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Cambodia
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The Kingdom of Cambodia (for the various
names of the country in Khmer, see naming
section below) is a constitutional monarchy in
Southeast Asia with a population of more than 13
million people. A citizen of Cambodia is usually
identified as Cambodian. Most Cambodians are
Theravada Buddhists of Khmer extraction, but the
country also has a substantial number of Cham
and small hill tribes.
Cambodia is the successor state of the once
powerful Khmer Empire, which ruled most of the
Indochinese Peninsula between the 11th and 14th
centuries.
The country shares a border with Thailand to its
west, with Laos to its north, with Vietnam to
its east, and with the Gulf of Thailand to its
south. The geography of Cambodia is dominated by
the Mekong river (colloquial Khmer: Tonle Thom,
i.e. "the great river") and the Tonle Sap (i.e.
"the fresh water river"), an important source of
fish.
The country has three main political parties:
the Cambodian People's Party, FUNCINPEC and the
Sam Rainsy Party. The Cambodian People's Party,
which is led by Prime Minister Hun Sen, is the
ruling party. In 2004, after a year of
negotiations, a coalition between the Cambodian
People's Party and the royalists' FUNCINPEC came
to power in the National Assembly.
Naming
In the Khmer language, Cambodia is known by two
names.
The formal name is Prâteh Kampuchea (Khmer: Mul
script ; regular script ), literally "the
Country of Cambodia". Prâteh is a formal word
meaning "country"; it comes from Sanskrit and is
a cognate of the word pradesh, as in Uttar
Pradesh. Cambodia is the traditional
transliteration of the Khmer name of the country
in English, while Kampuchea is another
transliteration, more faithful to the Khmer
pronunciation of the word. The French name for
the country is Cambodge, while the name in
German is Kambodscha.
The name Cambodia is derived from that of the
ancient Khmer kingdom of Kambuja (Kambujadesa).
Kambuja or Kamboja is the ancient Sanskrit name
of an early north Indian tribe, the Kambojas,
named after the founder of that tribe, Kambu
Svayambhuva, apparently a variant of Cambyses.
See Etymology of Kamboja.
The informal and colloquial name of Cambodia,
the one most used by Khmer people, is Srok Khmae
(regular script ) -- literally, "the Khmer Land
" (the name Khmae is spelled with a final "r" in
the Khmer alphabet, but this "r" is not
pronounced; final "r" disappeared from Khmer
pronunciation in the 19th century). Srok is a
more colloquial word than prâteh, but both words
roughly mean the same thing. Srok Khmae is used
in almost every circumstance of life, whereas
Prâteh Kampuchea is used on more formal
occasions, such as in news programs or political
speeches.
The official name of the country is
Preahreachanachâk Kampuchea (Mul script ;
regular script ), i.e. "Kingdom of Cambodia".
The etymology of Preahreachanachâk is: Preah-
("sacred", cognate of the Indian word Brahmin);
-reach- ("king, royal, realm", from Sanskrit,
cognate of the Indian words raja and raj as in
maharaja and British Raj, also cognate with
German Reich); -ana- (from Pali āṇā, "authority,
command, power", itself from Sanskrit ājñā, same
meaning) -châk (from Sanskrit cakra, meaning
"wheel", a symbol of power and rule).
1993 stamp showing the name État du
CambodgeSince independence was achieved in 1953,
the official name of Cambodia has changed
several times, following the troubled history of
the country. In English and French, the
following names have been used since 1953.
Kingdom of Cambodia/Royaume du Cambodge under
the rule of the monarchy from 1953 through 1970;
Khmer Republic/République khmère (a calque of
French Republic) under the rule of the fascist
military rule of Lon Nol from 1970 to 1975;
Democratic Kampuchea/Kampuchea démocratique
under the rule of the communist Khmer Rouge from
1975 to 1979;
People's Republic of Kampuchea/République
populaire du Kampuchea (a calque of People's
Republic of China) under the rule of the
Vietnamese-sponsored government from 1979 to
1989;
State of Cambodia/État du Cambodge (a neutral
name, before deciding whether to return to
monarchy or not) under the rule of the United
Nations transitional authority from 1989 to
1993;
Kingdom of Cambodia/Royaume du Cambodge (return
to the pre-1970's name) used after the
restoration of the monarchy in 1993. |
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Background:
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Following a five-year struggle, Communist Khmer
Rouge forces captured Phnom Penh in 1975 and ordered
the evacuation of all cities and towns; over 1
million displaced people died from execution or
enforced hardships. A 1978 Vietnamese invasion drove
the Khmer Rouge into the countryside and touched off
13 years of fighting. UN-sponsored elections in 1993
helped restore some semblance of normalcy, as did
the rapid diminishment of the Khmer Rouge in the
mid-1990s. A coalition government, formed after
national elections in 1998, brought renewed
political stability and the surrender of remaining
Khmer Rouge forces. |
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Location:
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Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand,
between Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos |
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Geographic coordinates:
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13 00
N, 105 00 E
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Map references:
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Southeast Asia
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Area:
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total: 181,040 sq km
land: 176,520 sq km
water: 4,520 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly smaller than Oklahoma |
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Land boundaries:
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total: 2,572 km
border countries: Laos 541 km, Thailand 803
km, Vietnam 1,228 km |
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Climate:
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tropical; rainy, monsoon season (May to November);
dry season (December to April); little seasonal
temperature variation |
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Terrain:
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mostly low, flat plains; mountains in southwest and
north |
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Ethnic groups:
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Khmer
90%, Vietnamese 5%, Chinese 1%, other 4% |
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Religions:
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Theravada Buddhist 95%, other 5% |
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Languages:
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Khmer
(official) 95%, French, English |
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Currency:
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riel
(KHR) |
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Currency code:
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KHR
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Exchange rates:
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riels
per US dollar - 3,895.0 (January 2002), 3,918.5
(2001), 3,840.8 (2000), 3,807.8 (1999), 3,744.4
(1998), 2,946.3 (1997) |
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