglect severely damaged Cambodia s transport system With assistance from other countries Cambodia has been upgrading the main highways to international standards and most are vastly improved from 2006 Most main roads are now paved Cambodia has two rail lines totalling about 612 kilometres 380 miles of single one metre 3 foot 3 inch gauge track 190 The lines run from the capital to Sihanoukville on the southern coast Trains are again running to and from the Cambodian capital and popular destinations in the south After 14 years regular rail services between the two cities restarted recently offering a safer option than road for travellers 191 Trains also run from Phnom Penh to Sisophon although trains often run only as far as Battambang As of 1987 only one passenger train per week operated between Phnom Penh and Battambang but a US 141 million project funded mostly by the Asian Development Bank has been started to revitalise the languishing rail system that will interlink Cambodia with major industrial and logistics centers in Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City 190 Besides the main inter provincial traffic artery connecting Phnom Penh with Sihanoukville resurfacing a former dirt road with concrete asphalt and bridging five major river crossings have now permanently connected Phnom Penh with Koh Kong and hence there is now uninterrupted road access to neighbouring Thailand and its road network Phnom Penh airport shuttle train Cambodia s road traffic accident rate is high by world standards In 2004 the number of road fatalities per 10 000 vehicles was ten times higher in Cambodia than in the developed world and the number of road deaths had doubled in the preceding three years 192 Cambodia s extensive inland waterways were important historically in international trade The Mekong and the Tonle Sap River their numerous tributaries and the Tonle Sap provided avenues of considerable length including 3 700 kilometres 2 300 miles navigable all year by craft drawing 0 6 metres 2 0 feet and another 282 kilometres 175 miles navigable to craft drawing 1 8 metres 5 9 feet 193 Cambodia has two major ports Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville and five minor ones Phnom Penh at the junction of the Bassac the Mekong and the Tonle Sap Rivers is the only river port capable of receiving 8 000 ton ships during the wet season and 5 000 ton ships during the dry season With increasing economic activity has come an increase in automobile use though motorcycles still predominate 194 Cyclo as hand me down French or Cycle rickshaws were popular in 1990s but are increasingly replaced by remorques carriages attached to motorcycles and rickshaws imported from India Cyclos are unique to Cambodia in that the cyclist sits behind the passenger seat 195 Cambodia has three commercial airports In 2018 they handled a record of 10 million passengers 196 Phnom Penh International Airport is the busiest airport in Cambodia Siem Reap Angkor International Airport is the second busiest and serves the most international flights in and out of Cambodia Sihanouk International Airport is in the coastal city of Sihanoukville Science and technology Main article Science and technology in Cambodia A National Committee for Science and Technology representing 11 ministries has been in place since 1999 Although seven ministries are responsible for the country s 33 public universities the majority of these institutions come under the umbrella of the Ministry of Education Youth and Sports 197 In 2010 the Ministry of Education Youth and Sports approved a Policy on Research Development in the Education Sector This move represented the first step towards a national approach to research and development across the university sector and the application of research for the purposes of national development 197 This policy was followed by the country s first National Science and Technology Master Plan 2014 2020 It was officially launched by the Ministry of Planning in December 2014 as the culmination of a two year process supported by the Korea International Cooperation Agency The plan makes provision for establishing a science and technology foundation to promote industrial innovation with a particular focus on agriculture primary industry and ICTs 197 198 Cambodia was ranked 109th in the Global Innovation Index in 2021 down from 98th in 2019 199 200 201 202 Energy Main article Energy in Cambodia Cambodia has high potential for developing renewable energy resources Even though the country has not attracted much international investment in renewable energy