Most Cambodians consider themselves to be Khmers, whose Angkor Empire extended over much of Southeast Asia and reached its zenith between the 10th and 13th centuries. Subsequently, attacks by the Thai and Cham (from present-day Vietnam) weakened the empire ushering in a long period of decline. In 1863, the king of Cambodia placed the country under French protection; it became part of French Indochina in 1887. Following Japanese occupation in World War II, Cambodia became independent within the French Union in 1949 and fully independent in 1953. After a five-year struggle, Communist Khmer Rouge forces captured Phnom Penh in April 1975 and ordered the evacuation of all cities and towns; at least 1.5 million Cambodians died from execution, enforced hardships, or starvation during the Khmer Rouge regime under POL POT. A December 1978 Vietnamese invasion drove the Khmer Rouge into the countryside, led to a 10-year Vietnamese occupation, and touched off almost 13 years of civil war. The 1991 Paris Peace Accords mandated democratic elections and a ceasefire, which was not fully respected by the Khmer Rouge. UN-sponsored elections in 1993 helped restore some semblance of normalcy and the final elements of the Khmer Rouge surrendered in early 1999. Factional fighting in 1997 ended the first coalition government, but a second round of national elections in 1998 led to the formation of another coalition government and renewed political stability. The July 2003 elections were relatively peaceful, but it took one year of negotiations between contending political parties before a coalition government was formed. Nation-wide local elections are scheduled for 2007 and national elections for 2008.

Most Cambodians earn a living from the land or sea

Facts

Location: Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, between Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos
International dialling code: +855
Population: 13,971,000 (July 2006, estimate)
Monetary unit: 1 riel = 100 sen
GNI per capita: US $320 (World Bank, 2005)
Geographic coordinates: 13 00 N, 105 00 E
Area: total: 181,040 sq km land: 176,520 sq km water: 4,520 sq km
Area - comparative: Slightly smaller than Oklahoma
Land boundaries: total: 2,572 km border countries: Laos 541 km, Thailand 803 km, Vietnam 1228 km
Coastline: 443 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
Climate: Tropical; rainy, monsoon season (May to November); dry season (December to April); little seasonal temperature variation
Terrain: Mostly low, flat plains; mountains in southwest and north
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Gulf of Thailand 0 m highest point: Phnum Aoral 1,810 m
Natural resources: Oil and gas, timber, gemstones, some iron ore, manganese, phosphates, hydropower potential
Land use: arable land: 20.96% permanent crops: 0.61% other: 78.43% (2001)
Irrigated land: 2,700 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: Monsoonal rains (June to November); flooding; occasional droughts
Environment - current issues: Illegal logging activities throughout the country and strip mining for gems in the western region along the border with Thailand have resulted in habitat loss and declining biodiversity (in particular, destruction of mangrove swamps threatens natural fisheries); soil erosion; in rural areas, most of the population does not have access to potable water; declining fish stocks because of illegal fishing and overfishing
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea (not ratified)
Geography - Note: A land of paddies and forests dominated by the Mekong River and Tonle Sap
Courtesy of Yahoo World Factbook