21 COUNTRY PROFILE: CAMBODIA GENERAL OVERVIEW The Kingdom of Cambodia is a Southeast Asian nation bordered by Vietnam to the east, Laos to the north, and Thailand to the northwest, and the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest. The kingdom is a constitutional monarchy with Norodom Sihamoni, a monarch chosen by the Royal Throne Council, as head of state. The head of government is Hun Sen, who is currently the longest serving non-royal leader in South East Asia and has ruled Cambodia for over 25 years. Cambodia has a seacoast on the Gulf of Thailand. International borders are shared with Thailand and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic on the West and the North, and the Social Republic of Viet Nam on the East and the Southeast. The country is bounded on the Southwest by the Gulf of Thailand. Cambodia’s key indicators are: • Land area o total: 181,035 sq. km o land: 176,515 sq. km o water: 4,520 sq. km • Coastline: 443 km • Population: 15.14 million. The country ’s climate is tropical: rainy, monsoon season (May to November); dry season (December to April); little seasonal temperature variation Landscape is mostly low, flat plains; mountains in southwest and north. Principal physical features include the Tonle Sap Lake and the Mekong and Bassac Rivers. Cambodia remains one of the most heavily forested countries in the region. Most Cambodians consider themselves to be Khmers, descendants of the Angkor Empire. Ethnic groups: Khmer 90%, Vietnamese 5%, Chinese 1%, other 4%. Religions: Buddhist (official) 96.9%, Muslim 1.9%, Christian 0.4%, other 0.8% Khmer is the official language and is spoken by 96.3% of the population, and other languages by 3.7%. Source: CIA World Factbook
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