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The Kingdom of Cambodia as popularly known is a south East Asian country. Bordering the Gulf of Thailand between Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos. The land boundary extends upto 2,572 km and the coastline stretches upto 443 km. Cambodia claims territorial sea stretching upto12 nm and contiguous zone upto 24 nm. The exclusive economic zone stretches upto 200 nm and the continental shelf upto 200 nm.
The geographical terrain is mostly low, flat plains with mountains in southwest and north. The lowest point is the Gulf of Thailand 0 m and the highest is the Phnum Aoral 1,810 m.
The natural resources to be found in Cambodia are oil and gas, timber, gemstones, some iron ore, manganese, phosphates and hydropower potential.
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| Climate |
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The climate is tropical. Rainy and monsoon season lasts from May to November and the dry season from December to April. There is little seasonal temperature variation. The temperature ranges from 10° to 38 °C. The finest months to visit Cambodia are November to January when temperatures and humidity are lessened.
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| People |
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| The total population is estimated to be 14,241,640. 90% of the total population is Khmer, 5% is Vietnamese, 1% is Chinese and 4% belong to other ethnic groups. 95% of the inhabitants are Theravada Buddhist 95%, and 5% follow other religious beliefs. Khmer is the official language used by 95% of the Cambodians, other languages used are French and English. |
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| Government |
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Kingdom of Cambodia operates under the framework of multiparty democracy under a constitutional monarchy. The King is the head of the state and Prime minister is the head of the government. The Council of Ministers in theory are appointed by the monarch and in practice named by the prime minister. The monarch is elected by a Royal Throne Council. Following the legislative elections, a member of the majority party or majority coalition is named as the prime minister by the Chairman of the National Assembly and appointed by the king.
Cambodia is administratively divided into 20 provinces and 4 municipalities. The provinces 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 are Keb, Pailin, Phnum Penh and Preah Seihanu.
Capital: Phnom Penh
Independence: 9 November 1953
King: Norodom Sihamoni
Prime Minister: Hun Sen |
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| Economy |
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The economy grew at an average rate of 6.4% from 2001 to 2004, driven principally by an increase in the garment sector and tourism. The US and Cambodia signed a Bilateral Textile Agreement, giving Cambodia a guaranteed quota of US textile imports and established a bonus for improving working conditions and enforcing Cambodian labor laws and international labor standards in the industry. Cambodia-based textile producers were enforced to compete with low-priced producing countries such as China and india. In 2007 the garment industry witnessed 9%. More that 3.5 Lakh people are employed in the garment industry and accounts to more than 70% of the export.
In 2005, oil and natural gas deposits were found beneath Cambodia's territorial waters, this discovery lead to a new avenue for the government to generate new commercial value. There are much more opportunities for the government in mining bauxite, gold, iron and gems. The tourism as a sector is also flourishing tremendously, with foreign arrivals reaching 2 million in 2007.
The major agricultural produce to be found in Cambodia is rice, rubber, corn, vegetables, cashews and tapioca.
The chief industrial produce and services are tourism, garments, rice milling, fishing, wood and wood products, rubber, cement, gem mining and textiles.
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