Preăh Réachéanachâkr Kâmpŭchea

Cambodia is the traditional English transliteration, taken from the French Cambodge, while Kampuchea is the direct transliteration, more faithful to the Khmer pronunciation. The Khmer Kampuchea is derived from the ancient Khmer kingdom of Kambuja (Kambujadesa). Kambuja or Kamboja is the ancient Sanskrit name of the Kambojas, an early tribe of north India, named after their founder Kambu Svayambhuva, believed to be a variant of Cambyses. See Etymology of Kamboja.

In the Khmer Mul script the official name of the country is (regular script ), Preahreachanachâk Kampuchea, meaning "Kingdom of Cambodia". Etymologically, its components are: Preah- ("sacred"); -reach- ("king, royal, realm", from Sanskrit); -ana- (from Pāli āṇā, "authority, command, power", itself from Sanskrit ājñā, same meaning) -châk (from Sanskrit cakra, meaning "wheel", a symbol of power and rule).

The name used on formal occasions, such as political speeches and news programs, is (regular script ), Prâteh Kampuchea, literally "the Country of Cambodia". Prâteh is a formal word meaning "country".

The colloquial name most used by Khmer people, is , Srok Khmae, literally "the Khmer Land". Srok is a Mon-Khmer word roughly equal to prâteh, but less formal. Khmer is spelled with a final "r" in the Khmer alphabet, but the word-final "r" phoneme disappeared from most dialects of Khmer in the 19th century and is not pronounced in the contemporary speech of the standard dialect.

Since independence, the official name of Cambodia has changed several times, following the troubled history of the country. The following names have been used in English and French since 1954.

~Kingdom of Cambodia/Royaume du Cambodge under the rule of the monarchy from 1953 through 1970;
~Khmer Republic/République Khmère (a calque of French Republic) under the Lon Nol led government from 1970 to 1975;
~Democratic Kampuchea/Kampuchea démocratique under the rule of the communist Khmer Rouge from 1975 to 1979;
~People's Republic of Kampuchea/République populaire du Kampuchea under the rule of the Vietnamese-sponsored government from 1979 to 1989;
~State of Cambodia/État du Cambodge (a neutral name, while deciding whether to return to monarchy) under the rule of the United Nations transitional authority from 1989 to 1993;
~Kingdom of Cambodia/Royaume du Cambodge reused after the restoration of the monarchy in 1993.

Cambodia Factsheet

Preăh Réachéanachâkr Kâmpŭchea
Kingdom of Cambodia

"Nation, Religion, King"

Capital (and largest city) Phnom Penh
11°33′N, 104°55′E

Official languages Khmer

Government Democratic constitutional monarchy
- King Norodom Sihamoni
- Prime Minister Hun Sen
Independence from France
- Declared 1949
- Recognized 1953

Area - Total 181,035 km² (89th) 69,898 sq mi
Water (%) 2.5

Population - July 2006 estimate 14,971,000 (63rd)
- 1998 census 11,437,656
- Density 78 /km² (112th) 201 /sq mi

GDP (PPP) 2006 estimate
- Total $36.82 billion (89th)
- Per capita $2,600 (133rd)

HDI (2004) UP 0.583 (medium) (129th)

Currency Riel 1 (KHR)

Time zone (UTC+7)
- Summer (DST) (UTC+7)

Internet TLD .kh

Calling code +855

1 Local currency, although US dollars are widely used.

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