Cambodia

Kingdom of Cambodia" redirects here. For the post-independence era, see Kingdom of Cambodia (1953–70).

For the song, see Cambodia (song).

Coordinates: 13°N 105°E

Kingdom of Cambodia ព្រះរាជាណាចក្រកម្ពុជា Preăh Réachéanachâk Kâmpŭchéa
Flag Royal Arms
Motto:  ជាតិ សាសនា ព្រះមហាក្សត្រ "Nation, Religion, King"
Anthem:  Nokor Reach Majestic Kingdom MENU 0:00
Location of  Cambodia  (green) in ASEAN  (dark grey)  –  [Legend]
Capital and largest city	Phnom Penh 11°33′N 104°55′E
Official languages	Khmer
Official script	Khmer script
Ethnic groups(2013[1])	90% Khmer 5% Vietnamese 1% Chinese 4% Other
Religion	Official: Theravada Buddhism Other religions: Islam Christianity other
Demonym	Cambodian, Kampuchean
Government	Unitary dominant-party parliamentaryelective constitutional monarchy
• King	Norodom Sihamoni
• Prime Minister	Hun Sen
• President of the Senate	Say Chhum
• President of the National Assembly	Heng Samrin
Legislature	Parliament
• Upper house	Senate
• Lower house	National Assembly
Formation
• Kingdom of Funan	68–550
• Kingdom of Chenla	550–706
• Khmer Empire	802–1431
• Independence (from France)	9 November 1953
• Paris Peace Accords	23 October 1991
• Monarchy restored	24 September 1993
Area
• Total	181,035 km2(69,898 sq mi) (88th)
• Water (%)	2.5
Population
• July 2016 estimate	15,957,223[1] (65th)
• 2008 census	13,395,682[2]
• Density	81.8/km2(211.9/sq mi) (118th)
GDP (PPP)	2016 estimate
• Total	$58.939 billion[3]
• Per capita	$3,735[3]
GDP (nominal)	2016 estimate
• Total	$19.368 billion[3]
• Per capita	$1,227[3]
Gini (2011)	31.8[4] medium
HDI (2014)	0.555[5] medium · 143rd
Currency	Riel (KHR)
Time zone	(UTC+7)
Date format	dd/mm/yyyy
Drives on the	right
Calling code	+855
ISO 3166 code	KH
Internet TLD	.kh

You may need rendering support to display the Khmer text in this article correctly.

Cambodia (ⁱ/kæmˈboʊdiə/;^[6] Khmer: កម្ពុជា, or Kampuchea IPA: [kɑmpuˈciə]), officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia (Khmer: ព្រះរាជាណាចក្រកម្ពុជា, Preăh Réachéanachâk Kâmpŭchéa, IPA: [ˈprĕəh riəciənaːˈcɑk kɑmpuˈciə]), is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is 181,035 square kilometres (69,898 square miles) in area, bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the northeast, Vietnam to the east, and the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest.

Cambodia has a population of over 15 million. The official religion is Theravada Buddhism, practiced by approximately 95 percent of the population. The country's minority groups include Vietnamese, Chinese, Chams, and 30 hill tribes.^[7] The capital and largest city is Phnom Penh, the political, economic, and cultural centre of Cambodia. The kingdom is a constitutional monarchy with Norodom Sihamoni, a monarch chosen by the Royal Throne Council, as head of state. The head of government is Hun Sen, who is currently the longest serving non-royal leader in South East Asia and has ruled Cambodia for over 25 years.

In 802 AD, Jayavarman II declared himself king, uniting the warring Khmer princes of Chenla under the name "Kambuja".^[8] This marked the beginning of the Khmer Empire which flourished for over 600 years, allowing successive kings to control and exert influence over much of Southeast Asia and accumulate immense power and wealth. The Indianized kingdom built monumental temples including Angkor Wat, now a World Heritage Site, and facilitated the spread of first Hinduism, then Buddhism to much of Southeast Asia. After the fall of Angkor to Ayutthaya in the 15th century, a reduced and weakened Cambodia was then ruled as a vassal state by its neighbours. In 1863 Cambodia became a protectorate of France which doubled the size of the country by reclaiming the north and west from Thailand.

Cambodia gained independence in 1953. The Vietnam War extended into the country with the US bombing of Cambodia from 1969 until 1973. Following the Cambodian coup of 1970, the deposed king gave his support to his former enemies, the Khmer Rouge. The Khmer Rouge emerged as a major power, taking Phnom Penh in 1975 and later carrying out the Cambodian Genocide from 1975 until 1979, when they were ousted by Vietnam and the Vietnamese-backed People's Republic of Kampuchea in the Cambodian–Vietnamese War (1979–91). Following the 1991 Paris Peace Accords, 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 placed power solely in the hands of Prime Minister Hun Sen and the Cambodian People's Party, who remain in power as of 2017.

The country faces numerous challenges. Important sociopolitical issues includes widespread poverty,^[9] pervasive corruption,^[10] lack of political freedoms,^[11] low human development,^[12] and a high rate of hunger.^[13][14][15] Cambodia has been described by Human Rights Watch's Southeast Asian Director, David Roberts, as a "vaguely communist free-market state with a relatively authoritarian coalition ruling over a superficial democracy."^[16] While per capita income remains low compared to most neighbouring countries, Cambodia has one of the fastest growing economies in Asia with growth averaging 6 percent over the last decade. Agriculture remains the dominant economic sector, with strong growth in textiles, construction, garments, and tourism leading to increased foreign investment and international trade.^[17] Cambodia scored dismally in an annual index (2015) ranking the rule of law in 102 countries, placing 99th overall and the worst in the region.^[18]

Cambodia also faces environmental destruction as an imminent problem. The most severe activity in this regard is considered to be the countrywide deforestation, which also involves national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. Overall, environmental destruction in Cambodia comprise many different activities, including illegal logging, poaching of endangered and endemic species, and destruction of important wildlife habitats from large scale construction projects and agricultural businesses. The degrading activities involve the local population, Cambodian businesses and political authorities, as well as foreign criminal syndicates and many transnational corporations from all over the world.