by 2020 the country serves as a model to learn from for other ASEAN countries in terms of conducting solar power auctions 203 To attract more investment in renewable energy the government could improve renewable energy governance adopt clear targets develop an effective regulatory framework improve project bankability and facilitate market entry for international investors 203 Cambodia is highly vulnerable to the negative effects of climate change and it is advised that the country focuses more on developing renewable energy as part of climate change mitigation measures 204 SocietySee also List of cities in Cambodia Demographics Main article Demographics of Cambodia Historical populationYearPop p a 19625 728 771 19806 600 000 0 79 19949 900 000 2 94 199610 700 000 3 96 199811 437 656 3 39 200412 800 000 1 89 200813 395 682 1 14 201314 700 000 1 88 201915 552 211 0 94 National Institute of Statistics General Population Census of the Kingdom of Cambodia 2019 Chapter 2 p 6 4 The first official census conducted by the French protectorate of Cambodia was in 1921 however only men aged 20 to 60 were counted as its purpose was for the collection of taxes 205 After the 1962 population census was conducted Cambodia s civil conflicts and instability lead to a 36 year long gap before the country could have another official census in 1998 206 At present fifty percent of the Cambodian population is younger than 22 years old At a 1 04 female to male ratio Cambodia has the most female biased sex ratio in the Greater Mekong Subregion 207 Among the Cambodian population aged over 65 the female to male ratio is 1 6 1 13 The total fertility rate in Cambodia was 2 5 children per woman in 2018 208 The fertility rate was 4 0 children in 2000 209 Women in urban areas have 2 2 children on average compared with 3 3 children per woman in rural areas 209 Fertility is highest in Mondol Kiri and Rattanak Kiri Provinces where women have an average of 4 5 children and lowest in Phnom Penh where women have an average of 2 0 children 209 Ethnic groups Further information Ethnic groups in Cambodia An ethnic map of Cambodia The vast majority of Cambodia s population is of ethnic Khmer origin over 95 who are speakers of the Khmer language the country s sole official language Cambodia s population is largely homogeneous Its minority groups include Chams 1 2 Vietnamese 0 1 and Chinese 0 1 13 The largest ethnic group in Cambodia are the Khmers who comprise around 90 of the total population in Cambodia and are indigenous to the lowland Mekong subregion in which they inhabit The Khmers historically have lived near the lower Mekong River in a contiguous diagonal arc from where modern day Thailand Laos and Cambodia meet in the northwest all the way to the mouth of the Mekong River in southeastern Vietnam The Vietnamese are the second largest ethnic minority in Cambodia with an estimated 16 000 living in provinces concentrated in the southeast of the country adjacent to the Mekong Delta Although the Vietnamese language has been determined to be a Mon Khmer language there are very few cultural connections between the two peoples because the early Khmers were influenced by the Indian cultural sphere while the Vietnamese are part of the Chinese cultural sphere 210 Ethnic tensions between the Khmer and the Vietnamese can be traced to the Post Angkor Period from the 16th to 19th centuries during which time a nascent Vietnam and Thailand each attempted to vassalise a weakened post Angkor Cambodia and effectively dominate all of Indochina 210 Chinese Cambodians are approximately 0 1 of the population 211 212 Most Chinese are descended from 19th 20th century settlers who came in search of trade and commerce opportunities during the time of the French protectorate Most are urban dwellers engaged primarily in commerce The indigenous ethnic groups of the mountains are known collectively as Montagnards or Khmer Loeu a term meaning Highland Khmer They are descended from neolithic migrations of Mon Khmer speakers via southern China and Austronesian speakers from insular Southeast Asia Being isolated in the highlands the various Khmer Loeu groups were not Indianized like their Khmer cousins and consequently are culturally distant from modern Khmers and often from each other observing many pre Indian contact customs and beliefs The Cham are descended from the Austronesian people of Champa a former kingdom on the coast of central and southern present day Vietnam and former rival to the Khmer Empire The Cham in Cambodia number under a million and often maintain separate villages in the