The Kingdom of Cambodia is a constitutional monarchy situated in Southeast Asia and counting a population of more than 13 million people. Most Cambodians are Theravada Buddhists of Khmer extraction, but the country is home also to a substantial number of Cham and small hill tribes.
The country borders Thailand to its west, Laos to its north, Vietnam to its east, and the Gulf of Thailand to its south.From the 9th century to the 15th century, Cambodia represented the center of the Khmer Empire, with Angkor as a capital.
The Angkor Wat, the empire’s main spiritual site, is a symbolic reminder of the time when Cambodia was a major powerrulung most of the Indochinese peninsule, and remains the country’s top tourist attraction.From 1863 the country was a protectorate of France, which lasted until 1953, when the country received independence.
Cambodia covers an area of about 181,040 square kilometers. It has 443 kilometers of coastline along the Gulf of Thailand.
The most distinctive geographical feature are the lacustrine plains formed by the inundations of the Great Lake. It measures about 2 500 square kilometers during the dry season and...