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Cambodia
please note:
- the content below is remote from Wikipedia
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{{short description|Country in Southeast Asia}}{{about|the country|the song|Cambodia (song)}}{{redirect|Kampuchea|other uses|Kampuchea (disambiguation)}}{{pp|small=yes|expiry=06:59, 9 August 2018}}{{Use British English|date=June 2018}}{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}- the content below is remote from Wikipedia
- it has been imported raw for GetWiki
| factoids |
|---|
| 97.1% Buddhism (official)WEB, Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia,www.ccc.gov.kh/detail_info_en.php?_txtID=791, Constitutional Council of Cambodia, 11 April 2022, p. 14 Article 43, en, PDF, October 2015, “Buddhism is State’s religion”, 16 October 2022,web.archive.org/web/20221016033822/https://www.ccc.gov.kh/detail_info_en.php?_txtID=791, live,
| 2.0% Islam
| 0.3% Christianity
| 0.5% others
}}| 2.0% Islam
| 0.3% Christianity
| 0.5% others
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 ({{transliteration|km|KâmpÅchéa}}, {{IPA-km|kampuciÉ™|pron}}). KâmpÅchéa is the shortened alternative to the country’s official name in Khmer ({{transliteration|km|Preăh Réachéanachâkr KâmpÅchéa}}, {{IPA-km|preah riÉ™ciÉ™naËcak kampuciÉ™|pron}}. The Khmer endonym KâmpÅchéa derives from the Sanskrit name KambojadeÅ›a, composed of DeÅ›a (“land of” or “country of“) and (Kamboja), referring to the descendants of Kambu (a legendary Indian sage from the ancient Indian kingdom of Kamboja).JOURNAL, Chad, Raymond, Regional Geographic Influence on Two Khmer Polities, Salve Regina University, Faculty and Staff: Articles and Papers, 1 April 2005, 137,digitalcommons.salve.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1015&context=fac_staff_pub, 1 November 2015, 3 October 2022,digitalcommons.salve.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1015&context=fac_staff_pub," title="web.archive.org/web/20221003111557digitalcommons.salve.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1015&context=fac_staff_pub,">web.archive.org/web/20221003111557digitalcommons.salve.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1015&context=fac_staff_pub, live, The term Cambodia was already in use in Europe as early as 1524, since Antonio Pigafetta cites it in his work Relazione del primo viaggio intorno al mondo (1524–1525) as Camogia.WEB, Relazione del primo viaggio intorno al mondo – Wikisource,it.wikisource.org/wiki/Relazione_del_primo_viaggio_intorno_al_mondo, it.wikisource.org, 26 September 2018, 22 November 2018,web.archive.org/web/20181122135516/https://it.wikisource.org/wiki/Relazione_del_primo_viaggio_intorno_al_mondo, live, 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.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=iDyJBFTdiwoC&q=KAMBU+SVAYAMBHUVA&pg=PA66, The Indianized States of South-East Asia, George Coedès, 1968, University of Hawaii Press, 9780824803681, January 14, 2018, WEB,www.anthropology.hawaii.edu/people/faculty/Stark/pdfs/YoffeePages313332.pdf, 9 Textualized Places, Pre-Angkorian Khmers and Historicized Archaeology by Miriam T. Stark - Cambodia’s Origins and the Khok Thlok Story, Miriam T. Stark, Miriam Stark, University of Hawaii, 2006, January 14, 2018,www.anthropology.hawaii.edu/people/faculty/Stark/pdfs/YoffeePages313332.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20150923172439www.anthropology.hawaii.edu/people/faculty/Stark/pdfs/YoffeePages313332.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20150923172439www.anthropology.hawaii.edu/people/faculty/Stark/pdfs/YoffeePages313332.pdf, September 23, 2015, dead, Colloquially, Cambodians refer to their country as either Srok Khmer ( {{transliteration|km|SrÅk Khmêr}}, {{IPA-km|srok kÊ°mae|pron}}; meaning “Land of the Khmers“), or the slightly more formal (, {{IPA-km|prÉ‘teh kampuciÉ™|pron}}; “Country of Kampuchea“). The name Cambodia is used most often in the Western world while Kampuchea is more widely used in the Eastern world.DICTIONARY,dictionary.reference.com/browse/kampuchea, kampuchea. (n.d.). Collins English Dictionary – Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition., Dictionary.com, 31 October 2015, 20 November 2015,dictionary.reference.com/browse/kampuchea," title="web.archive.org/web/20151120030829dictionary.reference.com/browse/kampuchea,">web.archive.org/web/20151120030829dictionary.reference.com/browse/kampuchea, live, WEB,books.google.com/books?id=5oGnZRd4GKwC&pg=PA3, Cambodia, 31 October 2015, WEB,www.nectec.or.th/thai-yunnan/20.html#9, On some Cambodian Words, Thai-Yunnan Project Newsletter No. 20., Department of Anthropology, Research School of Pacific Studies Australian National University by Serge Thion, Nectec, 31 October 2015, 28 June 2015,www.nectec.or.th/thai-yunnan/20.html#9," title="web.archive.org/web/20150628090601www.nectec.or.th/thai-yunnan/20.html#9,">web.archive.org/web/20150628090601www.nectec.or.th/thai-yunnan/20.html#9, live,History
Pre-history
(File:Ewer from Cambodia, Angkorian era, 12th century, glazed stoneware, HAA.JPG|thumb|Glazed stoneware dating back to the 12th century)There exists evidence for a Pleistocene human occupation of what later is 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.BOOK, Stark, Miriam, Ian, Glover, Peter S., Bellwood, Southeast Asia: from prehistory to history, 2005, Routledge, 978-0-415-39117-7, Pre-Angkorian and Angkorian Cambodia,www.anthropology.hawaii.edu/People/Faculty/Stark/pdfs/2004_PreAngkorian.pdf, 18 November 2009, 10 June 2010,www.anthropology.hawaii.edu/People/Faculty/Stark/pdfs/2004_PreAngkorian.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20100610170734www.anthropology.hawaii.edu/People/Faculty/Stark/pdfs/2004_PreAngkorian.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20100610170734www.anthropology.hawaii.edu/People/Faculty/Stark/pdfs/2004_PreAngkorian.pdf, dead, Some 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, which belongs to the Hoabinhian period. Excavations in its lower layers produced a series of radiocarbon dates around 6000 BC.WEB,www.smartcambodia.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=841%3Athe-second-prehistoric-archaeological-excavation-in-laang-spean-2009&catid=80&lang=en, The Second Prehistoric Archaeological Excavation in Laang Spean (2009), Michel, Tranet, 20 October 2009, 17 November 2009, dead,www.smartcambodia.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=841%3Athe-second-prehistoric-archaeological-excavation-in-laang-spean-2009&catid=80&lang=en," title="web.archive.org/web/20110101174655www.smartcambodia.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=841%3Athe-second-prehistoric-archaeological-excavation-in-laang-spean-2009&catid=80&lang=en,">web.archive.org/web/20110101174655www.smartcambodia.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=841%3Athe-second-prehistoric-archaeological-excavation-in-laang-spean-2009&catid=80&lang=en, 1 January 2011, Upper layers in the same site gave evidence of transition to Neolithic, containing the earliest dated earthenware ceramics in Cambodia.WEB,www.smartcambodia.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=840%3Athe-oldest-ceramic-in-cambodias-laang-spean-1966-68&catid=80&lang=en, The Oldest Ceramic in Cambodia’s Laang Spean (1966–68), 20 October 2009, 17 November 2009, dead,www.smartcambodia.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=840%3Athe-oldest-ceramic-in-cambodias-laang-spean-1966-68&catid=80&lang=en," title="web.archive.org/web/20110101163727www.smartcambodia.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=840%3Athe-oldest-ceramic-in-cambodias-laang-spean-1966-68&catid=80&lang=en,">web.archive.org/web/20110101163727www.smartcambodia.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=840%3Athe-oldest-ceramic-in-cambodias-laang-spean-1966-68&catid=80&lang=en, 1 January 2011, Archaeological records for the period between Holocene and Iron Age remain equally limited. An event in prehistory was the penetration of the first rice farmers from the north, which began in the third millennium BC.BOOK, Higham, Charles, The civilization of Angkor, Phoenix, 978-1-84212-584-7,books.google.com/books?id=_oZ52cuX8s4C, January 2002, , pp.13–22 Prehistoric evidence are the “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, and some of them possibly date from second millennium BC.WEB,memotcentre.org/Earthwork.html, Research History, Memot Centre for Archaeology, 6 February 2009, 20 March 2019,memotcentre.org/Earthwork.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20190320094402memotcentre.org/Earthwork.html,">web.archive.org/web/20190320094402memotcentre.org/Earthwork.html, live, JOURNAL, Albrecht, Gerd, Miriam Noel Haidle, Chhor Sivleng, Heang Leang Hong, Heng Sophady, Heng Than, Mao Someaphyvath, Sirik Kada, Som Sophal, Thuy Chanthourn, Vin Laychour, 2000, Circular Earthwork Krek 52/62 Recent Research on the Prehistory of Cambodia, Asian Perspectives, 39, 1–2, 0066-8435,muse.jhu.edu/demo/asian_perspectives/v039/39.1albrecht.pdf, 15 November 2009, 1, 22 April 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200422173620/https://muse.jhu.edu/demo/asian_perspectives/v039/39.1albrecht.pdf, dead, 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,BOOK, Higham, Charles, The Archaeology of Mainland Southeast Asia, 1989, Cambridge University Press, 978-0-521-27525-5, , p.120 and Phum Snay, in the northern province of Banteay Meanchey.JOURNAL, O’Reilly, Dougald J.W., von den Driesch, Angela, Voeun, Vuthy, 2006, Archaeology and Archaeozoology of Phum Snay: A Late Prehistoric Cemetery in Northwestern Cambodia, Asian Perspectives, 45, 2, 0066-8435, Iron was worked by about 500 BC, with supporting evidence coming from the Khorat Plateau, in what later is Thailand. In Cambodia, some Iron Age settlements were found beneath Baksei Chamkrong and other Angkorian temples while circular earthworks at the site of Lovea kilometres north-west of Angkor. Burials testify to improvement of food availability and trade, and the existence of a social structure and labour organization.Carter, A. K. (2011). Trade and Exchange Networks in Iron Age Cambodia: Preliminary Results from a Compositional Analysis of Glass Beads. Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association, 30, 178–188. Kinds of glass beads recovered from sites, such as the Phum Snay site in the northwest and the Prohear site in the southeast, suggest that there were 2 main trading networks at the time. The 2 networks were separated by time and space, which indicate that there was a shift from 1 network to the other at about 2nd–4th century AD, probably due to changes in socio-political powers.Pre-Angkorian, Angkorian, and Post-Angkor
{{multiple image| caption_align = center| header_align = center| direction = vertical| width = 215| image1 = Angkor Wat.jpg| caption1 = Angkor Wat| image2 = Bayon Angkor frontal.jpgFrench colonisation
{{multiple image| caption_align = left| header_align = center| align = right| direction = vertical| width = 150| image1 =Kingdom (1953–1970)
File:Mao Sihanouk.jpg|thumb|left|Norodom Sihanouk and Mao ZedongMao ZedongIn 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. 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.Washington Post, 29 December 1967The same message was conveyed to US President Johnson’s emissary Chester Bowles in January 1968.Morris, p. 44, {{ISBN|0804730490}}. 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.Bombing in Cambodia: Hearings before the Committee on Armed Services, U.S. Senate, 93d Cong., 1st sess., July/August 1973, pp. 158–160, the primary source on the “secret bombings”.Khmer Republic (1970–1975)
While visiting Beijing in 1970 Sihanouk was ousted by a military coup led by Prime Minister General Lon Nol and Prince Sisowath Sirik Matak.Clymer, K. J., The United States and Cambodia, Routledge, 2004, p.22 Once the coup was completed, the new regime, which 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, launched armed attacks on the new government. The king urged his followers to help in overthrowing this government, hastening the onset of civil war.BOOK, Norodom Sihanouk, Norodom Sihanouk, My War with the CIA, The Memoirs of Prince Norodom Sihanouk as related to Wilfred Burchett, Pantheon Books, 1973, 0-394-48543-2,archive.org/details/mywarwithcia00noro, {{multiple image|caption_align=left|header_align=center
| align = left
| direction = vertical
| width = 215
| image1 = US aircraft LORAN bombing over Cambodia c1973.JPG
| caption1 = Tens of thousands of people were killed during the US bombing of Cambodia between 1970 and 1973.JOURNAL, Owen, Taylor, Kiernan, Ben, Bombs Over Cambodia, The Walrus, October 2006,www.yale.edu/cgp/Walrus_CambodiaBombing_OCT06.pdf, 32–36, The evidence of survivors from many parts of [Cambodia] suggests that at least tens of thousands, probably in the range of 50,000 to 150,000 deaths, resulted from the US bombing campaigns ...”, bot: unknown,www.yale.edu/cgp/Walrus_CambodiaBombing_OCT06.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20160420220434www.yale.edu/cgp/Walrus_CambodiaBombing_OCT06.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20160420220434www.yale.edu/cgp/Walrus_CambodiaBombing_OCT06.pdf, 20 April 2016, See WEB, Ben Kiernan, Kiernan, Ben, Owen, Taylor,apjjf.org/2015/13/16/Ben-Kiernan/4313.html, Making More Enemies than We Kill? Calculating U.S. Bomb Tonnages Dropped on Laos and Cambodia, and Weighing Their Implications, The Asia-Pacific Journal, 26 April 2015, 19 September 2016, 12 September 2015,www.yale.edu/cgp/Walrus_CambodiaBombing_OCT06.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20150912002843www.yale.edu/cgp/Walrus_CambodiaBombing_OCT06.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20150912002843www.yale.edu/cgp/Walrus_CambodiaBombing_OCT06.pdf, live,
| image2 = Marines deploy at LZ Hotel.jpg
| caption2 = Operation Eagle Pull
| image3 =
| caption3 =