southeast of the country Almost all Cham in Cambodia are Muslims Largest cities vte Largest cities or towns in Cambodia 2019 Census 213 Rank Name Province Pop Rank Name Province Pop Phnom Penh Siem Reap 1 Phnom Penh 2 281 951 11 Chbar Mon Kampong Speu 50 359 Battambang Sisophon2 Siem Reap Siem Reap 245 494 12 Bavet Svay Rieng 43 7833 Battambang Battambang 119 251 13 Doun Kaev Takeo 43 4024 Sisophon Banteay Meanchey 99 019 14 Svay Rieng Svay Rieng 41 4245 Poipet Banteay Meanchey 98 934 15 Kampong Chhnang Kampong Chhnang 41 0806 Ta Khmau Kandal 75 629 16 Kampong Cham Kampong Cham 38 3657 Sihanoukville Preah Sihanouk 73 036 17 Pailin Pailin 37 3938 Samraong Oddar Meanchey 70 944 18 Prey Veng Prey Veng 36 2549 Pursat Pursat 58 355 19 Suong Tboung Khmum 35 05410 Stueng Saen Kampong Thom 53 118 20 Kampot Kampot 32 053 Women Cambodian couple wearing traditional wedding outfit Sompot Sbai Chong Kben The neutrality of this section is disputed Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page Please do not remove this message until conditions to do so are met December 2015 Learn how and when to remove this template message Further information Women in Cambodia Khmer women are traditionally expected to be modest soft spoken well mannered 214 industrious 215 act as the family s caregivers and caretakers 214 and financial controllers 215 maintain their virginity until marriage become faithful wives 214 and act as advisors to their husbands 215 The light walking and refinement of Cambodian women is further described as being quiet in movements that one cannot hear the sound of their silk skirt rustling 215 As financial controllers the women of Cambodia can be identified as having household authority at the familial level Languages See also Demographics of Cambodia Languages The Khmer language is a member of the Mon Khmer subfamily of the Austroasiatic language group French once the language of government in Indochina is still spoken by many older Cambodians and is also the language of instruction in some schools and universities that are funded by the government of France There is also a French language newspaper and some TV channels are available in French Cambodia is a member of La Francophonie Cambodian French a remnant of the country s colonial past is a dialect found in Cambodia and is sometimes used in government particularly in court Since 1993 there has been a growing use of English which has been replacing French as the main foreign language English is widely taught in several universities and there is also a significant press in that language while street signs are now bilingual in Khmer and English 216 Due to this shift mostly English is now used in Cambodia s international relationships and it has replaced French both on Cambodia s stamps and since 2002 on Cambodian currency 217 The Khmer script is derived from the South Indian Pallava script Religion Pchum Ben also known as Ancestors Day is an important religious festival celebrated by Khmer Buddhists Main article Religion in Cambodia Theravada Buddhism is the official religion of Cambodia practised by more than 95 percent of the population with an estimated 4 392 monastery temples throughout the country 218 Cambodian Buddhism is deeply influenced by Hinduism and native animism The close interrelationship between spirits and the community the efficacy of apotropaic and luck attracting actions and charms and the possibility of manipulating one s life through contact with spiritual entities such as the baromey spirits originates from the native folk religion Hinduism has left little trace beyond the magical practices of Tantricism and a host of Hindu gods now assimilated into the spirit world for example the important neak ta spirit called Yeay Mao is the modern avatar of the Hindu goddess Kali Mahayana Buddhism is the religion of the majority of Chinese and Vietnamese in Cambodia Elements of other religious practices such as the veneration of folk heroes and ancestors Confucianism and Taoism mix with Chinese Buddhism are also practised Islam is followed by about 2 of the population and comes in three varieties two practised by the Cham people and a third by the descendants of Malays resident in the country for generations Cambodia s Muslim population is reported to be 80 ethnic Cham 219 Health Main article Health in Cambodia Cambodian medical students watching a surgery operation Cambodian life expectancy was 75 years in 2021 220 a major improvement since 1995 when the average life expectancy was 55 221 Health care is offered by both public and private practitioners and research