Cambodia: Background & Geography
| Introduction | Cambodia |
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Background:
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Following a five-year struggle, Communist Khmer Rouge forces captured Phnom Penh in April 1975 and ordered the evacuation of all cities and towns; over 1.5 million displaced people died from execution, enforced hardships, or starvation. A 1978 Vietnamese invasion drove the Khmer Rouge into the countryside 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 negotiations among contending political parties have yet to yield a new coalition government. |
| Geography | Cambodia |
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Location:
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Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, between Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos |
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Geographic coordinates:
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13 00 N, 105 00 E |
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Map references:
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Southeast Asia |
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Area:
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total: 181,040 sq km
land: 176,520 sq km water: 4,520 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly smaller than Oklahoma |
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Land boundaries:
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total: 2,572 km
border countries: Laos 541 km, Thailand 803 km, Vietnam 1,228 km |
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Coastline:
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443 km |
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Maritime claims - as described in UNCLOS 1982 (see Notes and Definitions):
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territorial sea: 12 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM contiguous zone: 24 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM |
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Climate:
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tropical; rainy, monsoon season (May to November); dry season (December to April); little seasonal temperature variation |
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Terrain:
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mostly low, flat plains; mountains in southwest and north |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Gulf of Thailand 0 m
highest point: Phnum Aoral 1,810 m |
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Natural resources:
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oil and gas, timber, gemstones, some iron ore, manganese, phosphates, hydropower potential |
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Land use:
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arable land: 20.96%
permanent crops: 0.61% other: 78.43% (1998 est.) |
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Irrigated land:
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2,700 sq km (1998 est.) |
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Natural hazards:
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monsoonal rains (June to November); flooding; occasional droughts |
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Environment - current issues:
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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 |
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Environment - international agreements:
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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 |
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Geography - note:
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a land of paddies and forests dominated by the Mekong River and Tonle Sap |