Rich in biodiversity and seasonal tropical forests, Cambodia has a high rate of deforestation and is considered among the most vulnerable countries to climate change. Agriculture remains the dominant economic sector, with strong growth in textiles, construction, garments, and tourism leading to increased foreign investment and international trade. While per capita income remains low compared to most neighboring countries, Cambodia has one of the fastest-growing economies in Asia. Cambodia is a member of the United Nations, ASEAN, the RCEP, the East Asia Summit, the WTO, the Non-Aligned Movement and La Francophonie. The United Nations designates Cambodia as a least developed country. Although constitutionally a multi-party state, the CPP dominates the political system and dissolved its main opposition party in 2017, making Cambodia a de facto one-party state. The 1997 coup d'état consolidated power under Prime Minister Hun Sen and the Cambodian People's Party (CPP), who remain in power. The UN withdrew after holding elections in which around 90 percent of the registered voters cast ballots. The Vietnamese-occupied People's Republic of Kampuchea became the de facto government, with attempts to rebuild the country after the genocide mired by limited international recognition and ongoing conflict.įollowing the 1991 Paris Peace Accords which formally ended the war with Vietnam, Cambodia was governed briefly by a United Nations mission (1992–93). The Khmer Rouge ruled the country and carried out the Cambodian genocide from 1975 until 1979, when they were ousted in the Cambodian–Vietnamese War. A 1970 coup installed the US-aligned Khmer Republic, until being overthrown by the Khmer Rouge in 1975. Despite Cambodia's neutrality, the Vietnam War extended into the country in 1965 via the Ho Chi Minh and Sihanouk trails. In 1863, Cambodia became a protectorate of France, and later was part of French Indochina.Īfter a period of Japanese occupation during the Second World War, Cambodia gained independence from France in 1953. In the fifteenth century, Cambodia experienced a decline of power, while its neighbors Vietnam and Thailand grew stronger. Angkor Wat is the most famous of these structures and is designated as a World Heritage Site. The Indianised kingdom facilitated the spread of first Hinduism and then Buddhism to much of Southeast Asia and undertook many religious infrastructural projects throughout the region. This marked the beginning of the Khmer Empire, which flourished for over 600 years. In 802 AD, Jayavarman II declared himself king, uniting the warring Khmer princes of Chenla under the name "Kambuja". The region now known as Cambodia has been inhabited since prehistoric times. The head of government is the Prime Minister, currently Hun Sen, the longest serving non-royal leader in Southeast Asia, who has ruled since 1985. The kingdom is an elective constitutional monarchy with a monarch, currently Norodom Sihamoni, chosen by the Royal Council of the Throne as head of state. The capital and largest city is Phnom Penh, the political, economic and cultural centre of Cambodia. Cambodia has a tropical monsoon climate of two seasons, and the country is made up of a central floodplain around the Tonlé Sap lake and Mekong Delta, surrounded by mountainous regions. Cambodia's minority groups include Vietnamese, Chinese, Chams and 30 hill tribes. Buddhism is enshrined in the constitution as the official state religion, and is practised by more than 97% of the population. The sovereign state of Cambodia has a population of over 17 million. The capital and largest city is Phnom Penh. You may need rendering support to display the Khmer text in this article correctly.Ĭambodia ( / k æ m ˈ b oʊ d i ə/ ( listen) or Kampuchea ( / ˌ k æ m p ʊ ˈ tʃ iː ə/ Khmer: កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: Kâmpŭchéa ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia ( Khmer: ព្រះរាជាណាចក្រកម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: Preăh Réachéanachâkr Kâmpŭchéa ), is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of 181,035 square kilometres (69,898 square miles), bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, Vietnam to the east, and the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest.
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