ra’s blog

Geography

Cambodia is located on the Indochinese peninsula, bordered by Thailand to the west, Laos PDS to the north, and Vietnam to the east. Total land area is 181,035 square kilometers. The Gulf of Thailand is off the western coast. The size of Missouri, the country consists chiefly of a large alluvial plain ringed by mountains and on the east is the Mekong River. The plain is centered around Lake Tonle Sap, which is a natural storage basin of the Mekong.

Khmer History in Brief

Cambodia, can be spelled as Kambuja or Kampuchea, is located in Southeast Asia between today Thailand, the Gulf of Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. Khmer is original name of Cambodian. Khmer means “hill” (greatness and unity). The country is called by the local people as Kampuchea or Srok Khmer. The Khmer evolved from the Mon-Khmer ethnic group. Historian divided Khmer history into three major periods (1) Pre-Angkorian Period, (2) Angkorian Period and (3) Post-Angkorian Period. The Khmer civilization was dominated by the Hindu-Buddhist. The Khmers had adopted religious and political ideas and institutions from India.

The four particularly notable Khmer kings who made the Khmer Empire one of the world’s greatest civilizations were:

• King Jayavarman II, the king who united the two kingdom of Chenla during the years 802-850.
• King Yasovarman I, the king who established Angkor as the capital between the years 899-900.
• King Soryavarman II, the king who built Angkor Wat between 1116-1145.
• King Jayavarman VII, the king who built Angkor Thom between the years 1181-1201.

Cambodia at a Glance

National Name: Preahreacheanacha Kampuchea

King: Norodom Sihamoni (2004)

Prime Minister: Hun Sen (1998)

Land area: 68,154 sq mi (176,519 sq km); total area: 69,900 sq mi (181,040 sq km)

Population (2007 est.): 14,131,858 (growth rate: 1.8%); birth rate: 26.9/1000; infant mortality rate: 68.8/1000; life expectancy: 59.7; density per sq mi: 207

Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Phnom Penh, 1,169,800

Monetary unit: Riel

Languages: Khmer 95% (official), French, English

Ethnicity/race: Khmer 90%, Vietnamese 5%, Chinese 1%, other 4%

Religions: Theravada Buddhist 95%, others 5%

Literacy rate: 73.6% (2004 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2006 est.): $36.78 billion; per capita $2,600. Real growth rate: 13.4%. Inflation: 5%. Unemployment: 2.5% (2000 est.). Arable land: 21%. Agriculture: rice, rubber, corn, vegetables, cashews, tapioca. Labor force: 7 million (2003 est.); agriculture 75% (2004 est.). Industries: tourism, garments, rice milling, fishing, wood and wood products, rubber, cement, gem mining, textiles. Natural resources: oil and gas, timber, gemstones, some iron ore, manganese, phosphates, hydropower potential. Exports: $3.38 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.): clothing, timber, rubber, rice, fish, tobacco, footwear. Imports: $4.446 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.): petroleum products, cigarettes, gold, construction materials, machinery, motor vehicles, pharmaceutical products. Major trading partners: U.S., Germany, UK, Vietnam, Canada, Thailand, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Taiwan (2004).

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 36,400 (2003); mobile cellular: 1.062 million (2005). Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 17, (2003). Television broadcast stations: 9 (2006). Internet hosts: 1,378 (2006). Internet users: 41,000 (2005).

Transportation: Railways: total: 602 km (2005). Highways: total: 38,257 km; paved: 2,406 km; unpaved: 35,851 km (2004). Waterways: 2,400 km (mainly on Mekong River) (2004). Ports and harbors: Phnom Penh. Airports: 20 (2006 est.).

International disputes: Southeast Asian states have enhanced border surveillance to check the spread of avian flu; Cambodia and Thailand dispute sections of boundary with missing boundary markers and Thai encroachments into Cambodian territory; maritime boundary with Vietnam is hampered by unresolved dispute over offshore islands; Cambodia accuses Thailand of obstructing access to Preah Vihear temple ruins awarded to Cambodia by ICJ decision in 1962; in 2004 Cambodian-Laotian and Laotian-Vietnamese boundary commissions reerect missing markers completing most of their demarcations.

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