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Cambodia, located within South East Asia, covers 181,035 km² and shares its 2, 28 km land border with Thailand on the north west, Lao PDR on the northeast and Vietnam on the east and south. On the southwest, the coastline extends for around 440 km along the Gulf of Thailand. It has a population of 11.4 million with the majority of Khmer descent. The major religion is Theravada Buddhism with an over 95% following.
Generally speaking, Cambodia has three seasons, a rainy season from early June to end of October (average temperature 27 to 36ºC), a cool season from November to February (average temperature 17 to 28ºC) and a hot season from end of February till end of May (average temperature 29 to 40ºC). Weather in the country is also influenced by both the North-east and South-west Monsoons.
Low alluvial plain spans over the central part of the country where Tonle Sap lake and Mekong river are. Surface area of the Tonle Sap lake changes from 3,000 km² in dry season to 16,000 km² at the end of rainy season. Hilly mountainous area are at the border to Vietnam and the south-western part of the country which borders to Thailand. The country can be classified into four categories, which are central plain, Tonle Sap region, coastal region and plateau and mountain region and three different ecosystems, namely the tropical forest ecosystem which covers the mountainous areas and alluvial fans, freshwater wetland ecosystem, surrounding Tonle Sap lake and the coastal and marine ecosystem that embraces mangroves, estuarine and coral reef with seabed of depth than 80 m. There are five major rivers within the Kingdom of Cambodia of which the most reknown is the Mekong River. Other major rivers include Tonle Sap River, Basak River, Sen River and Svay Chek River.
The coastal zone of Cambodia contains extensive forests and numerous bays and beaches with several offshore islands. The largest town on the coast is Sihanoukville, which has deep seaport, and is considered one of the economic centers of the Kingdom of Cambodia. |
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