This Cambodia Travel Info site provides information on Cambodia Travel. Whether you are travelling to Cambodia for vacation, tour or for business, we hope that this site shall provide you with useful information on your Cambodia travel.

The History of Cambodia

Most Cambodians consider themselves as Khmers. Khmers are the descendents of the Angkor Empire. The Angkor Empire reached its peak of ruling between the 10th and the 13th century and extended over much of Southeast Asia.

The Angkor Empire was weakened from attacks by the Thai and Cham (present-day Vietnam). France afforded them protection in 1863 and it became part of French Indochina in 1887. Cambodia gained its full independence from France in 9 November 1953.

In April 1975, Phnom Penh was captured by the Communist Khmer Rouge. The Vietnamese had also invaded Cambodia in December 1978 and occupied Cambodia for a period of 10 years. U.N sponsored an election in 1993 and restored some normalcy under a coalition government. Political stability was renewed in 1998 after the second round of elections.

Location of Cambodia

Cambodia is located in Southeastern Asia. Cambodia borders the Gulf of Thailand, between Thailand, Vietnam and Laos. It is located at 13 00 N, 105 00 E.

Cambodia has a land area of 176,520 sq km of land and 4,520 area of water. It is bordered by Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. It has 443 km of coastline.

Climate and Terrain of Cambodia

Cambodia is a tropical country. It is rainy with monsoon season from May to November and has dry season from December to April. There is very little seasonal temperature variation.

Most of Cambodia terrain is mostly low and flat plains. There are mountains in southwest and north. The highest peak of Cambodia is Phnum Aoral at 1,810 m. Cambodia has natural resources in oil and gas, timber, gemstones, iron ore, manganese, phosphates and hydropower potential.

The People of Cambodia

Cambodia has a population of 14.24 million. The median age of Cambodian is 21.7 years old, which makes it a country with young population.

In terms of ethnic group, Cambodia is made up of 90% Khmer, 5% Vietnamese, 1% Chinese and 4% from other ethnic groups. Most of Cambodia embrace the Theravada form of Buddhism. The official language of Cambodia is Khmer. Some of them also speak French and English. About 73.6% of age 15 and over can read and write.

Cambodia practices multiparty democracy under a constitutional monarchy. The capital of Cambodia is Phnom Penh. Phnom Penh standard time is at UTC+7.

There are 20 provinces and 4 municipalities in Cambodia. The 20 provinces in Cambodia are: Banteay Mean Cheay, Batdambang, Kampong Cham, Kampong Chhnang, Kampong Spoe, Kampong Thum, Kampot, Kandal, Kaoh Kong, Krachen, Mondol Kiri, Otdar Mean Cheay, Pouthisat, Preah Vihear, Prey Veng, Rotanah Kiri, Siem Reab, Stoeng Treng, Svay Rieng and Takev. The municipalities in Cambodia are:  Keb, Pailin, Phnum Penh (Phnom Penh) and Preah Seihanu (Sihanoukville).

The Cambodia flag consists of three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (double width), and blue with a white three-towered temple representing Angkor Wat outlined in black in the center of the red band. 

Cambodia main industries consists of tourism, garments, rice milling, fishing, wood and wood products, rubber, cement, gem mining and textiles. The currency of Cambodia is riel (KHR). The exchange rate of riels per US dollar is 4,006 in the year 2007.

There are about 2.6 million mobile phone users in Cambodia. The internet country code is .kh There are 941 internet hosts with 2 internet service providers. It is estimated that 44,000 internet users in the year 2005.

There are 17 airports in Cambodia.

Major tourist attraction in Cambodia include Phnom Penh, Angkor and Siem Reap. There is no doubt that Cambodia is one of most exciting places if you are looking for a exotic holidays destination.