}}Khmer Rouge rebels began using him to gain support. From 1970 until 1972, the Cambodian conflict was largely 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.Morris, pp. 48–51. 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.BOOK, Mosyakov, Dmitry, 2004,www.yale.edu/gsp/publications/Mosyakov.doc,www.yale.edu/gsp/publications/Mosyakov.doc," title="web.archive.org/web/20130309074636www.yale.edu/gsp/publications/Mosyakov.doc,">web.archive.org/web/20130309074636www.yale.edu/gsp/publications/Mosyakov.doc, 9 March 2013, 13 April 2015, The Khmer Rouge and the Vietnamese Communists: A History of Their Relations as Told in the Soviet Archives, Cook, Susan E., Genocide in Cambodia and Rwanda, Yale Genocide Studies Program Monograph Series No. 1, 54 ff, In April–May 1970, many North Vietnamese forces entered Cambodia in response to the call for help addressed to Vietnam not by Pol Pot, but by his deputy Nuon Chea. Nguyen Co Thach recalls: ‘Nuon Chea has asked for help and we have liberated five provinces of Cambodia in ten days.’, NVA units overran Cambodian army positions while the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) expanded their 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).Short, Philip (2004) Pol Pot: Anatomy of a Nightmare, Henry Holt & Co.: New York, p. 204, {{ISBN|0805080066}}. On New Year’s Day 1975, Communist troops launched an offensive which, in 117 days, 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, 5 days after the US mission evacuated Cambodia.Short, Philip (2004) Pol Pot: Anatomy of a Nightmare, Henry Holt & Co.: New York, p. 4, {{ISBN|0805080066}}.| direction = vertical
| width = 215
| image1 = US aircraft LORAN bombing over Cambodia c1973.JPG
| caption1 = Tens of thousands of people were killed during the US bombing of Cambodia between 1970 and 1973.JOURNAL, Owen, Taylor, Kiernan, Ben, Bombs Over Cambodia, The Walrus, October 2006,www.yale.edu/cgp/Walrus_CambodiaBombing_OCT06.pdf, 32–36, The evidence of survivors from many parts of [Cambodia] suggests that at least tens of thousands, probably in the range of 50,000 to 150,000 deaths, resulted from the US bombing campaigns ...”, bot: unknown,www.yale.edu/cgp/Walrus_CambodiaBombing_OCT06.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20160420220434www.yale.edu/cgp/Walrus_CambodiaBombing_OCT06.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20160420220434www.yale.edu/cgp/Walrus_CambodiaBombing_OCT06.pdf, 20 April 2016, See WEB, Ben Kiernan, Kiernan, Ben, Owen, Taylor,apjjf.org/2015/13/16/Ben-Kiernan/4313.html, Making More Enemies than We Kill? Calculating U.S. Bomb Tonnages Dropped on Laos and Cambodia, and Weighing Their Implications, The Asia-Pacific Journal, 26 April 2015, 19 September 2016, 12 September 2015,www.yale.edu/cgp/Walrus_CambodiaBombing_OCT06.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20150912002843www.yale.edu/cgp/Walrus_CambodiaBombing_OCT06.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20150912002843www.yale.edu/cgp/Walrus_CambodiaBombing_OCT06.pdf, live,
| image2 = Marines deploy at LZ Hotel.jpg
| caption2 = Operation Eagle Pull
| image3 =
| caption3 =
Khmer Rouge regime (1975–1978)
File:TuolSlang3.jpg|thumb|Rooms of the Tuol Sleng Genocide MuseumTuol Sleng Genocide MuseumFile:Buddhist Stupa at Choeung Ek killing fields, Cambodia.JPG|thumb|Choeung EkChoeung EkEstimates as to how many people were killed by the Khmer Rouge regime range from approximately 1 to 3 million; a cited figure is 2 million (about a quarter of the population).JOURNAL, Locard, Henri, State Violence in Democratic Kampuchea (1975–1979) and Retribution (1979–2004), European Review of History, 12, 1, 121–143, March 2005, 10.1080/13507480500047811, 10.1.1.692.8388, 144712717,www.paulbogdanor.com/left/cambodia/locard.pdf, 23 September 2019, 31 October 2021,www.paulbogdanor.com/left/cambodia/locard.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20211031164305www.paulbogdanor.com/left/cambodia/locard.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20211031164305www.paulbogdanor.com/left/cambodia/locard.pdf, dead, JOURNAL, Ben Kiernan, Kiernan, Ben, The Demography of Genocide in Southeast Asia: The Death Tolls in Cambodia, 1975–79, and East Timor, 1975–80, Critical Asian Studies, 35, 4, 585–597, 2003, 10.1080/1467271032000147041, 143971159, We may safely conclude, from known pre- and post-genocide population figures and from professional demographic calculations, that the 1975–79 death toll was between 1.671 and 1.871 million people, 21 to 24 per cent of Cambodia’s 1975 population., BOOK, Heuveline, Patrick, The Demographic Analysis of Mortality Crises: The Case of Cambodia, 1970–1979, Forced Migration and Mortality, National Academies Press, 2001, 102–105, 978-0-309-07334-9, As best as can now be estimated, over two million Cambodians died during the 1970s because of the political events of the decade, the vast majority of them during the mere four years of the ‘Khmer Rouge’ regime. This number of deaths is even more staggering when related to the size of the Cambodian population, then less than eight million. ... Subsequent reevaluations of the demographic data situated the death toll for the [civil war] in the order of 300,000 or less., cf. WEB,sites.tufts.edu/atrocityendings/2015/08/07/cambodia-u-s-bombing-civil-war-khmer-rouge/, Cambodia: U.S. bombing, civil war, & Khmer Rouge, World Peace Foundation, 7 August 2015, 9 August 2019, 14 July 2019,web.archive.org/web/20190714181839/https://sites.tufts.edu/atrocityendings/2015/08/07/cambodia-u-s-bombing-civil-war-khmer-rouge/, live, This era gave rise to the term Killing Fields, and the prison Tuol Sleng became known 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 underwent purges with as much as half of their population exterminated.Stanton, Gregory H. (22 February 1992) www.genocidewatch.org/aboutgenocide/stantoncambodianlaw.htm" title="web.archive.org/web/20081011031122www.genocidewatch.org/aboutgenocide/stantoncambodianlaw.htm">The Cambodian Genocide and International Law, Yale Law School. 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.“”The Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot’s Regime {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180714104451www.mtholyoke.edu/~amamendo/KhmerRouge.html |date=14 July 2018 }}. Mount Holyoke University.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. Most of the victims of the Khmer Rouge regime were not ethnic minorities but ethnic Khmer. Professionals, such as doctors, lawyers and teachers, were targeted. According to Robert D. Kaplan, “eyeglasses were as deadly as the yellow star” as they were seen as a sign of intellectualism.Kaplan, Robert D. (1996) The Ends of the Earth, Vintage, 1996, p. 406, {{ISBN|0679751238}}.Religious institutions were targeted by the Khmer Rouge. The majority of Khmer architecture, 95% of Cambodia’s Buddhist temples, were destroyed.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=la4kBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT23, The Worst World Disasters of All Time, Kevin Baker, 23, 978-1-4566-2343-2, 3 November 2014, eBookIt.com,Vietnamese occupation and transition (1978–1992)
In November 1978, Vietnamese troops invaded Cambodia in response to border raids by the Khmer RougeWEB,cambodiangenocide.org/definition-of-genocide, A Brief History of the Cambodian Genocide, cambodiangenocide.org, 17 January 2018, 18 January 2018,web.archive.org/web/20180118064702/https://cambodiangenocide.org/definition-of-genocide, dead, and conquered it. The People’s Republic of Kampuchea (PRK) was established as 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.Morris, p. 220 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.Bultmann, Daniel (2015) Inside Cambodian Insurgency. A Sociological Perspective on Civil Wars and Conflict, Ashgate: Burlington, VT/Farnham, UK, {{ISBN|9781472443076}}.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 3 factions. 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 UN, Thiounn Prasith, was retained, and he had to work in consultation with representatives of the noncommunist Cambodian parties.WEB,gsp.yale.edu/autobiography-thiounn-prasith, Autobiography of Thiounn Prasith – Cambodian Genocide Program – Yale University, 28 October 2014, 17 December 2015,gsp.yale.edu/autobiography-thiounn-prasith," title="web.archive.org/web/20151217234908gsp.yale.edu/autobiography-thiounn-prasith,">web.archive.org/web/20151217234908gsp.yale.edu/autobiography-thiounn-prasith, live, disarmament.un.org/Library.nsf/d7ae8ea134b27b838525755c00537cf2/f5b3eb8b58ae67c7852575a100632a27/%24FILE/A-40-PV69.pdf" title="web.archive.org/web/20110511225016disarmament.un.org/Library.nsf/d7ae8ea134b27b838525755c00537cf2/f5b3eb8b58ae67c7852575a100632a27/%24FILE/A-40-PV69.pdf">Provisional verbatim record of the sixty-ninth meeting. United Nations, General Assembly, New York, 8 November 1985. The refusal of Vietnam to withdraw from Cambodia led to economic sanctions.NEWS,heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/dsptch5&div=58&id=&page=, Lifting the US embargo against Cambodia, Department of State Dispatch 54, 20 January 1992, 1 March 2017, 10 October 2017,heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/dsptch5&div=58&id=&page=," title="web.archive.org/web/20171010190623heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/dsptch5&div=58&id=&page=,">web.archive.org/web/20171010190623heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/dsptch5&div=58&id=&page=, live, Peace efforts began in Paris in 1989 under the (People’s Republic of Kampuchea#Transition: State of Cambodia (1989–1993)|State of Cambodia), culminating 2 years later in October 1991 in a Paris Comprehensive Peace Settlement. 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).WEB,2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2732.htm, Country Profile of Cambodia, State.gov, 13 June 2012, 16 March 2013, 22 January 2017,web.archive.org/web/20170122194345/https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2732.htm, live,Kingdom (1993–)
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 CPP.WEB, 2020-12-07, A coup in Cambodia {{!, Asia {{!}} The Economist|url=https://www.economist.com/asia/1997/07/10/a-coup-in-cambodia|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211205032510www.economist.com/asia/1997/07/10/a-coup-in-cambodia|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 December 2021|access-date=2021-07-17|website=archive.is}}cambodia.ohchr.org/Documents/Statements%20and%20Speeches/English/40.pdf" title="web.archive.org/web/20070627054853cambodia.ohchr.org/Documents/Statements%20and%20Speeches/English/40.pdf">STATEMENT BY AMBASSADOR THOMAS HAMMARBERG, SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN CAMBODIA. UN OHCHR Cambodia (9 July 1997) After its government was able to stabilize under Sen, Cambodia was accepted into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on 30 April 1999.BOOK, ASEAN Enlargement: impacts and implications, Carolyn L. Gates, Mya Than, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2001, 978-981-230-081-2, WEB,www.asean.org/3338.htm, Statement by the Secretary-General of ASEAN Welcoming the Kingdom of Cambodia as the Tenth Member State of ASEAN: 30 April 1999, ASEAN Secretariat, 2008, ASEAN Secretariat,www.asean.org/3338.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20110511153639www.asean.org/3338.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20110511153639www.asean.org/3338.htm, 11 May 2011, dead, 28 August 2009, Norodom Sihamoni was crowned Cambodia’s king in 2004 after his father Sihanouk’s abdication.NEWS, 2004-10-29, In Pictures: King Sihamoni’s coronation, en-GB,news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/3964277.stm, 2021-07-17, 27 March 2012,news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/3964277.stm," title="web.archive.org/web/20120327171226news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/3964277.stm,">web.archive.org/web/20120327171226news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/3964277.stm, live, During the late 1990s and early 2000s, reconstruction efforts progressed which led to some political stability through a multiparty democracy under a constitutional monarchy although Sen’s rule has been marred by human rights abuses and corruption.BOOK, Strangio, Sebastian, Hun Sen’s Cambodia, 2014, Yale University Press, 978-0-300-19072-4, Cambodia’s economy grew rapidly in the 2000s and 2010s,WEB, Sarath, Sorn, IMF: Cambodia’s economic growth to be highest in Asean,www.phnompenhpost.com/business/imf-cambodias-economic-growth-be-highest-asean, 2021-07-17, www.phnompenhpost.com, en, 17 July 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210717102325/https://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/imf-cambodias-economic-growth-be-highest-asean, live, and it received considerable investment and infrastructure development support from China as part of its Belt and Road Initiative.WEB, How Chinese money is changing Cambodia,www.dw.com/en/how-chinese-money-is-changing-cambodia/a-50130240, 2021-07-17, DW, en-GB, 24 June 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210624101808/https://www.dw.com/en/how-chinese-money-is-changing-cambodia/a-50130240, live, File:CNRP protesters raise flags.jpg|thumb|Anti-government protests supporting opposition party CNRP followed 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.WEB, Carmichael, Robert, Cambodian Premier says No More Khmer Rouge Trials | News | English,www.voanews.com/english/news/Cambodian-Premier-says-No-More-Khmer-Rouge-Trials-105873293.html, dead,www.voanews.com/english/news/Cambodian-Premier-says-No-More-Khmer-Rouge-Trials-105873293.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20111108230947www.voanews.com/english/news/Cambodian-Premier-says-No-More-Khmer-Rouge-Trials-105873293.html,">web.archive.org/web/20111108230947www.voanews.com/english/news/Cambodian-Premier-says-No-More-Khmer-Rouge-Trials-105873293.html, 8 November 2011, 15 March 2013, Voanews.com, 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.NEWS, De Launey, Guy, 26 July 2010, Khmer Rouge Prison Chief Duch Found Guilty, BBC News,www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-10757320, 16 March 2013, 26 August 2013,www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-10757320," title="web.archive.org/web/20130826171640www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-10757320,">web.archive.org/web/20130826171640www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-10757320, live, NEWS,www.cnn.com/2012/02/03/world/asia/cambodia-duch-appeal/index.html, Leader of Khmer Rouge torture prison gets life sentence, CNN, 3 February 2012, 3 February 2012, 3 February 2012,www.cnn.com/2012/02/03/world/asia/cambodia-duch-appeal/index.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20120203110117www.cnn.com/2012/02/03/world/asia/cambodia-duch-appeal/index.html,">web.archive.org/web/20120203110117www.cnn.com/2012/02/03/world/asia/cambodia-duch-appeal/index.html, live, 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.{{Update inline|date=July 2021|reason=Further KR leaders were prosecuted in 2018 and 2020}}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.NEWS, Fuller, Thomas, 2014-01-05, Cambodia Steps Up Crackdown on Dissent With Ban on Assembly, en-US, The New York Times,www.nytimes.com/2014/01/06/world/asia/cambodia-crackdown-on-dissent.html, 2021-07-17, 0362-4331, 17 February 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200217030845/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/06/world/asia/cambodia-crackdown-on-dissent.html?