has found that trust in health providers is a key factor in improving the uptake of health care services in rural Cambodia 222 The government plans to increase the quality of healthcare in the country by raising awareness of HIV AIDS malaria and other diseases Cambodia s infant mortality rate has decreased from 86 per 1 000 live births in 1998 to 24 in 2018 223 In the province with worst health indicators Ratanakiri 22 9 of children die before age five 224 Cambodia was once one of the most landmined countries in the world According to some estimates unexploded land mines have been responsible for over 60 000 civilian deaths and thousands more maimed or injured since 1970 225 The number of reported landmine casualties has sharply decreased from 800 in 2005 to 111 in 2013 22 dead and 89 injured 226 Adults that survive landmines often require amputation of one or more limbs and have to resort to begging for survival 225 Cambodia is expected to be free of land mines by 2020 227 but the social and economic legacy including orphans and one in 290 people being an amputee 228 is expected to affect Cambodia for years to come In Cambodia landmines and exploded ordnance alone have caused 44 630 injuries between 1979 and 2013 according to the Cambodia Mine UXO Victim Information System 229 Education Main article Education in Cambodia The Ministry of Education Youth and Sports is responsible for establishing national policies and guidelines for education in Cambodia The Cambodian education system is heavily decentralised with three levels of government central provincial and district responsible for its management The constitution of Cambodia promulgates free compulsory education for nine years guaranteeing the universal right to basic quality education The Institute of Foreign Languages of the Royal University of Phnom Penh The 2019 Cambodian census estimated that 88 5 of the population was literate 91 1 of men and 86 2 of women 4 Male youth age 15 24 years have a literacy rate of 89 compared to 86 for females 230 The education system in Cambodia continues to face many challenges but during the past years there have been significant improvements especially in terms of primary net enrolment gains the introduction of program based budgeting and the development of a policy framework which helps disadvantaged children to gain access to education The country has also significantly invested in vocational education especially in rural areas to tackle poverty and unemployment 231 232 Two of Cambodia s most acclaimed universities are based in Phnom Penh Traditionally education in Cambodia was offered by the wats Buddhist temples thus providing education exclusively for the male population 233 During the Khmer Rouge regime education suffered significant setbacks Education has also suffered setbacks from child labour A study by Kim 2011 reports that most employed children in Cambodia are enrolled in school but their employment is associated with late school entry negative impacts on their learning outcomes and increased drop out rates 234 With respect to academic performance among Cambodian primary school children research showed that parental attitudes and beliefs played a significant role 235 Specifically the study found that poorer academic achievement among children were associated with parents holding stronger fatalistic beliefs i e human strength cannot change destiny The study further found that length of residence of parents in the community in which they stay predicted better academic achievement among their children Overall the study pointed out to the role of social capital in educational performance and access in the Cambodian society in which family attitudes and beliefs are central to the findings Crime Further information Crime in Cambodia In 2017 Cambodia had a homicide rate of 2 4 per 100 000 population 236 Prostitution is illegal in Cambodia but yet appears to be prevalent In a series of 1993 interviews of women about prostitution three quarters of the interviewees found being a prostitute to be a norm and a profession they felt was not shameful having 237 That same year it was estimated that there were about 100 000 sex workers in Cambodia 237 On 18 August 2019 Prime Minister Hun Sen signed a directive banning the Finance Ministry from issuing new online gambling licenses while operators currently holding online licenses would only be allowed to continue operating until those licenses expire The directive cited the fact that some foreigners have used this form of gambling to cheat victims inside and outside the country as justifying