Cambodia - Tourism and Travel

The Kingdom of Cambodia is located on the Gulf of Thailand, in Southeast Asia.

It has an area of 69,884 square miles (181,035 square kilometers).

Cambodia lies in the Mekong River Basin.

Over half of Cambodia is covered in forest.

Cambodia has a tropical monsoon climate.

Tonlé Sap, Southeast Asia's largest freshwater lake, is in the center of Cambodia.

During the dry season, it flows into the Mekong River and is only about 1,040 square miles (2,700 square kilometers) in area.

However, during monsoon season, the Mekong River backs up and reverses into Tonlé Sap, increasing the size of the lake to an enormous 6,180 square miles (16,000 square kilometers).

The capital of Cambodia is Phnom Penh.

14,805,000 people live in Cambodia.

90% are Khmer, 4% are Vietnamese and 1% are Chinese.

Khmer is the official language. French, Chinese, Vietnamese and Chan are also spoken.

Cambodia was once a French colony.

93% of the people in Cambodia are Buddhist, 6% are Muslim and 1% are Christian.

Most of them live on a plain in the center of the country.

Most of the workforce is involved in fishing, rice growing or forestry.

Agriculture and the processing of raw materials form the bases of the economy.

Cambodia endured a civil war in the 1970s, and the economy is still recovering from the destruction that the war caused.

The country continues to suffer from political instability.

The official currency of Cambodia is the riel, which equals 100 sen.

Cambodia has a parliamentary system of government.