🇰🇭 Cambodia

Capital: Phnom Penh
Area: 181,035 km²
Population (2025): Approximately 17 million
Political system: Constitutional monarchy with a parliament
Official language: Khmer
Currency: Cambodian Riel (KHR) – US dollar (USD) widely used
Time zone: UTC+7
Tourists in 2024: Around 5 million (goal of 10 million by 2028)

Cambodia is a Southeast Asian country where ancient history blends with modern vitality. Once the heart of the Khmer Empire, it is home to one of the world’s heritage jewels: Angkor Wat, an iconic temple that fuses spirituality, architecture, and legend. Phnom Penh, its evolving capital, stretches along the Mekong River, where French colonial heritage meets modern skyscrapers and bustling local markets filled with color.

The Cambodian people, deeply marked by their recent past — especially the dark years under the Khmer Rouge — display remarkable resilience. Cambodia’s youth, educated, connected, and ambitious, embodies a new era focused on peace, growth, and openness to the world.

Cambodia is also a land of rice fields, floating villages, wild jungles, and ancestral traditions. Handicrafts, apsara dance, Buddhist ceremonies, and the bold flavors of Khmer cuisine (amok, lok lak, prahok) shape a rich and preserved cultural identity.

As 2030 approaches, Cambodia aims for balanced development: responsible tourism, rural modernization, strengthened education, and enhanced preservation of its natural heritage — from the plains of the Tonlé Sap to the Cardamom Mountains.