Background: Following a five-year struggle, communist Khmer
Rouge forces captured Phnom Penh in 1975 and ordered the evacuation of all
cities and towns; over 1 million displaced people died from execution or
enforced hardships. A 1978 Vietnamese invasion drove the Khmer Rouge into
the countryside and touched off 13 years of fighting. UN-sponsored
elections in 1993 helped restore some semblance of normalcy, as did the
rapid diminishment of the Khmer Rouge in the mid-1990s. A coalition
government, formed after national elections in 1998, brought renewed
political stability and the surrender of remaining Khmer Rouge forces.
Government type: multiparty liberal democracy
under a constitutional monarchy established in September 1993
Capital: Phnom Penh
Currency: 1 new riel (CR) = 100 sen
Geography of Cambodia
Location: Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, between Thailand,
Vietnam, and Laos
Geographic coordinates: 13 00 N, 105 00 E
Area:
total: 181,040 sq km
land: 176,520 sq km
water: 4,520 sq km
Land boundaries:
total: 2,572 km
border countries: Laos 541 km, Thailand 803 km, Vietnam 1,228 km
Coastline: 443 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical; rainy, monsoon season (May to November); dry season (December
to April); little seasonal temperature variation
Terrain: mostly low, flat plains; mountains in southwest and north
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Gulf of Thailand 0 m
highest point: Phnum Aoral 1,810 m
Natural resources: timber, gemstones, some iron ore, manganese, phosphates,
hydropower potential
Land use:
arable land: 13%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 11%
forests and woodland: 66%
other: 10% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 920 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: monsoonal rains (June to November); flooding; occasional
droughts
Environment - current issues: illegal logging activities throughout
the country and strip mining for gems in the western region along the border
with Thailand have resulted in habitat loss and declining biodiversity (in
particular, destruction of mangrove swamps threatens natural fisheries);
soil erosion; in rural areas, a majority of the population does not have
access to potable water; toxic waste delivery from Taiwan sparked unrest in
Kampong Saom (Sihanoukville) in December 1998.
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Marine
Life Conservation, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping
Geography - note: a land of paddies and forests dominated by the Mekong River
and Tonle Sap
More Geography
People of Cambodia
Population: 13,607,069 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 41.25%
15-64 years: 55.28%
65 years and over: 3.47%
Population growth rate: 2.25%
Birth rate: 33.16 births/1,000 population
Death rate: 10.65 deaths/1,000 population
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population
Infant mortality rate: 65.41 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 56.82 years
male: 54.62 years
female: 59.12 years
Total fertility rate: 4.74 children born/woman
Nationality:
noun: Cambodian(s)
adjective: Cambodian
Ethnic groups: Khmer 90%, Vietnamese 5%, Chinese 1%, other 4%
Religions: Theravada Buddhist 95%, other 5%
Languages: Khmer (official) 95%, French, English
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 35%
male: 48%
female: 22% (1990 est.)
SOURCE: The World Factbook |