the new policy 238 Cambodia had issued over 150 such licenses before the new policy was announced 239 CultureMain articles Culture of Cambodia and Preah Ko Preah Keo The 19th century illustration tale of Vorvong amp Sorvong Various factors contribute to the Cambodian culture including Theravada Buddhism Hinduism French colonialism Angkorian culture and modern globalization The Cambodian Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts is responsible for promoting and developing Cambodian culture Cambodian culture not only includes the culture of the lowland ethnic majority but also some 20 culturally distinct hill tribes colloquially known as the Khmer Loeu a term coined by Norodom Sihanouk to encourage unity between the highlanders and lowlanders Rural Cambodians wear a krama scarf which is a unique aspect of Cambodian clothing The sampeah is a traditional Cambodian greeting or a way of showing respect to others Khmer culture as developed and spread by the Khmer empire has distinctive styles of dance architecture and sculpture which have been exchanged with neighbouring Laos and Thailand throughout history Angkor Wat Angkor means city and Wat means temple is the best preserved example of Khmer architecture from the Angkorian era along with hundreds of other temples that have been discovered in and around the region Traditionally the Khmer people have a recorded information on Tra leaves Tra leaf books record legends of the Khmer people the Ramayana the origin of Buddhism and other prayer books They are taken care of by wrapping in cloth to protect from moisture and the climate 240 Boat racing during Bon Om Touk Bon Om Touk Cambodian Water amp Moon Festival the annual boat rowing contest is the most attended Cambodian national festival Held at the end of the rainy season when the Mekong River begins to sink back to its normal levels allowing the Tonle Sap River to reverse flow approximately 10 of Cambodia s population attends this event each year to play games give thanks to the moon watch fireworks dine and attend the boat race in a carnival type atmosphere 241 Popular games include soccer kicking a sey which is similar to a footbag and chess Based on the classical Indian solar calendar and Theravada Buddhism the Cambodian New Year is a major holiday that takes place in April Recent artistic figures include singers Sinn Sisamouth and Ros Serey Sothea and later Preap Sovath and Sokun Nisa who introduced new musical styles to the country Every year Cambodians visit pagodas across the country to mark the Pchum Ben Ancestors Day During the 15 day festival people offer prayers and food to the spirits of their dead relatives For most Cambodians it is a time to remember their relatives who died during 1975 1979 Khmer Rouge regime 242 Cuisine Main article Cuisine of Cambodia Clockwise from top left Curry soup samlar kari coconut prahok dip prahok k tis num banhchok and samlar kako Rice is the staple grain as in other Southeast Asian countries Fish from the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers is also an important part of the diet The supply of fish and fish products for food and trade as of 2000 update was 20 kilograms 44 pounds per person or 2 ounces per day per person 243 Some of the fish can be made into prahok for longer storage The cuisine of Cambodia contains tropical fruits soups and noodles Key ingredients are kaffir lime lemon grass garlic fish sauce soy sauce tamarind ginger oyster sauce coconut milk and black pepper Some delicacies are num banh chok ន បញ ច ក fish amok អ ម កត រ and aping អ ព ង The country also boasts various distinct local street foods French influence on Cambodian cuisine includes the Cambodian red curry with toasted baguette bread The toasted baguette pieces are dipped in the curry and eaten Cambodian red curry is also eaten with rice and rice vermicelli noodles Probably the most popular dine out dish kuy teav is a pork broth rice noodle soup with fried garlic scallions green onions that may also contain various toppings such as beef balls shrimp pork liver or lettuce Kampot pepper is reputed to be the best in the world and accompanies crab at the Kep crab shacks and squid in the restaurants on the Ou Trojak Jet river 244 The cuisine is relatively unknown to the world compared to that of its neighbours Thailand and Vietnam Drinks Cambodians drink plenty of tea grown in Mondulkiri Province and around Kirirom 245 te krolap is a strong tea made by putting water and a mass of tea leaves into a small glass placing a saucer on top and turning the whole thing upside down to brew When