9,836,000 (1995).

54.3 per sq km.

Phnom Penh

900,000 (1991).

Cambodia shares borders in the north with Laos and Thailand, in the east with Vietnam and in the southwest with the Gulf of Thailand. The landscape comprises tropical rainforest and fertile cultivated land traversed by many rivers. In the northeast area rise highlands. The capital is located at the junction of the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers. The latter flows from a large inland lake, also called Tonle Sap, situated in the centre of the country. There are numerous offshore islands along the southwest coast.

Constitutional monarchy since 1993. Head of State: King Norodom Sihanouk since 1993. Head of Government: Prime Minister Hun Sen since 1998.

Khmer is the official language and spoken by 95% of the population. Chinese and Vietnamese are also spoken. French was widely spoken until the arrival of the Pol Pot regime and is now spoken only by those of the old generation. English is now a more popular language to learn among the younger generation.

95% Buddhist (Theravada), the remainder Muslim and Christian. Buddhism was reinstated as the national religion in the late 1980s after a ban on religious activity in 1975. TIME: GMT + 7.

GMT + 7.

220 volts AC, 50Hz. Power cuts are frequent. Outside Phnom Penh, electrical power is available only in the evenings from around 1830-2130.