Official Name: Preah Reach Ana Pak Kampuchea (Kingdom of Cambodia)

Area: Asia

Size: 181,035 km²

Coastline: 443 km

Independence: from France November 9, 1953

Form of Govt.: Constitutional monarchy

Head of Govt.: Prime minister

Capital: Phnom Penh

Largest City: Phnom Penh

Demographics (2005): 14,971,000,   78 /km²

Khmer 82%, Vietnamese 12%, Cham 4%, other 2%.

GDP per Capita (2005): $ 2,600

Languages:  Khmer (official) 85%, French, Vietnamese

Geography: Cambodia's most important river is the Mekong which is navigable for much of its course. Other rivers are Tônlé Srêpocirc;k and the Tônlé Sab. Tônlé Sap is the largest lake in Southeast Asia. The most distinctive geographical feature is the lacustrine plain formed by the inundations of the Tonlé Sap (Great Lake), measuring about 2,590 km² to about 24.605 km² (during the rainy season. Forests cover 59 percent of Cambodia's land.

Climate: tropical; rainy, monsoon season (May to November); dry season (December to April); little seasonal temperature variation