it s dark enough the tea is decanted into another cup and plenty of sugar added but no milk Lemon tea te kdau kroch chhma made with Chinese red dust tea and lemon juice is refreshing both hot and iced and is generally served with a hefty dose of sugar 246 Regarding coffee the beans are generally imported from Laos and Vietnam although domestically produced coffee from Ratanakiri Province and Mondulkiri Province can be found in some places Beans are traditionally roasted with butter and sugar plus various other ingredients that might include anything from rum to pork fat giving the beverage a strange sometimes faintly chocolatey aroma 246 Cambodia has several industrial breweries located mainly in Sihanoukville Province and Phnom Penh There are also a growing number of microbreweries in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap 247 248 Between 2014 and 2018 the number of craft beer breweries rose from two to nine As of 2019 update there are 12 brewpubs or microbreweries in Cambodia 249 Rice wine is a popular alcoholic drink Its quality varies widely and it is often infused with fruits or medicinal herbs 250 When prepared with macerated fruits or spices like the Sombai liqueur it is called sra tram soaked wine and has gained more and more popularity with the development of tourism as it is smoother to drink than plain rice wine 251 252 253 Sports Further information Sport in Cambodia Football soccer is one of the most popular sports although professional organised sports are not as prevalent in Cambodia as in western countries because of the economic conditions Soccer was brought to Cambodia by the French and became popular with the locals 254 The Cambodia national football team managed fourth in the 1972 Asian Cup but development has slowed since the civil war Western sports such as basketball volleyball bodybuilding field hockey rugby union golf and baseball are gaining popularity Volleyball is by far the most popular sport in the country Native sports include traditional boat racing buffalo racing Pradal Serey Khmer traditional wrestling and Bokator Cambodia first participated in the Olympics during the 1956 Summer Olympic Games sending equestrian riders Cambodia also hosted the GANEFO Games the alternative to the Olympics in the 1960s Dance Main article Dance in Cambodia Apsara dancers at Angkor Wat Khmer Apsara dancers Cambodian dance can be divided into three main categories Khmer classical dance folk dance and social dances The exact origins of Khmer classical dance are disputed Most native Khmer scholars trace modern dance forms back to the time of Angkor seeing similarities in the temple engravings of the period while others hold that modern Khmer dance styles were learned or re learned from Siamese court dancers in the 1800s Khmer classical dance is the form of stylised performance art established in the royal courts of Cambodia exhibited for both entertainment and ceremonial purposes 255 The dances are performed by intricately costumed highly trained men and women on public occasions for tribute invocation or to enact traditional stories and epic poems such as Reamker the Khmer version of the Ramayana 256 Known formally as Robam Preah Reach Troap រប ព រ រ ជទ រព យ theater of royal wealth it is set to the music of a pinpeat ensemble accompanied by a vocal chorus Cambodian folk dance often performed to mahori music celebrates the various cultural and ethnic groups of Cambodia Folk dances originated in the villages and are performed for the most part by the villagers for the villagers 257 The movements are less stylised and the clothing worn is that of the people the dancers are portraying such as hill tribes Chams or farmers Typically faster paced than classical dance folk dances display themes of the common person such as love comedy or warding off evil spirits 257 Social dances are those performed by guests at banquets parties or other informal social gatherings Khmer traditional social dances are analogous to those of other Southeast Asian nations Examples include the circle dances Romvong and Romkbach as well as Saravan and Lam Leav Modern western popular dances including Cha cha Bolero and the Madison have also influenced Cambodian social dance Libraries The National Library of Cambodia opened in 1924 258 It suffered much destruction during the Khmer Rouge era 259 Music Main article Music of Cambodia Sinn Sisamouth a famous Cambodian singer Traditional Cambodian music dates back as far as the Khmer Empire 260 Royal dances like the Apsara Dance are icons of the Cambodian culture as are the Mahori ensembles