_r=0, live, 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.WEB, 2020-11-02, Cambodia’s Government Should Stop Silencing Journalists, Media Outlets,www.hrw.org/news/2020/11/02/cambodias-government-should-stop-silencing-journalists-media-outlets, 2021-04-16, Human Rights Watch, en, 12 May 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210512020512/https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/11/02/cambodias-government-should-stop-silencing-journalists-media-outlets, live, The CPP won every seat in the National Assembly without major opposition, effectively solidifying de facto one-party rule in the country.WEB, 2018-07-29, Cambodia: Hun Sen re-elected in landslide victory after brutal crackdown,www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/29/cambodia-hun-sen-re-elected-in-landslide-victory-after-brutal-crackdown, 2021-07-17, the Guardian, en, 25 July 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210725073131/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/29/cambodia-hun-sen-re-elected-in-landslide-victory-after-brutal-crackdown, live, WEB, Authoritarian rule shedding its populist skin in rural Cambodia,www.opendemocracy.net/en/authoritarian-rule-shedding-its-populist-skin-in-rural-cambodia/, 2021-04-16, openDemocracy, en, 16 April 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210416030602/https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/authoritarian-rule-shedding-its-populist-skin-in-rural-cambodia/, live, The global COVID-19 pandemic spread to Cambodia in early 2020. Despite minimising the disease’s spread for much of 2020WEB, 2020-12-16, How have Thailand and Cambodia kept Covid cases so low?,www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/16/thailand-cambodia-covid-19-cases-deaths-low, 2021-07-17, the Guardian, en, 18 July 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210718174833/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/16/thailand-cambodia-covid-19-cases-deaths-low, live, the country’s health system was put under strain by a major outbreak in early 2021, which prompted several lockdowns.WEB, Bopha, Phorn, COVID variant pushes Cambodia to brink of ‘national tragedy’,www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/15/uk-covid-variant-pushes-cambodia-to-brink-of-national-tragedy, 2021-07-17, www.aljazeera.com, en, 5 August 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210805142906/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/15/uk-covid-variant-pushes-cambodia-to-brink-of-national-tragedy, live, It also had a severe economic impact, with the tourism industry particularly affected due to international travel restrictions.WEB, Hunt, Luke, Cambodians Reclaim Angkor Wat as Global Lockdowns Continue to Bite,thediplomat.com/2020/06/cambodians-reclaim-angkor-wat-as-global-lockdowns-continue-to-bite/, 2021-07-17, thediplomat.com, en-US, 2 August 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210802192306/https://thediplomat.com/2020/06/cambodians-reclaim-angkor-wat-as-global-lockdowns-continue-to-bite/, live, Prime Minister Hun Sen assumed office {{Time ago|1984-12-26}} and is one of the world’s longest-serving leaders. 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.NEWS, Hun Sen, Cambodian leader for 36 years, backs son to succeed him,www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/12/2/cambodian-leader-hun-sen-says-he-backs-eldest-son-to-succeed-him, www.aljazeera.com, en, 16 November 2022, 16 November 2022,web.archive.org/web/20221116183518/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/12/2/cambodian-leader-hun-sen-says-he-backs-eldest-son-to-succeed-him, live, 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. 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.WEB, Barrett, Chris, 2022-08-15, Former Australian school teacher faces criminal defamation charges over election comments,www.smh.com.au/world/asia/former-australian-school-teacher-faces-criminal-defamation-charges-over-election-comments-20220815-p5b9zk.html, 2022-11-17, The Sydney Morning Herald, en, 17 November 2022,web.archive.org/web/20221117004610/https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/former-australian-school-teacher-faces-criminal-defamation-charges-over-election-comments-20220815-p5b9zk.html, live, A July 2023 Human Rights Watch report showed numerous and significant election fraud and vote tampering in the June 2022 commune elections.WEB, 2023-07-03, Cambodia: Past Vote Irregularities Foreshadow July Election,www.hrw.org/news/2023/07/03/cambodia-past-vote-irregularities-foreshadow-july-election, 2023-07-03, Human Rights Watch, en, 3 July 2023,web.archive.org/web/20230703133413/https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/07/03/cambodia-past-vote-irregularities-foreshadow-july-election, live, In the July 2023 election, the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) easily won by a landslide in a flawed election, after the disqualification of Cambodia’s most important opposition, Candlelight Party.NEWS, Jazeera, Al, Cambodia PM Hun Sen’s party claims ‘landslide’ in flawed election,www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/23/cambodia-votes-in-one-sided-election-with-pm-hun-sen-win-expected, www.aljazeera.com, en, 21 September 2023, 21 September 2023,web.archive.org/web/20230921053857/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/23/cambodia-votes-in-one-sided-election-with-pm-hun-sen-win-expected, live, On 22 August 2023, Hun Manet was sworn in as the new Cambodian prime minister.NEWS, Petty, Martin, Cambodia’s new leader Hun Manet, strongman or reformer?,www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/cambodias-new-leader-hun-manet-strongman-or-reformer-2023-08-22/, Reuters, 22 August 2023, en, 21 September 2023, 13 September 2023,web.archive.org/web/20230913183707/https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/cambodias-new-leader-hun-manet-strongman-or-reformer-2023-08-22/, live,Geography
(File:Cambodia Geographic map en.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|Geographic map of Cambodia)(File:Cambodia Regions Map.png|thumb|upright=1.5|Regional map of Cambodia)Cambodia has an area of {{convert|181,035|km2|0|abbr=off}} 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 {{convert|443|km|mi|adj=mid|abbr=off}} coastline along the Gulf of Thailand.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 {{convert|650|ft|m|abbr=off}} above sea level.To the north the Cambodian plain abuts a sandstone escarpment, which forms a southward-facing cliff stretching more than {{convert|200|mi|km|abbr=off}} from west to east and rising abruptly above the plain to heights of {{convert|600|to(-)|1,800|ft|m|abbr=off}}. 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 {{convert|5,949|ft|m|abbr=off}}.WEB,www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/asia/cambodia/khland.htm, Geography of Cambodia – World Atlas, www.worldatlas.com, en, 10 July 2018, 11 July 2018,web.archive.org/web/20180711022148/https://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/asia/cambodia/khland.htm, live, 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 {{convert|2,590|km2|0|abbr=off}} during the dry season and expanding to about {{convert|24,605|km2|0|abbr=off}} during the rainy season. This densely populated plain, which is devoted to wet rice cultivation, is the heartland of Cambodia.WEB,factsanddetails.com/southeast-asia/Cambodia/sub5_2f/entry-3506.html, TONLE SAP {{!, Facts and Details|last=Hays|first=Jeffrey|website=factsanddetails.com|language=en|access-date=10 July 2018|archive-date=10 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710124926factsanddetails.com/southeast-asia/Cambodia/sub5_2f/entry-3506.html|url-status=live}} Much of this area has been designated as a biosphere reserve.Climate
File:Koppen-Geiger Map KHM present.svg|thumb|left|Köppen climate classificationKöppen climate classificationCambodia’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 {{convert|21|to|35|°C|°F|0}} 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.WEB,www.khmertimeskh.com/news/11754/climate-change--rainy-season-wild-card-/, Climate Change Hits Coastal Cambodia Hard, Laurenson, Jack, Khmer Times, 27 May 2015, 22 June 2017, WEB,www.camclimate.org.kh/en/documents-and-media/climate-change-in-the-news/211-un-reports-cambodia-at-high-risk-from-climate-change.html, UN Reports: Cambodia At High Risk From Climate Change – Cambodia’s Official Climate Change Website, Reaksmey, www.camclimate.org.kh, 18 August 2017, 11 August 2017,www.camclimate.org.kh/en/documents-and-media/climate-change-in-the-news/211-un-reports-cambodia-at-high-risk-from-climate-change.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20170811010051www.camclimate.org.kh/en/documents-and-media/climate-change-in-the-news/211-un-reports-cambodia-at-high-risk-from-climate-change.html,">web.archive.org/web/20170811010051www.camclimate.org.kh/en/documents-and-media/climate-change-in-the-news/211-un-reports-cambodia-at-high-risk-from-climate-change.html, live, Nearly all provinces in Cambodia are affected by climate change.Overland, Indra et al. (2017) Impact of Climate Change on ASEAN International Affairs: Risk and Opportunity Multiplier {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728061128www.researchgate.net/publication/320622312_Impact_of_Climate_Change_on_ASEAN_International_Affairs_Risk_and_Opportunity_Multiplier |date=28 July 2020 }}, Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) and Myanmar Institute of International and Strategic Studies (MISIS). 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.WEB, @NatGeoUK, 2020-08-17, Cambodia’s biggest lake is running dry, taking forests and fish with it,www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/environment-and-conservation/2020/08/cambodias-biggest-lake-is-running-dry-taking-forests-and-fish, 2020-12-10, National Geographic, en-gb, 26 September 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200926232915/https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/environment-and-conservation/2020/08/cambodias-biggest-lake-is-running-dry-taking-forests-and-fish, live, NEWS, Osborne, Zoe, 2019-12-16, Mekong basin’s vanishing fish signal tough times ahead in Cambodia, en-GB, The Guardian,www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/dec/16/mekong-basins-vanishing-fish-signal-ill-times-ahead-for-cambodia-aoe, 2020-12-10, 0261-3077, 11 November 2020,web.archive.org/web/20201111182015/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/dec/16/mekong-basins-vanishing-fish-signal-ill-times-ahead-for-cambodia-aoe, live, Cambodia has two distinct seasons. The rainy season, which runs from May to October, can see temperatures drop to {{convert|22|°C|0}} and is generally accompanied with high humidity. The dry season lasts from November to April when temperatures can rise up to {{convert|40|°C}} around April. Disastrous flooding occurred in 2001 and again in 2002, with some degree of flooding almost every year.BOOK, Nobleman, Marc Tyler, Cambodia, 2003, Bridgestone Books, Mankato, Minn, 978-0-7368-1370-9, 7, Severe flooding also affected 17 provinces in Cambodia during the 2020 Pacific typhoon season.NEWS, Dara, Mech, Leakhena, Khan, 14 October 2020, Rising Rivers Flood Schools, Prisons, Over 180,000 Hectares of Farms,vodenglish.news/rising-rivers-flood-schools-prisons-over-180000-hectares-of-farms/, 2020-12-10, VOD, 2 November 2020,web.archive.org/web/20201102081539/https://vodenglish.news/rising-rivers-flood-schools-prisons-over-180000-hectares-of-farms/, live,Biodiversity and conservation
{{see also|List of protected areas of Cambodia}}File:Monkey Mother and Child - Phnom Pros (Man Hill) - Outside Kampong Cham - Cambodia (48354787692).jpg|thumb|Macaques at Phnom Pros, Kampong Cham ProvinceKampong Cham ProvinceCambodia’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.www.tsbr-ed.org/english/online_catalogue/textual_detail.asp?ref=141" title="archive.today/20110728131701www.tsbr-ed.org/english/online_catalogue/textual_detail.asp?ref=141">Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve: perspective 2000, Mekong River Commission (MRC), 1 March 2003.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.www.unesco.org/mab/doc/brs/BRlist2008.pdf" title="web.archive.org/web/20090318002520www.unesco.org/mab/doc/brs/BRlist2008.pdf">Complete list of biosphere reserves. Publication Date: 3 November 2008, retrieved from UNESCO website. (PDF) . Retrieved on 5 July 2015. 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.Eric Wikramanayake, Eric Dinerstein, Colby J. Loucks et al. (2002). Terrestrial Ecoregions of the Indo-Pacific: a Conservation Assessment. Island Press; Washington, DC, {{ISBN|1559639237}}.File:Cascade de la rivière sacrée (Phnom Kulen) (6825025205).jpg|thumb|Waterfall at Phnom KulenPhnom KulenFile:Prey Lang Forest Aerial.jpg|thumb|Prey LangPrey LangThe 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.NEWS,www.phnompenhpost.com/national/kingdom-ranks-low-global-green-list, Kingdom ranks low on global green list, The Phnom Penh Post, Handley, Erin, 18 February 2016, 6 September 2016, 15 September 2016,www.phnompenhpost.com/national/kingdom-ranks-low-global-green-list," title="web.archive.org/web/20160915044232www.phnompenhpost.com/national/kingdom-ranks-low-global-green-list,">web.archive.org/web/20160915044232www.phnompenhpost.com/national/kingdom-ranks-low-global-green-list, live, Cambodia’s primary forest cover fell from over 70% in 1969 to just 3.1% in 2007. Since 2007, less than {{convert|3220|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}} of primary forest remain with the result that the future sustainability of the forest reserves of Cambodia is under severe threat.WEB,www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/20049/story.htm, Logging threatens Cambodian tragedy – UN, Planet Ark, 6 March 2003, 27 June 2010, 14 October 2013,www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/20049/story.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20131014012856www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/20049/story.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20131014012856www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/20049/story.htm, dead, WEB,rainforests.mongabay.com/20cambodia.htm, Cambodia, Mongabay, Butler, Rhett, 15 August 2014, 6 September 2016, 17 September 2016,rainforests.mongabay.com/20cambodia.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20160917105241rainforests.mongabay.com/20cambodia.