About Cambodia

The Kingdom of Cambodia is rich in culture and civilization, a senior nation which held great power in South-East Asia in the past. During those ancient times, the kingdom was widely known as the Norkor Phnom or Kork Thlok, Zhenla and later as Angkor Empire or the Khmer Empire.

Today the country is known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, occupying the South-Eastern region covering a total area of 181,035 square kilometers.

This modern kingdom nowadays is geographically compact comprising of 20 provinces, plus 1 capital and 3 sub-capital as Sihanoukville, Kep and Bokor, and Pailin. It is bordered by Vietnam to the east, the Gulf of Thailand to the south, and Thailand to the west and Laos and Thailand to the north. Cambodia has an approximate population of 13.5 million citizens. Phnom Penh is the capital city, with a population of 1.5 million and coverage around 400 square kilometers.

The Cambodian population is 90% Khmer, with the remainder comprising of 5-10% Cham Muslim, Vietnamese and other ethnic minority groups who mainly live in northeast region of the country. The official language is Khmer, part of the Mon-Khmer group of languages. Khmer is spoken by more than 90% of the population. English is widely spoken, particularly by the younger generation. French, formerly the second official language, is spoken mostly by older people. 80-90% of the population live in rural areas and are predominately farmers. The official religion is Theravada Buddhism, which is also practiced in Laos and Thailand , Myanmar and Sri Lanka .

The official currency is Riel: Exchange rates fluctuate, 1 U.S. Dollar is currently valued around the 4,000 Riel mark. The Riel currency notes comes in the denominations of 100,000, 50,000, 20,000, 10,000, 5000, 2000, 1000, 500, 200, 100 and 50. However, U.S. Dollars are widely used and most tourist establishments will quote prices in dollars.

The climate in Cambodia is dominated by tropical monsoons and can be roughly divided into the rainy, cool and dry seasons. The rainy season extends from May to October, with average temperatures ranging from 24-33°c. The cool season starts in November and runs until January – temperatures are around 18-30°c.

The country’s most important heritage treasure is Angkor Wat, located centrally in the country in Siem Reap province. It has been described as one of the seven wonders of the world, listed by UNECSO as a world heritage site. Angkor Wat is the center of a rich historical, traditional and cultural heritage. It is justifiably Cambodia ‘s premier tourist destination.

The commercial heart of Cambodia is Phnom Penh . It is home to a thriving international and local trade sector. On the outskirts of the capital you will find numerous industrial facilities, especially garment factories. The country’s international airports are situated in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap: Extensive port and container facilities can be found in Sihanoukville, four hours south west of the capital.

Cambodia has an extensive road system and National Routes link Phnom Penh with every province and provincial towns. Most travel is by road, but boat and train links are also popular. Vehicles drive on the right hand side of the road, as in Europe and United States .

The principle economic benefits come from the agriculture, tourism and garment manufacturing sectors: In recent year, the tourism industry has been the second largest income generator after the garment industry.