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Cambodia is a Southeast Asian country located along the Indochinese mainland between Vietnam and Thailand. The country is largely made up of great rivers and plans within vital river trade routes and land areas that link to the countries of India and China.
Total Area: 69,900 square miles
Capital City: Phnom Penh
Largest Cities by Population: Phnom Penh, Takeo, Sihanoukville, Battambang, and Siem Reap
Government: Constitutional Monarchy
Language: Khmer. Some people still use French while English fluency is also improving.
Currency: Riel (KHR)
Main Religions: Buddhism
Weather and Climate: The country experiences tropical monsoon with dry season occurring from November until May and rainy season June to October.
National Anthem: Nokor Reach
Visiting the capital city of Phnom Penh will show the strong influences of France and the United States. The major language widely spoken in Cambodia is the Khmer language from the Mon-Khmer subfamily of the Austroasiatic language. A minority of locals who speak Chinese and Vietnamese exists.
Many of the locals here are Theravada Buddhists. The country forbids any religious practices under the Khmer Rouge until it was reinstated as the state’s religion in 1993. While the popularity of the religion is not as pronounced as in 1975, many Buddhist ideals are still present in the culture and society of Cambodians, including gentleness, conservatism, individualism, and non-importance of material wealth.
Urban and rural Cambodians have sharp differences, which had gradually subsided over the years as more rural Cambodians have occupied urban areas and learned many of the urban lifestyles. Still, urbanized cities have a much faster way of life than the provinces.
The major transportation system used in Cambodia are the main roads and inland waterways. The country also has railroads, domestic shipping, and civil air facilities. Although most of the maritime commerce in the country are provided by foreign vessels.
Cambodia’s road network is a product of French design and construction in an effort to connect agricultural lands to the Port of Saigon. Most of the roads in the country are not paved and only have crushed stone or gravel grading.
The country’s inland waterways span 1,200miles, which traverses a large part of the Mekong and Tonle Sap systems.
A large part of Cambodia’s economy lies in agriculture. It is the biggest source of the gross domestic product and workforce. Rice remains the major crop as it is also the local’s principal commodity. Most of the rice is grown in the cultivated land areas of Tonle Sap and Mekong. Despite being a major crop, the country only produces only one type of rice crop annually because of the limited irrigation system for double cropping. The country also has limited availability of land for cultivation since a large part of the fields still has landmines because of warfare. Other food products in the country include corn, cassava, soybeans, sugarcane, and coconuts.
Other major industries of the country include textile and garments, rubber, cement, beverage, gem mining, and food processing.
Tourism is one of the country’s most important source of Cambodia’s economy. The country’s most popular locations include Angkor, Koh Her, Banteay Srei, Koh Kier, Kratie, Tonle Sap, Silver Pagoda, Bokor Hill Station, Sihanoukville, and Siem Reap, among others.