that accompany them More rural forms of music include Chapei and Ayai The former is popular among the older generation and is most often a solo performance of a man plucking a Cambodian guitar chapei in between a cappella verses The lyrics usually have moral or religious theme A Yai can be performed solo or by a man and woman and is often comedic in nature It is a form of lyrical poetry often full of double entendres that can be either scripted or completely impromptu and ad libbed When sung by a duo the man and women take turns answering the other s verse or posing riddles for the other to solve with short instrumental breaks in between verses Pleng kaah lit wedding music is a set of traditional music and songs played both for entertainment and as accompaniment for the various ceremonial parts of a traditional days long Khmer wedding Cambodian popular music is performed with western style instruments or a mixture of traditional and western instruments Dance music is composed in particular styles for social dances The music of crooner Sinn Sisamouth Ros Sereysothea and Pen Ran from the 1960s to the 1970s is considered to be the classic pop music of Cambodia During the Khmer Rouge Revolution many classic and popular singers of the 1960s and 1970s were murdered starved to death or overwork to death by the Khmer Rouge 261 and many original master tapes from the period were lost or destroyed In the 1980s Keo Surath a refugee resettled in the United States and others carried on the legacy of the classic singers often remaking their popular songs The 1980s and 1990s also saw the rise in popularity of kantrum a music style of the Khmer Surin set to modern instrumentation 262 The Australian hip hop group Astronomy Class has recorded with Kak Channthy a native born Cambodian female singer 263 264 The Dengue Fever rock and roll band features a Cambodian female singer and back up band from California It is classified as world music and combines Cambodian music with Western style rock See also Cambodia portal Asia portalIndex of Cambodia related articles Outline of Cambodia Landmines in CambodiaReferencesCitations a b Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia Office of the Council of Ministers អង គភ ពព ត ម ន ន ងប រត កម មរហ ស Retrieved 26 September 2020 Cambodia Socio Economic Survey 2019 20 PDF Ministry of Planning National Institute of Statistics December 2020 Retrieved 16 May 2021 Constitution of the Kingdom of 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Associated Press 13 June 2004 Colquhoun Archibald Ross 1885 Amongst the Shans p 53 London Field amp Tuer New York Scribner amp Welford https books google com books id 3wQPAAAAMAAJ amp pg PA53 Slavery in Nineteenth Century Northern Thailand Page 4 of 6 Kyoto Review of South East Asia Colquhoun 1885 53 a b c Kamm Henry 1998 Cambodia report from a stricken land New York Arcade Publishing p 27 ISBN 1 55970 433 0 a b Cambodia Population Library of Congress Country Studies Watson Noelle 12 November 2012 Asia and Oceania International Dictionary of Historic Places p 354 ISBN 9781136639791 In 1691 the Vietnamese occupied Prey Nokor renaming it Gia Dinh in 1698 they annexed the remainder of the Mekong Delta and created two provinces Tran Bien and Phien Tran Kamm Henry 1998 Cambodia Report from a Stricken Land New York Arcade Publishing p 23 ISBN 1 55970 507 8 Washington Post 29 December 1967 Morris p 44 ISBN 0804730490 Bombing in Cambodia Hearings before the Committee on Armed Services U S 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Un Kheang Cambodia Return to Authoritarianism 2019 excerpt Morris Stephen J 1999 Why Vietnam Invaded Cambodia Stanford University Press ISBN 0 8047 3049 0 This article incorporates text from a free content work Licensed under CC BY SA IGO 3 0 Text taken from UNESCO Science Report Towards 2030 698 713 UNESCO UNESCO Publishing To learn how to add open license text to Wikipedia articles please see this how to page For information on reusing text from Wikipedia please see the terms of use External linksCambodia at Wikipedia s sister projects Definitions from Wiktionary Media from Commons News from Wikinews Quotations from Wikiquote Texts from Wikisource Textbooks from Wikibooks Travel information from Wikivoyage Resources from Wikiversity Data from Wikidata Cambodia The World Factbook Central Intelligence Agency Cambodia from UCB Libraries GovPubs Cambodia at Curlie Cambodia profile from the BBC News Cambodia at Encyclopaedia Britannica Wikimedia Atlas of Cambodia span, wikipedia, wiki, 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