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20160917105241rainforests.mongabay.com/20cambodia.htm, live, 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. Reasons for the deforestation in Cambodia range from opportunistic illegal loggings to large scale clearings from big construction projects and agricultural activities. The deforestation involves the local population, Cambodian businesses and authorities as well as transnational corporations from all over the world.WEB,www.illegal-logging.info/regions/cambodia, Cambodia, Chatham House, The Royal Institute of International affairs, 2015, 6 September 2016, 21 December 2016,www.illegal-logging.info/regions/cambodia," title="web.archive.org/web/20161221223049www.illegal-logging.info/regions/cambodia,">web.archive.org/web/20161221223049www.illegal-logging.info/regions/cambodia, live, WEB,www.globalwitness.org/en-gb/archive/cambodian-government-authorises-clear-cutting-national-park/, Cambodian Government Authorises Clear-Cutting in National Park, Global Witness, 9 July 2004, 6 September 2016, 28 September 2016,web.archive.org/web/20160928001051/https://www.globalwitness.org/en-gb/archive/cambodian-government-authorises-clear-cutting-national-park/, live, 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; 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”.WEB,foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/06/06/cambodia_sleeps_with_the_fishes, Cambodia Sleeps With the Fishes, 6 June 2014, Foreign Policy, 28 October 2014, 28 October 2014,www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/06/06/cambodia_sleeps_with_the_fishes," title="web.archive.org/web/20141028144449www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/06/06/cambodia_sleeps_with_the_fishes,">web.archive.org/web/20141028144449www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/06/06/cambodia_sleeps_with_the_fishes, live, In the 2010s, the Cambodian government and educational system has increased its involvement and co-operation with both national and international environmental groups.WEB,www.khmertimeskh.com/news/18498/mother-nature---s-youthful-ambassadors-get-to-work/, Mother Nature’s Youthful Ambassadors Get to Work, Khmer Times, LalinDuch, 9 December 2015, 6 September 2016,www.khmertimeskh.com/news/18498/mother-nature---s-youthful-ambassadors-get-to-work/," title="wayback.archive-it.org/all/20171010222149www.khmertimeskh.com/news/18498/mother-nature---s-youthful-ambassadors-get-to-work/,">wayback.archive-it.org/all/20171010222149www.khmertimeskh.com/news/18498/mother-nature---s-youthful-ambassadors-get-to-work/, 10 October 2017, dead, WEB,www.illegal-logging.info/content/cambodia-environmental-groups-given-chance-address-pm-hun-sen-forum, Cambodia: Environmental groups given chance to address PM Hun Sen at forum, chatham House, 22 August 2016, 6 September 2016, 17 September 2016,www.illegal-logging.info/content/cambodia-environmental-groups-given-chance-address-pm-hun-sen-forum," title="web.archive.org/web/20160917222216www.illegal-logging.info/content/cambodia-environmental-groups-given-chance-address-pm-hun-sen-forum,">web.archive.org/web/20160917222216www.illegal-logging.info/content/cambodia-environmental-groups-given-chance-address-pm-hun-sen-forum, live, WEB,unu.edu/publications/articles/boosting-research-capacity-for-environmental-management-in-cambodia.html, Environmental management: Boosting research in Cambodia, United Nations University, 17 January 2012, Otsuki, Kei, 6 September 2016, 3 February 2013,unu.edu/publications/articles/boosting-research-capacity-for-environmental-management-in-cambodia.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20130203223243unu.edu/publications/articles/boosting-research-capacity-for-environmental-management-in-cambodia.html,">web.archive.org/web/20130203223243unu.edu/publications/articles/boosting-research-capacity-for-environmental-management-in-cambodia.html, live, 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.WEB,www.khmertimeskh.com/news/17414/charting-the-next-seven-years-of-environmental-policy/, Charting the Next Seven Years of Environmental Policy, Khmer Times, Cox, Jonathan, 2 November 2015, 6 September 2016, 16 September 2016,www.khmertimeskh.com/news/17414/charting-the-next-seven-years-of-environmental-policy/," title="web.archive.org/web/20160916040005www.khmertimeskh.com/news/17414/charting-the-next-seven-years-of-environmental-policy/,">web.archive.org/web/20160916040005www.khmertimeskh.com/news/17414/charting-the-next-seven-years-of-environmental-policy/, live,Politics
Government
File:Norodom king of Cambodia.jpg|thumb|Norodom SihamoniNorodom SihamoniNational 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, currently Hun Manet, 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 (, {{transliteration|km|sâphéa tâmnang réastrâ}}), which consists of a lower house, the National Assembly (, {{transliteration|km|rôdthâsâphéa}}) and an upper house, the Senate (, {{transliteration|km|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.WEB, Cambodia 1993 (rev. 2008),www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Cambodia_2008?lang=en, Constitute, 17 April 2015, 23 February 2019,web.archive.org/web/20190223131618/https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Cambodia_2008?lang=en, live, 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 remain[ed] 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”, according to Megha Bahree, a writer on Forbes.WEB,www.forbes.com/sites/meghabahree/2014/09/24/who-you-know-inc-in-cambodia-a-close-friendship-with-the-pm-leads-to-vast-wealth-for-one-power-couple/, In Cambodia, A Close Friendship With The PM Leads To Vast Wealth For One Power Couple, Bahree, Megha, 24 September 2014, Forbes, 28 October 2014, 28 October 2014,www.forbes.com/sites/meghabahree/2014/09/24/who-you-know-inc-in-cambodia-a-close-friendship-with-the-pm-leads-to-vast-wealth-for-one-power-couple/," title="web.archive.org/web/20141028121604www.forbes.com/sites/meghabahree/2014/09/24/who-you-know-inc-in-cambodia-a-close-friendship-with-the-pm-leads-to-vast-wealth-for-one-power-couple/,">web.archive.org/web/20141028121604www.forbes.com/sites/meghabahree/2014/09/24/who-you-know-inc-in-cambodia-a-close-friendship-with-the-pm-leads-to-vast-wealth-for-one-power-couple/, live, Cambodia’s government has been described by Human Rights Watch’s Southeast Asian director, David Roberts, as a “relatively authoritarian coalition via a superficial democracy”.BOOK, David Roberts,books.google.com/books?id=SnYWDAAAQBAJ&pg=PR9, Political Transition in Cambodia 1991–99: Power, Elitism and Democracy, 29 April 2016, Taylor & Francis, 978-1-136-85054-7, 12 September 2017, 10 February 2023,web.archive.org/web/20230210165717/https://books.google.com/books?id=SnYWDAAAQBAJ&pg=PR9, live, (section XI, “Recreating Elite Stability, July 1997 to July 1998“)Prime Minister Hun Sen vowed to rule until he turned 74.NEWS, NEOU, VANNARIN, Hun Sen Reveals Plan to Win 3 More Elections, Retire at Age 74,www.cambodiadaily.com/elections/hun-sen-reveals-plan-to-win-3-more-elections-retire-at-age-74-22700/, 16 February 2014, The Cambodia Daily, 7 May 2013, 22 February 2014,www.cambodiadaily.com/elections/hun-sen-reveals-plan-to-win-3-more-elections-retire-at-age-74-22700/," title="web.archive.org/web/20140222040413www.cambodiadaily.com/elections/hun-sen-reveals-plan-to-win-3-more-elections-retire-at-age-74-22700/,">web.archive.org/web/20140222040413www.cambodiadaily.com/elections/hun-sen-reveals-plan-to-win-3-more-elections-retire-at-age-74-22700/, dead, NEWS, Thul, Prak Chan, As protest looms, Cambodia’s strongman Hun Sen faces restive, tech-savvy youth,uk.reuters.com/article/uk-cambodia-youth-idUKBRE98500G20130906, 14 February 2014, Reuters UK, 6 September 2013, 9 August 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200809223926/https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-cambodia-youth-idUKBRE98500G20130906, live, His government was regularly accused{{by whom|date=December 2023}} of ignoring human rights and suppressing political dissent. The 2013 election results were disputed by the 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.www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/cambodia-protest-clashes/814406.html" title="web.archive.org/web/20130926161920www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/cambodia-protest-clashes/814406.html">Cambodia protest clashes leave one dead, several wounded. Channel Asia. 16 September 2013 From a humble farming background, Hun Sen was just 33 when he took power in 1985, and was by some{{who|date=December 2023}} considered a long-ruling dictator.NEWS,www.reuters.com/article/us-cambodia-hunsen-analysis-idUSBRE98H04K20130918, Analysis: Punished at the polls, Cambodia’s long-serving PM is smiling again, Reuters, 18 September 2013, 28 October 2014, 18 October 2015,www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/18/us-cambodia-hunsen-analysis-idUSBRE98H04K20130918," title="web.archive.org/web/20151018093328www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/18/us-cambodia-hunsen-analysis-idUSBRE98H04K20130918,">web.archive.org/web/20151018093328www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/18/us-cambodia-hunsen-analysis-idUSBRE98H04K20130918, live, Hun Sen was succeeded by his son Hun Manet as Prime Minister in August 2023 following an election that was deemed by independent and foreign media and politicians to be neither free nor fair. Hun Sen remains the de facto ruler of Cambodia through his continued leadership of the Cambodian People’s Party.NEWS, Cai, Derek, Head, Jonathan, Cambodia: PM’s son Hun Manet appointed next ruler in royal formality,www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-66391334, 25 August 2023, BBC News, 7 August 2023, Hun Sen will however retain leadership of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party - a position political analysts say still gives him ultimate control., 8 August 2023,web.archive.org/web/20230808005737/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-66391334, live, Following the 2024 Senate election, Hun Sen became president of the Senate, a role which gives him the power to sign off on laws in the King’s absence.WEB,www.france24.com/en/asia-pacific/20240403-cambodia-ex-leader-hun-sen-unanimously-voted-senate-president, Cambodia’s ex-leader Hun Sen unanimously voted in as senate president, France 24, 3 April 2024, 4 April 2024, 4 April 2024,web.archive.org/web/20240404023604/https://www.france24.com/en/asia-pacific/20240403-cambodia-ex-leader-hun-sen-unanimously-voted-senate-president, live, Since the 2017 crackdowns on political dissent and free press, Cambodia has been described{{by whom|date=December 2023}} as a de facto one-party state.NEWS,www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/cambodian-parliament-launches-era-of-one-party-rule, Cambodian Parliament launches era of one-party rule, The Straits Times, 5 September 2018, 15 July 2019, 15 July 2019,web.archive.org/web/20190715015515/https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/cambodian-parliament-launches-era-of-one-party-rule, live, NEWS,www.voacambodia.com/a/cambodia-set-to-become-one-party-state/4505605.html, Cambodia Set to Become One Party State, David, Boyle, Voice of America, VOA Cambodia, 30 July 2018, 15 July 2019, 15 July 2019,web.archive.org/web/20190715015317/https://www.voacambodia.com/a/cambodia-set-to-become-one-party-state/4505605.html, live, NEWS,www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jun/28/cambodian-pm-hun-sen-fully-fledged-military-dictator-says-report, Cambodian PM now ‘fully fledged military dictator’, says report, Hannah, Ellis-Petersen, The Guardian, 28 June 2018, 15 July 2019, 15 July 2019,web.archive.org/web/20190715015317/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jun/28/cambodian-pm-hun-sen-fully-fledged-military-dictator-says-report, live,Foreign relations
File:President Biden met with Prime Minister Hun Sen of Cambodia at the margins of 2022 ASEAN Summit.jpg|left|thumb|240px|Then-prime minister Hun Sen meets with US president Joe BidenJoe BidenThe 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 countryRoyal Government of Cambodia.WEB,www.cambodia.gov.kh/unisql1/egov/english/country.foreign_embassy.html, Foreign Embassies,www.cambodia.gov.kh/unisql1/egov/english/country.foreign_embassy.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20070212040416www.cambodia.gov.kh/unisql1/egov/english/country.foreign_embassy.html,">web.archive.org/web/20070212040416www.cambodia.gov.kh/unisql1/egov/english/country.foreign_embassy.html, 12 February 2007, 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.WEB, Dalpino, Catharin E., Timberman, David G.,www.asiasociety.org/publications/cambodia_policy.html, Cambodia’s Political Future: Issues for U.S. Policy,www.asiasociety.org/publications/cambodia_policy.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20051028015243www.asiasociety.org/publications/cambodia_policy.html,">web.archive.org/web/20051028015243www.asiasociety.org/publications/cambodia_policy.html, 28 October 2005, Asia Society, 26 March 1998, As a result of its international relations, various charitable organisations have assisted with social, economic, and civil infrastructure needs.File:PM Kishida meeting with PM Manet of Cambodia.jpg|thumb|Prime minister Hun Manet with Japanese prime minister Fumio KishidaFumio KishidaWhile 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.NEWS,www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-24897805, Preah Vihear temple: Disputed land Cambodian, court rules, BBC News, 11 November 2013, 11 November 2013, 11 November 2013,www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-24897805," title="web.archive.org/web/20131111162842www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-24897805,">web.archive.org/web/20131111162842www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-24897805, live, WEB,www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/151/17704.pdf, Judgment: Request for Interpretation of the Judgment of 15 June 1962 in the Case Concerning the Temple of Preah Vihear (Cambodia v. Thailand), 11 November 2013, Recorded by L.Tanggahma, International Court of Justice, The Hague, Netherlands, dead,www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/151/17704.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20131111173337www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/151/17704.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20131111173337www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/151/17704.pdf, 11 November 2013, 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 {{convert|90|km|abbr=on}} 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.WEB,www.ft.com/content/23968248-43a0-11e6-b22f-79eb4891c97d?mhq5j=e2, Investigation: How China bought its way into Cambodia, Financial Times, James Kynge, Leila Haddou and Michael Peel, 8 September 2016, 24 September 2022, 11 August 2017,web.archive.org/web/20170811010559/https://www.ft.com/content/23968248-43a0-11e6-b22f-79eb4891c97d?mhq5j=e2, live,Military
