Geography

Cambodia is located on the Indo-Chinese peninsula, wedged between Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and the Gulf of Thailand.  The seacoast is lined with mangroves, thus discouraging Cambodia’s maritime development.  The most important topographical feature is the Tonle Sap, or ‘Great Lake’, located in the center of the country; it is connected to the Mekong River and serves as the nation’s rice bowl.

Cambodia has a tropical monsoon climate.  It was well-endowed with forests, but decades of war and illegal logging have taken a great toll on the environment.  Land mines remain an environmental hazard.

History

Cambodia emerged from the mists of time around 800 AD, when a Khmer empire was founded at Angkor.  By the time of their decline around 1400 AD, the Khmers had built some of the world’s most impressive man-made monuments in the form of Hindu and Buddhist temples.

Cambodia was colonized by the French and amalgamated into French Indochina.  Like Laos, it was a backwater.  Independence was granted in 1953.

From 1975-1979, Cambodia underwent one of the 20th century’s most horrific programs of social transformations (after Stalin, Hitler and Mao, that is saying something).  Under the Khmer Rouge regime, over one million people died from warfare, starvation, overwork or execution, all in the quest to create an ideal society.  Vietnam invaded in 1979, mercifully ending the Khmer Rouge’s hold on the reigns of power, but not their thirst for blood; a protracted civil war ensued.

In 1993, the UN conducted its biggest-ever peacekeeping operation, and free elections were held.  The country is slowly crawling its way out of a nightmare, although guerillas still operate in some rural areas.

People

Surviving Cambodians number about 11 million, 94% of them ethnic Khmer and 95% Buddhist.  About 85% live in rural areas.  Khmer is the official language.  

Because of the liberal use of landmines over several decades, Cambodia is full of people missing parts of their bodies, especially legs.  It is a heart-rending place to visit.

The UN ranks Cambodia in the 23rd percentile in terms of quality of life, based on life expectancy, education and income; this is well below most Asian countries, but marginally better than Laos.  The life expectancy recently has improved, to 54 years; this is tied (with Laos) for second worse outside Africa.

Economy

Cambodia is a low-income country, with a GNP per capita of $260.  Most Cambodians eke out a meager subsistence living; 50% of GDP comes from agriculture.  The most important resource is tropical hardwood timber, but the forests are mostly depleted.

At $29 per capita, foreign aid accounts for 12% of GNP and half of government revenues. 

Tourism is understandably light, with the exception of Angkor, to which there are direct flights from Bangkok.  Other 'attractions' include the infamous 'Killing Fields' outside the capital of Phnom Penh.

Sources:  World Bank (1998 data), Dorling Kindersley World Reference Atlas, UNDP Human Development Report, Lonely Planet