| During
more than 5 centuries, Cambodia was the centre
of the Khmer empire which produced one of the
world ‘s greatest civilisation of its
time, with Angkor as its capital. After the
death of the great king Jayavarman VII in 1218,
the Khmer empire fell into progressive decline
over the next two centuries and following several
military defeats against the Siamese during
the 14th century, Angkor was finally abandoned
in 1431. Since this moment, the magnificent
temples, due to a lack of inhabitants for its
maintenance, were largely consumed by the jungle.
Apart for the monks who continued to live in
Angkor Wat and for some rare explorers, Angkor
remained a forgotten city for the next four
centuries. In 1860, the publication of the diaries
of the French naturalist Henry Mouhot allowed
a large public to find out the existence of
this “lost city in the jungle” and
fired the imagination of archaeologists, adventurers
and treasure hunters in Europe. In 1898, the
Ecole Française d’Extrême
Orient started clearing the jungle, restoring
the temples, mapping the complex and making
the inventory.
The Tourism began in 1907; about 200 Westerner
visited Angkor during the autumn of this year.
The excursion was not a sinecure. From Phnom
Penh a steam-launch crossed the Tonle Sap lake
only once a week. From Siem Reap, uncomfortable
ox-carts were used on the bad paths to reach
the temples – a trip which took sometimes
6 hours when the wheels got stuck in the sand.
Inside the walls of Angkor Wat, a hut on stilts
was the only accommodation available, travellers
needed to bring their own sheets, food and pots
and pans. The visit of Angkor Thom was an exhausting
trek inside the jungle.
Until 1970, the ruins of Angkor were maintained
and restored but unfortunately the temples were
partly destroyed and abandoned again to the
power of the jungle during the following years
of war.
In 1992, Angkor was declared a World Heritage
site and since then UNESCO is co-ordinating
the activities of he various teams on the site.
Today, the importance of Angkor remains essential
for Cambodia as this amazing site draws about
one million of international tourists each year.
However, Cambodia has a lot more to offer. Besides
the ancient temples of the angkorean Era, there
are charming old colonial cities, such as Phnom
Penh and Battambang. The south is the place
of peaceful white sand beaches along the Gulf
of Thailand. In the heart of the country lies
the great Tonle Sap Lake and its floating villages.
The North-east is a mountainous region, home
to the hill-tribes and to a beautiful specific
flora and fauna. But the most charm of the country
is the warmth of its people. Travellers come
to Cambodia for its temples, they come back
for its people.
|
|
-GEOGRAPHY |
| Area
|
total
: 181,040 sq km
land : 176,520 sq km
water : 4,520 sq km
|
|
| Land
boundaries |
total
: 2,572 km
border countries :
- Laos
541 km,
- Thailand
803 km,
- Vietnam
1,228 km
|
| Coastline |
443
km
|
| Climate |
tropical;
rainy, monsoon season (May to November); dry
season (December to April); little seasonal
temperature
|
| 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 : 20.44%
permanent crops : 0.59%
other : 78,97% (2005)
|
| Irrigated
Land |
2,700
sq km (2003)
|
| Natural
hazards |
monsoonal
rains (June to November); flooding; occasional
droughts
|
| -PEOPLE |
| Population |
13,995,904
note : estimates take into account the
effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this
can be result in lower life expectancy, higher
infant mortality and death rates, lower population
growth rates, and changes in the distribution
of population by age and sex than would otherwise
be expected (July 2007 est.)
|
| Age
structure |
0-14
years : 34% (male 2,405,561 / female 2,355,404)
15-64 years : 62.4% (male 4,234,701 /
female 4,500,994)
65 years and over : 3.6% (male 189,090
/ female 310,154) (2007 est.)
|
| Growth
rate |
1.729%
(2007 est.)
|
| Birth
rate |
25.53
births / 1,000 population (2007 est.)
|
| Death
rate |
8,24
deaths / 1,000 population (2007 est.)
|
Net
migration rate
|
0
migrant / 1,000 population (2007 est.)
|
Sex
ratio
|
at
birth : 1.05 males / female
under 15 years : 1.021 males / female
15-64 years : 0.941 male / female
65 years and over : 0.61 male / female
total population : 0.953 male / female
(2007 est.)
|
| Infant
mortality rate |
total
: 58.45 deaths / 1,000 live births
male : 65.74 deaths / 1,000 live births
female : 50.84 deaths / 1,000 live births
(2007 est.)
|
Life
expectancy at birth
|
total
population : 61.29 years
male : 59.27 years
female : 63.4 years (2007 est.)
|
Total
fertility rate
|
3.12
children born / woman (2007 est.)
|
HIV
/ AIDS
|
adult prevalence rate : 2.6% (2003
est.)
people
living with HIV / AIDS : 170,000 (2003
est.)
|
| Ethnic
groups |
Khmer
90%, Vietnamese 5%, Chinese 1%, other 4%
|
| Religions |
Theravada
Buddhist 95%, other 5%
|
| Languages |
Khmer
(official) 95%, French, English, Mandarin Chinese,
Vietnamese, Lao. 21 living languages are listed
for Cambodia, included Khmer.
|
| Literacy |
definition
: age 15 and over can read and write
total population : 73.6%
male : 84.7%
female : 64.1% (2004 est.)
|
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