(File:Royal Cambodian Army soldiers, 2014.jpg|thumb|left|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. 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.’Fuller, Thomas (6 January 2014) Cambodia Steps Up Crackdown on Dissent With Ban on Assembly {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200217030845www.nytimes.com/2014/01/06/world/asia/cambodia-crackdown-on-dissent.html?_r=0 |date=17 February 2020 }}. New York Times Cambodia signed the UN treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.WEB,treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XXVI-9&chapter=26&clang=_en, Chapter XXVI: Disarmament – No. 9 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, United Nations Treaty Collection, 7 July 2017, 14 September 2019, 6 August 2019,web.archive.org/web/20190806220546/https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XXVI-9&chapter=26&clang=_en, live,Political culture
File:Hun Manet 2023.jpg|thumb|General Hun ManetHun Manet The Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) is the sole dominant-party in Cambodia. The CPP currently commands 120 of the 125 seats in the National Assembly and 55 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.WEB, Adams, Brad,www.hrw.org/news/2012/05/31/10000-days-hun-sen, Adams, Brad, 10,000 Days of Hun Sen, International Herald Tribune, reprinted by Human Rights Watch.org, Hrw.org, 31 May 2012, 15 March 2013, 10 March 2013,www.hrw.org/news/2012/05/31/10000-days-hun-sen," title="web.archive.org/web/20130310114803www.hrw.org/news/2012/05/31/10000-days-hun-sen,">web.archive.org/web/20130310114803www.hrw.org/news/2012/05/31/10000-days-hun-sen, live, 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.WEB,www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/54/060.html, Open letter to Second Prime Minister Hun Sen from Amnesty International, Hartford-hwp.com, 11 July 1997, 15 March 2013, 5 November 2012,www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/54/060.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20121105035426www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/54/060.html,">web.archive.org/web/20121105035426www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/54/060.html, live, 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 villagersNEWS, Levy, Adrian, Scott-Clark, Cathy,www.theguardian.com/world/2008/apr/26/cambodia, Country for Sale, Guardian, 26 April 2008, 15 March 2013, 2 September 2013,www.theguardian.com/world/2008/apr/26/cambodia," title="web.archive.org/web/20130902062008www.theguardian.com/world/2008/apr/26/cambodia,">web.archive.org/web/20130902062008www.theguardian.com/world/2008/apr/26/cambodia, live, as well as taking bribes in exchange for grants to exploit Cambodia’s oil wealth and mineral resources.WEB,www.globalwitness.org/library/country-sale, Country for Sale, Global Witness, 16 March 2013, dead,www.globalwitness.org/library/country-sale," title="web.archive.org/web/20130306234201www.globalwitness.org/library/country-sale,">web.archive.org/web/20130306234201www.globalwitness.org/library/country-sale, 6 March 2013, Cambodia is consistently listed as one of the most corrupt governments in the world.WEB,www.asianewsnet.net/home/news.php?sec=1&id=24490, Coverage of Transparency International’s Corruption Report by Rasmei Kampuchea Daily carried on Asia News Network, 2 December 2011, Asianewsnet.net, 15 March 2013, usurped,www.asianewsnet.net/home/news.php?sec=1&id=24490," title="web.archive.org/web/20120810104123www.asianewsnet.net/home/news.php?sec=1&id=24490,">web.archive.org/web/20120810104123www.asianewsnet.net/home/news.php?sec=1&id=24490, 10 August 2012, Perrin, C.J. (30 March 2011) www.ibtimes.com/articles/128461/20110330/corruption-australia-signapore-china-cambodia-philippines-hong-kong-based-political-economic-risk-co.htm" title="web.archive.org/web/20110403225719www.ibtimes.com/articles/128461/20110330/corruption-australia-signapore-china-cambodia-philippines-hong-kong-based-political-economic-risk-co.htm">Australia, Singapore: Least Tainted with Corruption—survey, International Business Times.WEB,www.transparency.org/country#KHM, Transparency International’s latest index, Transparency.org, 15 March 2013, 24 May 2019,web.archive.org/web/20190524182350/https://www.transparency.org/country#KHM, live, Amnesty International currently recognises one prisoner of conscience in the country: 33-year-old land rights activist Yorm Bopha.WEB,www.amnesty.org/en/news/convictions-activists-cambodia-demonstrates-dire-state-justice-2012-12-27, Convictions of activists in Cambodia demonstrates dire state of justice, 27 December 2012, Amnesty International, 2 January 2013, 1 January 2013,www.amnesty.org/en/news/convictions-activists-cambodia-demonstrates-dire-state-justice-2012-12-27," title="web.archive.org/web/20130101163441www.amnesty.org/en/news/convictions-activists-cambodia-demonstrates-dire-state-justice-2012-12-27,">web.archive.org/web/20130101163441www.amnesty.org/en/news/convictions-activists-cambodia-demonstrates-dire-state-justice-2012-12-27, live, 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.NEWS,www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-24/an-cambodia-attacks-reax/4978738, Overseas Press Club of Cambodia condemns violent attack on journalists in Phnom Penh, Australia Network News, 24 September 2013, 28 October 2014, 26 November 2014,www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-24/an-cambodia-attacks-reax/4978738," title="web.archive.org/web/20141126212245www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-24/an-cambodia-attacks-reax/4978738,">web.archive.org/web/20141126212245www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-24/an-cambodia-attacks-reax/4978738, live, 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.NEWS,www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/03/cambodia-strongman-leader-thousands-stability-ceremony-angkor-hun-sen, Guardian report on Hun Sen as strongman, Guardian, 3 December 2017, 6 December 2017, 6 December 2017,web.archive.org/web/20171206153240/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/03/cambodia-strongman-leader-thousands-stability-ceremony-angkor-hun-sen, live,Corruption
{{Further|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.Retrieved November-14-2015 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141010033539www.globalwitness.org/campaigns/corruption/oil-gas-and-mining/cambodia |date=10 October 2014 }}. Globalwitness.org. Retrieved on 5 July 2015.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.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.WEB,www.cambodiatribunal.org/assets/pdf/court-filings/e51_7_1_en-1.pdf, CO-PROSECUTORS’ SUBMISSION ON STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR NATIONAL CRIMES, 2 May 2011, 27 December 2017, 26 October 2015,www.cambodiatribunal.org/assets/pdf/court-filings/e51_7_1_en-1.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20151026043730www.cambodiatribunal.org/assets/pdf/court-filings/e51_7_1_en-1.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20151026043730www.cambodiatribunal.org/assets/pdf/court-filings/e51_7_1_en-1.pdf, live, Lawyers did not reappear until 1995 when the Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia was created.BOOK, Introduction to CAMBODIAN LAW, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Cambodia, 2012, 978-99950-982-1-6, Peng, Hor, 7–8, 15–16, Phallack, Kong, Menzel, Jörg, JOURNAL, Kim, Chin, Falt, Jeffrey L., 1996, LAW OF THE BAR: KINGDOM OF CAMBODIA (STATUTORY UNDERPINNINGS OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN INDEPENDENT BAR IN CAMBODIA: CODE OF ETHICS; INTERNAL REGULATIONS), California Western International Law Journal, 27: 2, Art. 5, 357–387, CWSL Scholarly Commons,Human rights
File:Kem Sokha with Sam Rainsy.jpg|thumb|Cambodia’s deputy opposition leader Kem Sokha (left) has been arrested in September 2017, while opposition leader Sam RainsySam RainsyA 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”.World Report 2014: Cambodia Human Right Watch According to the 2016 Global Slavery Index, an estimated 256,800 people are enslaved in modern-day Cambodia, or 1.65% of the population.WEB, Bales, Kevin, et al, Cambodia,www.globalslaveryindex.org/country/cambodia/, The Global Slavery Index 2016, The Minderoo Foundation Pty Ltd, 13 March 2018,web.archive.org/web/20180314004151/https://www.globalslaveryindex.org/country/cambodia/, 14 March 2018, dead, Forced land evictions by senior officials, security forces, and government-connected business leaders are commonplace in Cambodia.NEWS, Amid land grabs and evictions, Cambodia jails leading activist,www.reuters.com/article/us-cambodia-landactivist/amid-land-grabs-and-evictions-cambodia-jails-leading-activist-idUSKBN164009, Reuters, 25 February 2017, 2 May 2020, 7 January 2019,web.archive.org/web/20190107105411/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cambodia-landactivist/amid-land-grabs-and-evictions-cambodia-jails-leading-activist-idUSKBN164009, live, 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.NEWS, Cambodia police arrest women protesting against forced evictions,www.theguardian.com/world/2012/feb/02/cambodia-forced-evictions-land-grabs, The Guardian, 2 February 2012, 2 May 2020, 17 September 2019,web.archive.org/web/20190917205136/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/feb/02/cambodia-forced-evictions-land-grabs, live, 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).WEB,www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/complaint-10072014181216.html, ‘Ruling Elite’ in Cambodia Face ICC Complaint Over Land Grabs, Radio Free Asia, 28 October 2014, 18 October 2014,www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/complaint-10072014181216.html/," title="web.archive.org/web/20141018152313www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/complaint-10072014181216.html/,">web.archive.org/web/20141018152313www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/complaint-10072014181216.html/, live, 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”.NEWS, “Cambodia at a crossroads”: UN expert calls on Government to choose path of human rights,www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=22820&LangID=E, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), 14 March 2018, 14 September 2019, 18 March 2018,www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=22820&LangID=E," title="web.archive.org/web/20180318140942www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=22820&LangID=E,">web.archive.org/web/20180318140942www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=22820&LangID=E, live, Some critics of the government have been arrested for allegedly spreading fake news about the COVID-19 pandemic in Cambodia.NEWS, Cambodia accused of political clampdown amid coronavirus outbreak,www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/03/cambodia-accused-political-clampdown-coronavirus-outbreak-200324063233803.html, Al Jazeera, 24 March 2020, 2 May 2020, 1 April 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200401131124/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/03/cambodia-accused-political-clampdown-coronavirus-outbreak-200324063233803.html, live, NEWS, Cambodia: Covid-19 Spurs Bogus ‘Fake News’ Arrests,www.hrw.org/news/2020/04/29/cambodia-covid-19-spurs-bogus-fake-news-arrests, Human Rights Watch, 29 April 2020, 2 May 2020, 4 May 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200504204515/https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/04/29/cambodia-covid-19-spurs-bogus-fake-news-arrests, live,Administrative divisions
The autonomous municipality ({{transliteration|km|reach thani}}) and provinces ({{transliteration|km|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 ({{transliteration|km|khum}}) and quarters ({{transliteration|km|sangkat}}).{| style="background:none;” cellspacing=“2“|{| class=“sortable wikitable” style="text-align:left; font-size:95%;”Economy
(File:GPD per capita development of Cambodia.jpg|thumb|305px|right|Real GPD per capita development of Cambodia)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.www.irri.org/publications/today/pdfs/6-2/RiceToday%206-2.pdf" title="web.archive.org/web/20080819194125www.irri.org/publications/today/pdfs/6-2/RiceToday%206-2.pdf">Rice Today, April–June 2007, Vol. 6, No. 2. irri.org 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.File:Siem Reap Art Center Night Market, 2018 (06).jpg|thumb|Food stands in Siem ReapSiem Reap“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 per cent 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“Cambodia is now a lower-middle income economy: What does this mean? | East Asia & Pacific on the rise {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160910003041blogs.worldbank.org/eastasiapacific/cambodia-is-now-a-lower-middle-income-economy-what-does-this-mean |date=10 September 2016 }}. Blogs.worldbank.org (1 July 2016). Retrieved on 20 December 2016.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.NEWS, The struggle between Thailand and Cambodia over oil and gas resources, 17 September 2010, CLC Asia,www.clc-asia.com/the-struggle-between-thailand-and-cambodia-over-oil-and-gas-resources-2/, 29 December 2013, 31 December 2013,www.clc-asia.com/the-struggle-between-thailand-and-cambodia-over-oil-and-gas-resources-2/," title="web.archive.org/web/20131231002359www.clc-asia.com/the-struggle-between-thailand-and-cambodia-over-oil-and-gas-resources-2/,">web.archive.org/web/20131231002359www.clc-asia.com/the-struggle-between-thailand-and-cambodia-over-oil-and-gas-resources-2/, live, NEWS, Cambodia Aims for Offshore Production Next Year, Gronholt-Pedersen, Jacob, 26 September 2012, The Wall Street Journal,www.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10000872396390443507204578020023711640726, 29 December 2013, 9 July 2015,www.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10000872396390443507204578020023711640726," title="web.archive.org/web/20150709063357www.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10000872396390443507204578020023711640726,">web.archive.org/web/20150709063357www.