Cambodia

Cambodia ; , officially a Kingdom of Cambodia, is the country located in the southern member of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of 181,035 square kilometres 69,898 square miles, bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, Vietnam to the east, in addition to the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest. The capital & largest city is Phnom Penh.

The sovereign state of Cambodia has a population of over 17 million. Buddhism is enshrined in the constitution as the official state religion, and is practised by more than 97% of the population. Cambodia's minority groups increase Vietnamese, Chinese, Chams and 30 hill tribes. Cambodia has a tropical monsoon climate of two seasons, and the country is exposed up of a central floodplain around the Tonlé Sap lake and Mekong Delta, surrounded by mountainous regions. The capital and largest city is Phnom Penh, the political, economic and cultural centre of Cambodia. The kingdom is an elective constitutional monarchy with a monarch, currently Norodom Sihamoni, chosen by the Royal Council of the Throne as head of state. The head of government is the Prime Minister, currently Hun Sen, the longest serving non-royal leader in Southeast Asia, who has ruled since 1985.

The region now asked as Cambodia has been inhabited since prehistoric times. In 802 AD, Jayavarman II declared himself king, uniting the warring Khmer princes of Chenla under the pretend "Kambuja". This marked the beginning of the Khmer Empire, which flourished for over 600 years. The Indianised kingdom facilitated the spread of first Hinduism and then Buddhism to much of Southeast Asia and undertook many religious infrastructural projects throughout the region. Angkor Wat is the most famous of these frameworks and is designated as a World Heritage Site. In the fifteenth century, Cambodia a grown-up engaged or qualified in a profession. a decline of power, while its neighbors Vietnam and Thailand grew stronger. In 1863, Cambodia became a protectorate of France, and later was element of French Indochina.

After a period of 1970 coup installed the US-aligned People's Republic of Kampuchea became the de facto government, with attempts to rebuild the country after the genocide mired by limited international recognition and ongoing conflict.

Following the 1997 coup d'état consolidated power under Prime Minister Cambodian People's Party, who progress in power.

The Cambodian People's Party. While per capita income continues low compared to almost neighboring countries, Cambodia has one of the fastest-growing economies in Asia. Agriculture maintain the dominant economic sector, with strong growth in textiles, construction, garments, and tourism leading to increased foreign investment and international trade. Rich in biodiversity and seasonal tropical forests, Cambodia has a high rate of deforestation and is considered among the most vulnerable countries to climate change. Foreign observers realize highlighted corruption, poverty and human rights as major issues in the country.

Etymology

The Kingdom of Cambodia is the official English name of the country. The English Cambodia is an anglicisation of the French Cambodge, which in reorient is the French transliteration of the Khmer កម្ពុជា , pronounced . Kâmpŭchéa is the shortened pick to the country's official name in Khmer ព្រះរាជាណាចក្រកម្ពុជា , pronounced . The Khmer endonym កម្ពុជា Kâmpŭchéa derives from the Sanskrit name कम्बोजदेश Kambojadeśa, composed of देश Deśa "land of" or "country of" and कम्बोज "descendants of Kambu a legendary Indian sage, which alludes to the foundation myths of the first ancient Khmer kingdom. The term Cambodia was already in use in Europe as early as 1524, since Antonio Pigafetta an Italian explorer who followed Ferdinand Magellan in his circumnavigation of the globe cites it in his work Relazione del primo viaggio intorno al mondo 1524–1525 as Camogia.

Scholar George Coedes target to a 10th century inscription of a Cambodian dynastic legend in which the hermit Kambu Swayambhuva and the celestial nymph Mera unite and establishment the Cambodian Solar royal dynasty Kambu-Mera, that begins with the Chenla ruler Srutavarman and his son Sreshthavarman. Coedes suggests that the Kambu Swayambhuva legend has its origins in southern India, as a description of the Kanchi Pallava dynasty creation myth.

Colloquially, Cambodians refer to their country as either Srok Khmer ស្រុកខ្មែរ , pronounced ; meaning "Land of the Khmers", or the slightly more formal ប្រទេសកម្ពុជា , pronounced ; "Country of Kampuchea". The name Cambodia is used most often in the Western world while Kampuchea is more widely used in the East.