The official name is the Kingdom of Cambodia (Preahreacheanachakr Kampuchea). Located in the southern part of the Indochinese Peninsula. Area 181,035 km2, population approx. 12.2 million people (2001). The official language is Khmer. The capital is Phnom Penh (900 thousand people, 2001). National holiday – Independence Day on November 9th. The monetary unit is the riel.
Member of the UN and a number of its specialized organizations, the IMF, IBRD, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, IAEA, etc.
Population of Cambodia
According to Countryaah, the average population density is approx. 63 people per 1 km2. In the densely populated central part of the country, it reaches 90 people. per 1 km2.
Cambodia is among the countries with a very young and rapidly growing population. During 1875-1975, its number increased from 1.1 million by about 6 times. Despite the huge losses during the reign of the Khmer Rouge (from 1 to 2 million people), the population continued to grow steadily. The average annual increase in some years reached 2.1-2.2%, now it has slightly decreased – 1.4-1.7%. Age groups: 0-14 years old – 42%, 15-64 years old – 55%, 65 years and older – 3%.
Ethnic composition: Cambodians (Khmers) – 90%, Vietnamese – 5%, Chinese – 1%, the rest – Chams, Thais and small nationalities living in remote mountainous areas.
The languages of the population of Cambodia belong to several language families: Austroasiatic, Thai, Malayo-Polynesian and Sino-Tibetan. The first of these is the Khmer language, which is spoken by the vast majority of the country’s population. Of the European languages, French has gained some distribution and, over the years of independent development, English.
The most widespread religion in Cambodia is Buddhism of the southern branch – Hinayana (Theravada). Today it is the state religion, practiced by approx. 94% of the country’s population. Along with Theravada, Mahayana Buddhism (Vietnamese and Chinese), Islam (Chams) are widespread. Among national minorities, the influence of traditional tribal cults remains.
Competently, according to various estimates, 32-36% of the population is over 15 years old.
Science and culture
Education in Cambodia is now one of the government’s priorities. There are several thousand primary schools in the country, located both in cities and in rural areas. In these schools and equated to them, the so-called. In monastic schools, children receive elementary knowledge. In secondary schools, education has a wider range, in many foreign languages are studied, primarily French and English. A significant number of secondary schools, especially in Phnom Penh, are private.
The most authoritative institution of higher education is Phnom Penh University.
The main scientific center is the Cambodian Academy of Sciences, which includes several institutes, mainly in the humanities.
Cambodian culture has a long and rich history. Its origins go back to the Funan and Chenla periods, it strikes with the richness of forms in the era of the Kambujadesh empire.
The Angkor temple complex is one of the largest in the world. Such temples as Angkorvat – the tomb of the warrior king Survarman II, Bayon, which looks in all directions through the eyes of Jayavarman VII, the amazing Banteay Srei (Women’s Citadel), which amazes with the highest art of bas-reliefs and images carved in stone, testify to the level of culture in ancient Cambodia.
Modern Cambodian culture, despite the losses suffered, is developing at a fairly rapid pace, combining appeal to traditional Khmer genres with modern forms. The country publishes both traditional everyday novels built on Buddhist ethics (Pet Tumkrovil and his novel “Mak Thung” – a modern processing of a medieval plot for the traditional Khmer bike theater), and a large amount of detective literature and comics especially beloved by the Khmers. The well-known novels of the 1930s and 1940s included in the anthologies for schoolchildren are also popular. “Pka sropyn” (“Pailin rose”), Neak Thiema, works by Rym Kin.
A significant phenomenon of Khmer culture was the creation of literary works based on plots that arose on national soil or historical events of the Cambujadesh period. Such are the poem “Tum and Tieu”, stories about the reign of Jayavarman VII and other great rulers of the country.
The Buddhist library plays a special role in the cultural life of the country. It contains many samples of Khmer folklore – fairy tales, legends, proverbs and sayings.