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10000872396390443507204578020023711640726, live, File:Cambodia’s rice fields.jpg|thumb|left|Paddy field in Siem Reap ProvinceSiem Reap ProvinceThe 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.WEB,www.creditbureaucambodia.com/about-us/credit-bureau-cambodiacom.html, CBC’s Mission, Creditbureaucambodia.com, 15 March 2013, dead,www.creditbureaucambodia.com/about-us/credit-bureau-cambodiacom.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20130613093221www.creditbureaucambodia.com/about-us/credit-bureau-cambodiacom.html,">web.archive.org/web/20130613093221www.creditbureaucambodia.com/about-us/credit-bureau-cambodiacom.html, 13 June 2013, 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,Cambodia {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210610095311www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/cambodia/ |date=10 June 2021 }}. CIA World FactBook. while the Asian Development Bank alone has provided $850 million in loans, grants, and technical assistance.WEB,www.adb.org/Documents/Fact_Sheets/CAM.asp, A Fact Sheet: Cambodia and Asian Development Bank, Adb.org, 25 February 2013, 16 March 2013, dead,www.adb.org/Documents/Fact_Sheets/CAM.asp," title="web.archive.org/web/20070404015954www.adb.org/Documents/Fact_Sheets/CAM.asp,">web.archive.org/web/20070404015954www.adb.org/Documents/Fact_Sheets/CAM.asp, 4 April 2007, Bribes are often demanded from companies operating in Cambodia when obtaining licences and permits, such as construction-related permits.WEB,www.worldbulletin.net/todays-news/159794/bribes-hamper-business-in-cambodia, Bribes hamper business in Cambodia – Asia-Pacific – Worldbulletin News, World Bulletin, 9 September 2015, 26 July 2015,www.worldbulletin.net/todays-news/159794/bribes-hamper-business-in-cambodia," title="web.archive.org/web/20150726105732www.worldbulletin.net/todays-news/159794/bribes-hamper-business-in-cambodia,">web.archive.org/web/20150726105732www.worldbulletin.net/todays-news/159794/bribes-hamper-business-in-cambodia, live, File:Battambang Provinz 01.jpg|thumb|Farmers harvesting rice in Battambang ProvinceBattambang ProvinceCambodia 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”.’Teehan, Sean (16 June 2015) Kingdom ranked low in labour rights index {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150706042351m.phnompenhpost.com/national/kingdom-ranked-low-labour-rights-index |date=6 July 2015 }}. Phnompenh Post.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”.The Trouble With Cambodia’s New Law on Trade Unions {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224183746thediplomat.com/2016/04/the-trouble-with-cambodias-new-law-on-trade-unions/ |date=24 February 2021 }}. The Diplomat. Retrieved on 20 December 2016. 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”.ILO’s statement on Trade Unions law in Cambodia {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826011835www.ilo.org/asia/info/public/pr/WCMS_466553/lang--en/index.htm |date=26 August 2016 }}. Ilo.org (4 April 2016). Retrieved on 20 December 2016.Textiles
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.WEB,investvine.com/cambodias-textile-industry-grew-32/, Cambodia’s textile industry grew 32%, Arno, Maierbrugger, Inside Investor, 11 July 2013, 11 July 2013, 2 October 2013,investvine.com/cambodias-textile-industry-grew-32/," title="web.archive.org/web/20131002063558investvine.com/cambodias-textile-industry-grew-32/,">web.archive.org/web/20131002063558investvine.com/cambodias-textile-industry-grew-32/, live, 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.WEB, Better Factories Cambodia Annual Report 2018: An Industry and Compliance Review,betterwork.org/blog/portfolio/better-factories-cambodia-annual-report-2018-an-industry-and-compliance-review/, betterwork.org, 22 December 2018, 8 October 2019,web.archive.org/web/20191008220104/https://betterwork.org/blog/portfolio/better-factories-cambodia-annual-report-2018-an-industry-and-compliance-review/, live, 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 industryb. improving the lives of at least half a million Cambodian workers of factories in the BFCprogramme and many more of their family members;c. ensuring that workers receive correct wages and social protection benefitsd. virtually eliminating child labour in the sectore. making Cambodia’s garment factories safer overallf. creating a “level playing field” for labour across garment sectorg. influencing business practices through (1) using factory data to highlight areas forimprovement and (2) being a core part of risk management strategies of internationalbrands/buyers.WEB, Statement from the Project Advisory Committee of Better Factories Cambodia on its 47th Meeting – Better Work,betterwork.org/blog/2018/06/20/statement-from-the-project-advisory-committee-of-better-factories-cambodia-on-its-47th-meeting/, betterwork.org, 20 June 2018, 1 November 2018, 1 November 2018,web.archive.org/web/20181101135945/https://betterwork.org/blog/2018/06/20/statement-from-the-project-advisory-committee-of-better-factories-cambodia-on-its-47th-meeting/, live,Tourism
{{Update|section|date=August 2019}}File:Angkor Wat Tourists.jpg|thumb|right|220px|Every year, nearly 2.6 millionWEB,www.phnompenhpost.com/business/angkor-hosts-26m-visitors, Angkor hosts 2.6M visitors, www.phnompenhpost.com, 9 April 2021, 26 July 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200726045013/https://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/angkor-hosts-26m-visitors, live, tourists visit Angkor Wat in Siem ReapSiem ReapThe tourism industry is the country’s second-greatest source of hard currency after the textile industry. International visitor arrivals in 2018 topped six million, a ten-fold increase since the beginning of the 21st century.WEB, Tourism Statistics Report Year 2018,www.tourismcambodia.com/img/resources/cambodia_tourism_statistics_2018.pdf, Ministry of Tourism, 1 August 2019, 1 August 2019,web.archive.org/web/20190801084450/https://www.tourismcambodia.com/img/resources/cambodia_tourism_statistics_2018.pdf, live, Tourism employs 26% of the country’s workforce, which translates into roughly 2.5 million jobs for Cambodians.WEB, 2021-04-06, This Is Why Cambodia Is the BEST Place to Visit Post Coronavirus Pandemic!,thegotofamily.com/2021/04/this-is-why-cambodia-is-the-best-place-to-visit-post-coronavirus-pandemic/, 2021-04-08, The Go To Family, en-US, 6 April 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210406123810/https://thegotofamily.com/2021/04/this-is-why-cambodia-is-the-best-place-to-visit-post-coronavirus-pandemic/, live, 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.WEB,www.myfunkytravel.com/backpacking-route-south-east-asia.html, Popular Backpacking Destinations in Southeast Asia, 28 October 2014, 30 October 2014,www.myfunkytravel.com/backpacking-route-south-east-asia.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20141030075251www.myfunkytravel.com/backpacking-route-south-east-asia.html,">web.archive.org/web/20141030075251www.myfunkytravel.com/backpacking-route-south-east-asia.html, live, 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.www.cambodia-tourism.org/download/Cambodia_Touris_Statistics_2010.pdf" title="web.archive.org/web/20110304011512www.cambodia-tourism.org/download/Cambodia_Touris_Statistics_2010.pdf">Tourism Statistics Report March 2010. cambodia-tourism.org.File:Boats at the sandy beach of the Rabbit Island Koh Tonsay Cambodia.jpg |thumb|left|220px|Rabbit Island Koh TonsayKoh Tonsay Most international arrivals in 2018 were Chinese. Tourism receipts exceeded US$4.4 billion in 2018, accounting for almost ten per cent 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)BOOK, Transnational Organized Crime in Southeast Asia: Evolution, Growth, and Impact, 2019,www.unodc.org/documents/southeastasiaandpacific/Publications/2019/SEA_TOCTA_2019_web.pdf, 2019, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Bangkok, 20, 1 August 2019, 22 January 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210122015018/https://www.unodc.org/documents/southeastasiaandpacific/Publications/2019/SEA_TOCTA_2019_web.pdf, live, 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 NEWS,www.cambodiadaily.com/archives/civil-unrest-119267/, Civil Unrest, 16 October 2016, The Cambodia Daily, 20 June 2017, en-US, 11 August 2017,web.archive.org/web/20170811055108/https://www.cambodiadaily.com/archives/civil-unrest-119267/, dead, WEB,www.cnbc.com/2016/08/27/kem-lays-murder-puts-cambodia-politics-economy-at-risk-as-unrest-looms.html, Kem Ley’s murder puts Cambodia politics, economy at risk as unrest looms, CNBC, Chandran, Nyshka, 27 August 2016, 20 June 2017, 11 August 2017,web.archive.org/web/20170811105233/https://www.cnbc.com/2016/08/27/kem-lays-murder-puts-cambodia-politics-economy-at-risk-as-unrest-looms.html, live, NEWS,www.travelhappy.me/civil-unrest-in-phnom-penh-cambodia/, Civil Unrest in Phnom Penh, Cambodia – TravelHappy.Me, 20 September 2013, TravelHappy.Me, 20 June 2017, en-US, dead,www.travelhappy.me/civil-unrest-in-phnom-penh-cambodia/," title="web.archive.org/web/20170811022429www.travelhappy.me/civil-unrest-in-phnom-penh-cambodia/,">web.archive.org/web/20170811022429www.travelhappy.me/civil-unrest-in-phnom-penh-cambodia/, 11 August 2017, and several high-profile examples of serious crime committed against tourists visiting the kingdom.NEWS,www.khmertimeskh.com/news/15252/embassies-warn-of-rise-in-coastal-crime/, Embassies Warn of Rise in Coastal Crime, Laurenson, Jack, Khmer Times, 20 June 2017, 14 June 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200614030638/https://www.khmertimeskh.com/59087/embassies-warn-of-rise-in-coastal-crime/, live, NEWS,www.khmertimeskh.com/news/14091/two-rapes-in-3-days-reveal-resort---s-dark-side/,www.khmertimeskh.com/news/14091/two-rapes-in-3-days-reveal-resort---s-dark-side/," title="wayback.archive-it.org/all/20171010224352www.khmertimeskh.com/news/14091/two-rapes-in-3-days-reveal-resort---s-dark-side/,">wayback.archive-it.org/all/20171010224352www.khmertimeskh.com/news/14091/two-rapes-in-3-days-reveal-resort---s-dark-side/, dead, 10 October 2017, Two Rapes in 3 Days Reveal Resort’s Dark Side, Laurenson, Jack, Khmer Times, 20 June 2017, NEWS,www.khmertimeskh.com/news/12397/deaths-of-foreigners-shrouded-in-mystery/, Deaths of Foreigners Shrouded in Mystery, Laurenson, Jack, Khmer Times, 20 June 2017, 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.WEB,www.aha-kh.com/, AHA Angkor Handicraft Association, Aha-kh.com, 15 March 2013, 10 March 2013,www.aha-kh.com/," title="web.archive.org/web/20130310032058www.aha-kh.com/,">web.archive.org/web/20130310032058www.aha-kh.com/, live,Agriculture
{{Further|Agriculture in Cambodia}}Agriculture is the mainstay of the Cambodian economy. Agriculture accounted for 90 per cent of GDP in 1985 and employed approximately 80 per cent 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
(File:Road 4 to Sihanouk.JPG|thumb|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 {{convert|612|km|mi|abbr=off}} of single, {{convert|1|m|ftin|spell=in|adj=mid|abbr=off}} gauge track.NEWS, Cambodian railway to be revived by 2013,www.railwaygazette.com/nc/news/single-view/view/cambodian-railway-to-be-revived-by-2013.html,www.railwaygazette.com/nc/news/single-view/view/cambodian-railway-to-be-revived-by-2013.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20110401003014www.railwaygazette.com/nc/news/single-view/view/cambodian-railway-to-be-revived-by-2013.html,">web.archive.org/web/20110401003014www.railwaygazette.com/nc/news/single-view/view/cambodian-railway-to-be-revived-by-2013.html, 1 April 2011, Railway Gazette International, 16 December 2009, dead, 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.WEB,www.theguardian.com/travel/2016/jun/05/trains-phnom-penh-sihanoukville-kampot, Cambodia revives train service between Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville, The Guardian, 5 June 2016, 4 February 2017, 4 February 2017,web.archive.org/web/20170204172116/https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2016/jun/05/trains-phnom-penh-sihanoukville-kampot, live, 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”.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.(File:Phnom Penh Airport Shuttle Train.jpg|thumb|right|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.WEB,www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/road_traffic/5year_strategy/en/travis_annualreport_execsum.pdf, Cambodia Road Traffic Accident and Victim Information System, WHO, 16 March 2013, 23 October 2012,www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/road_traffic/5year_strategy/en/travis_annualreport_execsum.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20121023222913www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/road_traffic/5year_strategy/en/travis_annualreport_execsum.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20121023222913www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/road_traffic/5year_strategy/en/travis_annualreport_execsum.pdf, live, 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 {{convert|3,700|km|mi|abbr=off}} navigable all year by craft drawing {{convert|0.6|m|ft|1|abbr=off}} and another {{convert|282|km|mi|abbr=off}} navigable to craft drawing {{convert|1.8|m|ft|1|abbr=off}}.WEB,www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-2187.html, Cambodia – Railroads, Country-data.com, 16 March 2013, 25 August 2013,www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-2187.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20130825070732www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-2187.html,">web.archive.org/web/20130825070732www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-2187.html, live, 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.WEB, 2002-03-09, As Cambodia’s Traffic Levels Increase, So Too Does the Road Death Toll,english.cambodiadaily.com/news/as-cambodias-traffic-levels-increase-so-too-does-the-road-death-toll-669/, The Cambodia Daily, Matt, Reed, en-US, live,web.archive.org/web/20220521113901/https://english.cambodiadaily.com/news/as-cambodias-traffic-levels-increase-so-too-does-the-road-death-toll-669/, May 21, 2022, “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.WEB,goseasia.about.com/od/cambodia/g/cyclo.htm, Cyclo – Transport in Cambodia, Southeast Asia Travel, About.com, 9 April 2012, Michael, Aquino, 16 March 2013, 3 April 2013,goseasia.about.com/od/cambodia/g/cyclo.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20130403102938goseasia.about.com/od/cambodia/g/cyclo.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20130403102938goseasia.about.com/od/cambodia/g/cyclo.htm, dead, Cambodia has three commercial airports. In 2018, they handled a record of 10 million passengers.NEWS,www.phnompenhpost.com/business/airports-pass-10m-passenger-mark, Airports pass 10M passenger mark, The Phnom Penh Post, 20 December 2018, 14 April 2019, 14 April 2019,web.archive.org/web/20190414051932/https://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/airports-pass-10m-passenger-mark, live, 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.REPORT, UNESCO Science Report: Towards 2030, Turpin, Tim, Zhang, Jing A., UNESCO, Paris, 698–713, en, 978-92-3-100129-1, Burgos, Bessie M., Amaradsa, Wasantha, Southeast Asia and Oceania, 2015, 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.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.NEWS, Cambodia National Science and Technology Master Plan 2014–2020, Korea International Cooperation Agency, Press release, 2014, KOICA Feature News, Cambodia was ranked 101st in the Global Innovation Index in 2023.BOOK, WIPO, Global Innovation Index 2023, 15th Edition,www.wipo.int/global_innovation_index/en/2023/index.html, 2023-10-30, www.wipo.int, 10 December 2023, World Intellectual Property Organization, 10.34667/tind.46596, 9789280534320, en, 22 October 2023,web.archive.org/web/20231022042128/https://www.wipo.int/global_innovation_index/en/2023/index.html, live, WEB, 2013-10-28, Global Innovation Index,knowledge.insead.edu/entrepreneurship-innovation/global-innovation-index-2930, 2021-09-02, INSEAD Knowledge, en, 2 September 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210902101622/https://knowledge.insead.edu/entrepreneurship-innovation/global-innovation-index-2930, dead,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.Vakulchuk, R., Chan, H.Y., Kresnawan, M.R., Merdekawati, M., Overland, I., Sagbakken, H.F., Suryadi, B., Utama, N.A. and Yurnaidi, Z. 2020. Cambodia: Five Actions to Improve the Business Climate for Renewable Energy Investment. ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) Policy Brief Series, No. 5.www.researchgate.net/publication/341793835 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. 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.JOURNAL, Overland, Indra, Sagbakken, Haakon Fossum, Chan, Hoy-Yen, Merdekawati, Monika, Suryadi, Beni, Utama, Nuki Agya, Vakulchuk, Roman, The ASEAN climate and energy paradox, Energy and Climate Change, December 2021, 2, 100019, 10.1016/j.egycc.2020.100019, 11250/2734506, free,Society
{{see also|List of cities in Cambodia}}Demographics
{{Historical populations|type=CambodiaEthnic groups
{{Further|Ethnic groups in Cambodia}}(File:Cambodia ethnic map colors more distinct.png|thumb|left|250px|An ethnic map of Cambodia)The vast majority of Cambodia’s population is of ethnic Khmer origin (95.8%) who are speakers of the Khmer language, the country’s sole official language. Cambodia’s population is largely homogeneous. Its minority groups include Chams (1.8%), Vietnamese (0.5%) and Chinese (0.6%).WEB,www.nis.gov.kh/nis/Census2019/Ethnic%20Minorities.pdf, Archived copy, 3 March 2024, 3 March 2024,web.archive.org/web/20240303183707/https://www.nis.gov.kh/nis/Census2019/Ethnic%20Minorities.pdf, live, WEB,nis.gov.kh/nis/Census2019/Final%20General%20Population%20Census%202019-English.pdf, Archived copy, 26 May 2023, 3 February 2024,web.archive.org/web/20240203225556/https://www.nis.gov.kh/nis/Census2019/Final%20General%20Population%20Census%202019-English.pdf, live, The largest ethnic group, the Khmers 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.BOOK, Chandler, David, A History of Cambodia, Westview Press, 2000, 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.Chinese Cambodians are approximately 0.6% of the population.WEB,nis.gov.kh/nis/Census2019/Final%20General%20Population%20Census%202019-English.pdf, Archived copy, 26 May 2023, 3 February 2024,web.archive.org/web/20240203225556/https://www.nis.gov.kh/nis/Census2019/Final%20General%20Population%20Census%202019-English.pdf, live, 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 of Cambodia}}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.WEB,news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/culture/2010-06/30/c_13377375.htm, U.S. helps English program for poor Cambodian students, News.xinhuanet.com, 30 June 2010, 16 March 2013, dead,news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/culture/2010-06/30/c_13377375.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20131105013936news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/culture/2010-06/30/c_13377375.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20131105013936news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/culture/2010-06/30/c_13377375.htm, 5 November 2013, 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.{{Citation |last=Igawa |first=Koji |date=2008 |title=English Language and its Education in Cambodia, a Country in Transition |url=https://www.shitennoji.ac.jp/ibu/images/toshokan/kiyo46-20.pdf |language=en |volume=46 |pages=343–369 |access-date=20 December 2016 |work=ShitennÅji daigaku kiyÅ |archive-date=17 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817210033www.shitennoji.ac.jp/ibu/images/toshokan/kiyo46-20.pdf |url-status=live }}The Khmer script is derived from the South Indian Pallava script.Religion
File:Pchum Ben Khmer.png|thumb|right|Pchum BenPchum BenTheravada Buddhism is the official religion of Cambodia, practised by more than 95 per cent of the population with an estimated 4,392 monastery temples throughout the country.WEB,www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2010/148861.htm,www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2010/148861.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20101123110848www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2010/148861.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20101123110848www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2010/148861.htm, dead, 23 November 2010, Cambodia, State.gov, 15 March 2013, 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.WEB,www.khmertimeskh.com/news/13400/ramadan-ends-friday-evening/, Ramadan Ends Friday Evening, Khmer Times, 16 July 2015,Health
(File:Defense.gov photo essay 120801-O-ZZ999-011.jpg|thumb|Cambodian medical students watching a surgery operation)Cambodian life expectancy was 75 years in 2021,WEB,www.khmertimeskh.com/50808278/life-expectancy-increases-to-75-years/, Life expectancy increases to 75 years, 28 January 2021, General Population Census of Cambodia 2019, 29 January 2021, a major improvement since 1995 when the average life expectancy was 55.WEB,www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=d5bncppjof8f9_&met_y=sp_dyn_le00_in&dl=en#!ctype=l&strail=false&bcs=d&nselm=h&met_y=sp_dyn_le00_in&scale_y=lin&ind_y=false&rdim=region&idim=country:KHM&ifdim=region&dl=en&ind=false, World Development Indicators – Google Public Data Explorer, www.google.com, 21 May 2018, 17 July 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200717220224/https://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=d5bncppjof8f9_&met_y=sp_dyn_le00_in&dl=en#!ctype=l&strail=false&bcs=d&nselm=h&met_y=sp_dyn_le00_in&scale_y=lin&ind_y=false&rdim=region&idim=country:KHM&ifdim=region&dl=en&ind=false, live, 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.JOURNAL, Ozawa, Sachiko, Damian Walker, Comparison Of Trust In Public Vs Private Health Care Providers In Rural Cambodia, Health Policy Plan, 2011, 26, Suppl 1, i20 – i29,www.futurehealthsystems.org/publications/comparison-of-trust-in-public-vs-private-health-care-provide.html, 26 May 2012, 10.1093/heapol/czr045, 21729914, free, 11 November 2012,www.futurehealthsystems.org/publications/comparison-of-trust-in-public-vs-private-health-care-provide.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20121111133748www.futurehealthsystems.org/publications/comparison-of-trust-in-public-vs-private-health-care-provide.html,">web.archive.org/web/20121111133748www.futurehealthsystems.org/publications/comparison-of-trust-in-public-vs-private-health-care-provide.html, dead, 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.NEWS,data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.IMRT.IN?end=2018&locations=KH&start=1975&view=chart, Mortality rate, infant (per 1,000 live births) – Cambodia, 7 June 2020, World Bank, 7 June 2020, 7 June 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200607024724/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.IMRT.IN?end=2018&locations=KH&start=1975&view=chart, live, In the province with worst health indicators, Ratanakiri, 22.9% of children die before age five.“National Child Mortality and Malnutrition (Food Insecurity Outcome) Maps” {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010190629www.methodfinder.com/wfpatlas/index.php?page=03&lang=e |date=10 October 2017 }}. UN World Food Programme. Retrieved 4 May 2008.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.PBS.org (25 July 2003). Cambodia Land Mines {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041209070351www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week647/cover.html |date=9 December 2004 }} The number of reported landmine casualties has sharply decreased, from 800 in 2005 to 111 in 2013 (22 dead and 89 injured).NEWS, ZSOMBOR, PETER, Landmine, Unexploded Ordnance Deaths Drop by Half in 2013,www.cambodiadaily.com/archives/landmine-unexploded-ordnance-deaths-drop-by-half-in-2013-52085/, 23 October 2014, The Cambodia Daily, 13 February 2014, 6 July 2015,web.archive.org/web/20150706225418/https://www.cambodiadaily.com/archives/landmine-unexploded-ordnance-deaths-drop-by-half-in-2013-52085/, dead, Adults that survive landmines often require amputation of one or more limbs and have to resort to begging for survival. Cambodia is expected to be free of land mines by 2025WEB,www.voanews.com/a/east-asia-pacific_cambodia-expects-be-landmine-free-within-5-years/6197569.html, Cambodia Expects to be Landmine-Free Within 5 Years, Voice of America, 25 October 2020, 10 September 2023, 29 September 2023,web.archive.org/web/20230929092736/https://www.voanews.com/a/east-asia-pacific_cambodia-expects-be-landmine-free-within-5-years/6197569.html, live, but the social and economic legacy, including orphans and one in 290 people being an amputee,NEWS, Coomes, Phil, Tackling the hidden weapons left behind,www.bbc.com/news/in-pictures-26865946, 23 October 2014, BBC News, BBC, 3 April 2014, 11 November 2014,www.bbc.com/news/in-pictures-26865946," title="web.archive.org/web/20141111145117www.bbc.com/news/in-pictures-26865946,">web.archive.org/web/20141111145117www.bbc.com/news/in-pictures-26865946, live, 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.Moss, Rebecca (25 June 2015) Disability survey underscores war legacy {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626105626m.phnompenhpost.com/national/disability-survey-underscores-war-legacy |date=26 June 2015 }}. Phnompenh Post.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.File:Institute of Foreign Languages.jpg|thumb|left|The Institute of Foreign Languages of the Royal University of Phnom PenhRoyal University of Phnom PenhThe 2019 Cambodian census estimated that 88.5% of the population was literate (91.1% of men and 86.2% of women). Male youth age (15–24 years) have a literacy rate of 89% compared to 86% for females.WEB,www.unicef.org/infobycountry/cambodia_statistics.html, UNICEF – Cambodia – Statistics, Unicef.org, 16 March 2013, 2 April 2013,www.unicef.org/infobycountry/cambodia_statistics.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20130402220546www.unicef.org/infobycountry/cambodia_statistics.html,">web.archive.org/web/20130402220546www.unicef.org/infobycountry/cambodia_statistics.html, dead, 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.WEB,www.unevoc.unesco.org/worldtvetdatabase1.php?ct=KHM, Cambodia on UNESCO-UNEVOC, 28 October 2014, 8 May 2014,www.unevoc.unesco.org/worldtvetdatabase1.php?ct=KHM," title="web.archive.org/web/20140508075732www.unevoc.unesco.org/worldtvetdatabase1.php?ct=KHM,">web.archive.org/web/20140508075732www.unevoc.unesco.org/worldtvetdatabase1.php?ct=KHM, live, Cambodia National TVET development Plan −2008 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131001005023www.ntb.gov.kh/tvet/policy/NTDP2008.pdf |date=1 October 2013 }}. (PDF) . Retrieved on 5 July 2015. 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.culturalprofiles.net/Cambodia/Directories/Cambodia_Cultural_Profile/-36.html" title="web.archive.org/web/20090218125514culturalprofiles.net/Cambodia/Directories/Cambodia_Cultural_Profile/-36.html">The Cambodia Cultural Profile. Education. culturalprofiles.net 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.JOURNAL, 1 September 2011, Child labour, education policy and governance in Cambodia, International Journal of Educational Development, en, 31, 5, 496–504, 10.1016/j.ijedudev.2011.03.002, 0738-0593, Kim, Chae-Young, With respect to academic performance among Cambodian primary school children, research showed that parental attitudes and beliefs played a significant role.JOURNAL, Eng, S, 2013, Cambodian Early Adolescents’ Academic Achievement The Role of Social Capital, The Journal of Early Adolescence, 33, 3, 378–403, 10.1177/0272431612441069, 145561471,Crime
{{Further|Crime in Cambodia}}In 2017, Cambodia had a homicide rate of 2.4 per 100,000 population.WEB,www.unodc.org/gsh/en/index.html, UNODC: Global Study on Homicide, unodc.org, 10 January 2015, 2 June 2019,web.archive.org/web/20190602171852/https://www.unodc.org/gsh/en/index.html, live, 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. That same year, it was estimated that there were about 100,000 sex workers in Cambodia.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=p8N-zQGWVf8C&pg=PA137, 137, The Prostitution of Sexuality, Kathleen, Barry, NYU Press, 1996, 978-0-8147-1277-1, 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.WEB, Narim, Khuon, Online, arcade gambling banned by PM,www.khmertimeskh.com/50634805/online-arcade-gambling-banned/, Khmer Times, 20 August 2019, 18 August 2019, Cambodia had issued over 150 such licenses before the new policy was announced.WEB, Cambodia to ban online gambling,www.igamingbusiness.com/news/cambodia-ban-online-gambling, iGaming Business, 20 August 2019, en, 19 August 2019, 20 August 2019,web.archive.org/web/20190820024631/https://www.igamingbusiness.com/news/cambodia-ban-online-gambling, dead,Culture
File:Vorvong-Sorvong-tale-Pavie9.jpg|thumb|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.english.vietnamnet.vn/travel/2008/09/805123/" title="web.archive.org/web/20080924135657english.vietnamnet.vn/travel/2008/09/805123/">A Khmer pagoda stores unique leaf prayer books. english.vietnamnet.vn (23 September 2008).File:Boat_Racing_Bon_Om_Touk.jpg|left|280px|thumb|Boat racing during Bon Om ToukBon Om ToukBon 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.WEB,www.cambodia.gov.kh/unisql1/egov/english/news.view.html?doc_oid=@140%7C1%7C1, Bonn Om Touk, the Water and Moon Festivals, Government of Cambodia,cambodia.gov.kh/unisql1/egov/english/news.view.html?doc_oid=%40140%7C1%7C1," title="web.archive.org/web/20071011210454cambodia.gov.kh/unisql1/egov/english/news.view.html?doc_oid=%40140%7C1%7C1,">web.archive.org/web/20071011210454cambodia.gov.kh/unisql1/egov/english/news.view.html?doc_oid=%40140%7C1%7C1, 11 October 2007, dead, 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 the 1975–1979 Khmer Rouge regime.NEWS,www.reuters.com/article/us-cambodia-festival/cambodias-festival-of-the-dead-rice-offerings-and-buddhist-chants-idUSKCN1M50EK?il=0, Cambodia’s Festival of the Dead: rice offerings and Buddhist chants, Reuters, 25 September 2018, 25 September 2018,web.archive.org/web/20180925141923/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cambodia-festival/cambodias-festival-of-the-dead-rice-offerings-and-buddhist-chants-idUSKCN1M50EK?il=0, live,Cuisine
{{multiple image| perrow = 2| total_width = 340| image1 = Currysaraman.jpg| image2 = Prahokktis.jpg| image3 = Somlorkoko.jpg| image4 = Num Banh Chok.jpg| footer = Clockwise from top left: Saraman curry (kari saraman); prahok k’tis; num banhchok; and samlor kako| align = | direction = | alt1 = | caption1 = | caption2 = }}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|lc=y}} was {{convert|20|kg|abbr=off}} per person or 2 ounces per day per person.www.earthtrends.wri.org/pdf_library/country_profiles/Coa_cou_116.pdf" title="web.archive.org/web/20040720042809www.earthtrends.wri.org/pdf_library/country_profiles/Coa_cou_116.pdf">Coastal and Marine Ecosystems-- Cambodia. Earthtrends.org 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 banhchok (នំបញ្ចុក), fish amok (អាម៉ុកážáŸ’រី) 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, kuyteav, 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.Cambodia’s “perfect pepper” conquering world’s taste buds {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170204171339www.msn.com/en-us/foodanddrink/restaurantsandnews/cambodias-perfect-pepper-conquering-worlds-taste-buds/ar-AAmcYA1?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=mailsignout |date=4 February 2017 }}. Msn.com (25 January 2017). Retrieved on 1 March 2017. The cuisine is relatively unknown to the world compared to that of its neighbours Thailand and Vietnam.Cambodians drink plenty of tea, grown in Mondulkiri Province and around Kirirom.NEWS,www.phnompenhpost.com/lifestyle/khmer-brew-exploring-parviflora-tea-strain, Khmer brew: exploring the parviflora tea strain, Smits, Johann, 6 October 2009, Phnom Penh Post, 20 July 2017, en, 11 August 2017,www.phnompenhpost.com/lifestyle/khmer-brew-exploring-parviflora-tea-strain," title="web.archive.org/web/20170811011554www.phnompenhpost.com/lifestyle/khmer-brew-exploring-parviflora-tea-strain,">web.archive.org/web/20170811011554www.phnompenhpost.com/lifestyle/khmer-brew-exploring-parviflora-tea-strain, live, 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 is dark enough, the tea is decanted into another cup and plenty of sugar added, but no milk. Lemon tea {{transliteration|km|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.WEB,www.roughguides.com/destinations/asia/cambodia/food-drink/, Food and drink {{!, About Cambodia|website=Rough Guides|language=en-US|access-date=20 July 2017|archive-date=11 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170811055005www.roughguides.com/destinations/asia/cambodia/food-drink/|url-status=live}} 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.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.NEWS,www.phnompenhpost.com/post-plus/craft-beer-phnom-penh, Craft Beer Phnom Penh, Heliot, Rebecca, 26 May 2015, The Phnom Penh Post, 20 July 2017, en, 29 June 2017,www.phnompenhpost.com/post-plus/craft-beer-phnom-penh," title="web.archive.org/web/20170629034553www.phnompenhpost.com/post-plus/craft-beer-phnom-penh,">web.archive.org/web/20170629034553www.phnompenhpost.com/post-plus/craft-beer-phnom-penh, live, NEWS,www.asialifemagazine.com/cambodia/craft-beer-cambodia/, Craft Beer in Cambodia, AsiaLIFE Cambodia, 20 July 2017, en-US, 11 August 2017,web.archive.org/web/20170811011706/https://www.asialifemagazine.com/cambodia/craft-beer-cambodia/, dead, {{As of|2019}}, there are 12 brewpubs or microbreweries in Cambodia.NEWS, Pennington, John, Brewing up nicely: Cambodia’s rapidly growing taste for craft beer,www.aseantoday.com/2019/05/brewing-up-nicely-cambodias-rapidly-growing-taste-for-craft-beer/, 14 May 2019, ASEAN Today, 13 May 2019, 14 May 2019,web.archive.org/web/20190514104124/https://www.aseantoday.com/2019/05/brewing-up-nicely-cambodias-rapidly-growing-taste-for-craft-beer/, live, Rice wine is a popular alcoholic drink. Its quality varies widely and it is often infused with fruits or medicinal herbs.NEWS,www.phnompenhpost.com/lifestyle/how-rice-wine-ferments-cambodian-spirit, How rice wine ferments the Cambodian spirit, Mee, Stephanie, 2 July 2009, The Phnom Penh Post, 20 July 2017, en, 24 September 2017,www.phnompenhpost.com/lifestyle/how-rice-wine-ferments-cambodian-spirit," title="web.archive.org/web/20170924100157www.phnompenhpost.com/lifestyle/how-rice-wine-ferments-cambodian-spirit,">web.archive.org/web/20170924100157www.phnompenhpost.com/lifestyle/how-rice-wine-ferments-cambodian-spirit, live, When prepared with macerated fruits or spices, like the Sombai liqueur, it is called sra tram (soaked wine).NEWS,www.asialifemagazine.com/cambodia/cambodian-rice-wine/, Cambodian rice wine, AsiaLIFE Cambodia, 20 July 2017, en-US, 28 July 2017,web.archive.org/web/20170728164547/https://www.asialifemagazine.com/cambodia/cambodian-rice-wine/, dead, WEB, Dunston, Lara, 10 July 2014, Cambodian Rice Wine Revival,www.gourmettraveller.com.au/travel/travel-news-features/2014/7/cambodian-rice-wine-revival/, 20 July 2017, Gourmet Traveller, en, 3 July 2017,www.gourmettraveller.com.au/travel/travel-news-features/2014/7/cambodian-rice-wine-revival," title="web.archive.org/web/20170703013912www.gourmettraveller.com.au/travel/travel-news-features/2014/7/cambodian-rice-wine-revival,">web.archive.org/web/20170703013912www.gourmettraveller.com.au/travel/travel-news-features/2014/7/cambodian-rice-wine-revival, live, NEWS, Glasser, Miranda, 1 August 2014, Sombai Rice Wine Purveyors Open New Showroom, Phnom Penh Post,www.phnompenhpost.com/siem-reap-insider/sombai-rice-wine-purveyors-open-new-showroom, 20 July 2017, en, 28 July 2017,www.phnompenhpost.com/siem-reap-insider/sombai-rice-wine-purveyors-open-new-showroom," title="web.archive.org/web/20170728162028www.phnompenhpost.com/siem-reap-insider/sombai-rice-wine-purveyors-open-new-showroom,">web.archive.org/web/20170728162028www.phnompenhpost.com/siem-reap-insider/sombai-rice-wine-purveyors-open-new-showroom, live,Sports
{{Further|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.WEB, Member Associations – Cambodia,www.aseanfootball.org/affiliates_02.asp,www.aseanfootball.org/affiliates_02.asp," title="web.archive.org/web/20080626194544www.aseanfootball.org/affiliates_02.asp,">web.archive.org/web/20080626194544www.aseanfootball.org/affiliates_02.asp, 26 June 2008, 16 March 2013, The Official Site of the ASEAN Football Federation, 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{{citation needed|date=May 2023}}. 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 in 1966 and recently, the SEA Games in 2023.Dance
{{multiple image|caption_align=center|header_align=center
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}}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.WEB,www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?RL=00060, UNESCO Culture Sector – Intangible Heritage – 2003 Convention, Unesco.org, 15 March 2013, 30 December 2016,www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?RL=00060," title="web.archive.org/web/20161230133647www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?RL=00060,">web.archive.org/web/20161230133647www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?RL=00060, live, 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.JOURNAL, Cravath, Paul, 1986, The Ritual Origins of the Classical Dance Drama of Cambodia, Asian Theatre Journal, 3, 2, 179–203, 10.2307/1124400, 1124400, Known formally as Robam Preah Reach Troap ( “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.BOOK, Sam, Sam-ang,www.reninc.org/BOOKSHELF/Khmer_Folk_Dance_Sam.pdf, Khmer Folk Dance, Sam, Chan Moly, 1987, Khmer Studies Institute, 0-941785-02-5, Newington, CT, en, Sam-Ang Sam,www.reninc.org/BOOKSHELF/Khmer_Folk_Dance_Sam.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20090920064320www.reninc.org/BOOKSHELF/Khmer_Folk_Dance_Sam.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20090920064320www.reninc.org/BOOKSHELF/Khmer_Folk_Dance_Sam.pdf, 2009-09-20, 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.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.| direction = vertical
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Libraries
The National Library of Cambodia opened in 1924.D’Amicantonio, J. (1997). The development of libraries in Cambodia: the post-Khmer Rouge years. World Libraries, 8(1), 36–41. It suffered much destruction during the Khmer Rouge era.Dean, John F. 1990. “The Preservation of Books and Manuscripts in Cambodia.” American Archivist 53 (April): 282–97.Music
File:27523 117616998271166 8494 n.jpg|thumb|left|Sinn SisamouthSinn SisamouthTraditional Cambodian music dates back as far as the Khmer Empire.WEB, Cambodian History,www.umbc.edu/eol/cambodia/histcmus.htm, www.umbc.edu, 14 March 2021, 27 November 2020,web.archive.org/web/20201127015116/https://www.umbc.edu/eol/cambodia/histcmus.htm, live, 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.BOOK, Ringer, Greg, Killing Fields, 2002, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, NY, 368–370, 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.WEB, 17 October 2002, Cambodia,worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com/view/page.basic/country/content.country/cambodia_527, dead,worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com/view/page.basic/country/content.country/cambodia_527," title="web.archive.org/web/20120818104047worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com/view/page.basic/country/content.country/cambodia_527,">web.archive.org/web/20120818104047worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com/view/page.basic/country/content.country/cambodia_527, 18 August 2012, 16 March 2013, National Geographic World Music, en, The Australian hip hop group Astronomy Class has recorded with Kak Channthy, a native-born Cambodian female singer.NEWS, Knox, Claire, 21 June 2013, The Show Must Go On Tour, The Phnom Penh Post,www.phnompenhpost.com/7days/show-must-go-tour, 18 July 2013, 12 January 2014,www.phnompenhpost.com/7days/show-must-go-tour," title="web.archive.org/web/20140112213735www.phnompenhpost.com/7days/show-must-go-tour,">web.archive.org/web/20140112213735www.phnompenhpost.com/7days/show-must-go-tour, live, NEWS, Jackson, Will, 2 May 2014, 7 Questions with Shannon Kennedy, The Phnom Penh Post,www.phnompenhpost.com/7days/7-questions-shannon-kennedy, 12 May 2014, en, 24 July 2014,www.phnompenhpost.com/7days/7-questions-shannon-kennedy," title="web.archive.org/web/20140724214502www.phnompenhpost.com/7days/7-questions-shannon-kennedy,">web.archive.org/web/20140724214502www.phnompenhpost.com/7days/7-questions-shannon-kennedy, live, 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
{{Reflist |colwidth = 32em }}{{notelist}}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|date=November 2023|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}.
- 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 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211028165548www.amazon.com/Cambodia-Authoritarianism-Elements-Politics-Southeast/dp/1108457932 |date=28 October 2021 }}
- BOOK, Morris, Morris, Stephen J., 1999, Why Vietnam Invaded Cambodia, Stanford University Press, 0-8047-3049-0,
- {{Free-content attribution| title = UNESCO Science Report: Towards 2030| author = UNESCO| publisher = UNESCO Publishing| page numbers = 698-713| source = | documentURL =unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0023/002354/235406e.pdf| license statement URL = | license = CC BY-SA IGO 3.0
External links
{{Sister project links|voy=Cambodia|d=Q424}}- Cambodia. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency.
- ucblibraries.colorado.edu/govpubs/for/cambodia.htm" title="web.archive.org/web/20080703234535ucblibraries.colorado.edu/govpubs/for/cambodia.htm">Cambodia from UCB Libraries GovPubs (archived 3 July 2008)
- {{curlie|Regional/Asia/Cambodia}}
- Cambodia profile from the BBC News
- Cambodia at Encyclopædia Britannica
- {{Wikiatlas|Cambodia}}
- {{osmrelation-inline|49898}}
- Key Development Forecasts for Cambodia from International Futures
- Government
- King of Cambodia, Norodom Sihanouk Official website of former King Norodom Sihanouk {{in lang|fr}}
- WEB,www.cambodia.gov.kh/unisql1/egov/english/home.frame.html, Cambodia.gov.kh,www.cambodia.gov.kh/unisql1/egov/english/home.view.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20061005044434www.cambodia.gov.kh/unisql1/egov/english/home.view.html,">web.archive.org/web/20061005044434www.cambodia.gov.kh/unisql1/egov/english/home.view.html, 5 October 2006, dead, Official Royal Government of Cambodia Website (English Version)
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
- www.mot.gov.kh/" title="web.archive.org/web/20020202171903www.mot.gov.kh/">Ministry of Tourism (archived 2 February 2002)
- Cooperation Committee for Cambodia)
- www.adhoc-cambodia.org/" title="web.archive.org/web/20101230020740www.adhoc-cambodia.org/">Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (archived 30 December 2010)
- Cambodian Center for Human Rights
- Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights
- Action IEC Working For Cambodian Community Education Through Media and Culture
- Freedom in the World 2011: Cambodia.{{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111023143655www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=22&year=2011&country=8009 |date=23 October 2011 }}.
- Freedom of the Press 2011: Cambodia. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120107104436www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=251&year=2011&country=8009 |date=7 January 2012 }}.
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