This article is about the modern country in Southeast Asia. For the First Kingdom of Cambodia, see Cambodia (1953–1970). For the song, see Cambodia (song)."Kampuchea" redirects here. For other uses, seeKampuchea(disambiguation).Cambodia (/kæmˈboʊdiə/ ( listen); [11] also Kampuchea /ˌkæmpʊˈtʃiːə/; Khmer: កម*u%, Kâmpŭchéa [ˈkampuciə]), offificially theKingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia,spanning an area of 181,035 square kilometres (69,898 square miles), bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to thenorth, Vietnam to the east, and the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest. The capital and largest city is Phnom Penh.

The sovereign state of Cambodia has a population of over 17 million.[12] Buddhism is enshrined in the constitution as theoffificial state religion, and is practised by more than 97% of the population.[13] Cambodia's minority groups includeVietnamese, Chinese, Chams and 30 hill tribes. [14] Cambodia has a tropical monsoon climate of two seasons, and thecountry is made up of a central flfloodplain around the Tonlé Sap lake and Mekong Delta, surrounded by mountainousregions. The capital and largest city is Phnom Penh, the political, economic and cultural centre of Cambodia. The kingdomis an elective constitutional monarchy with a monarch, currently Norodom Sihamoni, chosen by the Royal Council of theThrone as head of state. The head of government is the Prime Minister, currently Hun Sen, the longest serving non-royal leader in Southeast Asia, who has ruled since 1985.

The region now known as Cambodia has been inhabited since prehistoric times. In 802 AD, Jayavarman II declared himself king, uniting the warring Khmer princes of Chenla under the name "Kambuja".[15] This marked the beginning of the KhmerEmpire, which flflourished for over 600 years. The Indianised kingdom facilitated the spread of fifirst Hinduism and then Buddhism to much of Southeast Asia and undertook many religious infrastructural projects throughout the region. Angkor Wat is the most famous of these structures and is designated as a World Heritage Site. In the fififteenth century, Cambodia experienced a decline of power, while its neighbors Vietnam and Thailand grew stronger. In 1863, Cambodia became a protectorate of France, and later was part of French Indochina.

After a period of Japanese occupation during the Second World War, Cambodia gained independence from France in 1953.Despite Cambodia's neutrality, the Vietnam War extended into the country in 1965 via the Ho Chi Minh and Sihanouk trails. A 1970 coup installed the US-aligned Khmer Republic, until being overthrown by the Khmer Rouge in 1975. The Khmer Rouge ruled the country and carried out the Cambodian genocide from 1975 until 1979, when they were ousted in theCambodian–Vietnamese War. The Vietnamese-occupied People's Republic of Kampuchea became the de factogovernment, with attempts to rebuild the country after the genocide mired by limited international recognition and ongoing conflflict.

Following the 1991 Paris Peace Accords which formally ended the war with Vietnam, Cambodia was governed brieflfly by a United Nations mission (1992–93). The UN withdrew after holding elections in which around 90 percent of the registeredvoters cast ballots. The 1997 coup d'état consolidated power under Prime Minister Hun Sen and the Cambodian People'sParty, who remain in power.

The United Nations designates Cambodia as a least developed country. [16] Cambodia is a member of the United Nations,ASEAN, the RCEP, the East Asia Summit, the WTO, the Non-Aligned Movement and La Francophonie. Althoughconstitutionally a multi-party state,[17] the political system de-facto centres around a single political party, the CambodianPeople's Party. While per capita income remains low compared to most neighboring countries, Cambodia has one of thefastest-growing economies in Asia. Agriculture remains the dominant economic sector, with strong growth in textiles,construction, garments, and tourism leading to increased foreign investment and international trade.[18] Rich in biodiversityand seasonal tropical forests, Cambodia has a high rate of deforestation and is considered among the most vulnerablecountries to climate change. Foreign observers have highlighted corruption, poverty and human rights as major issues in the country GeographyMain article: Geography of CambodiaCambodia has an area of 181,035 square kilometres (69,898 square miles) and lies entirely within the tropics, between latitudes 10° and 15°N, and longitudes 102° and 108°E. It borders Thailand to the north and west, Laos to thenortheast, and Vietnam to the east and southeast. It has a 443-kilometre (275-mile) coastline along the Gulf of Thailand. [11][96] Cambodia's landscape is characterised by a low-lying central plain that is surrounded by uplands and low mountains and includes the Tonle Sap (Great Lake) and the upper reaches of the Mekong River delta. Extending outward from this central region are transitional plains, thinly forested and rising to elevations of about 650 feet (200 metres) above sea level.

To the north the Cambodian plain abuts a sandstone escarpment, which forms a southward-facing cliff stretching more than 200 miles (320 kilometres) from west to east and rising abruptly above the plain to heights of 600 to 1,800 feet(180–550 metres). This cliff marks the southern limit of the Dângrêk Mountains.

Flowing south through Cambodia's eastern regions is the Mekong River. East of the Mekong the transitional plains gradually merge with the eastern highlands, a region of forested mountains and high plateaus that extend into Laos andVietnam. In southwestern Cambodia two distinct upland blocks, the Krâvanh Mountains and the Dâmrei Mountains,form another highland region that covers much of the land area between the Tonle Sap and the Gulf of Thailand. In this remote and largely uninhabited area, Phnom Aural, Cambodia's highest peak rises to an elevation of 5,949 feet(1,813 metres).[97] The southern coastal region adjoining the Gulf of Thailand is a narrow lowland strip, heavily wooded and sparsely populated, which is isolated from the central plain by the southwestern highlands.

The most distinctive geographical feature is the inundations of the Tonle Sap, measuring about 2,590 square kilometres (1,000 square miles) during the dry season and expanding to about 24,605 squarekilometres (9,500 square miles)during the rainy season. This densely populated plain, which is devoted to wet rice cultivation, is the heartland of Cambodia.[98] Much of this area has been designated as a biosphere reserve.

Climate

Cambodia's climate, like that of the rest of Southeast Asia, is dominated by monsoons, which are known as tropical wet and dry because of the distinctly marked seasonal differences.

Cambodia has a temperature range from 21 to 35 °C (70 to 95 °F) and experiences tropical monsoons. Southwest monsoons blow inland bringing moisture-laden winds from the Gulf of Thailand and Indian Ocean from May toOctober. The northeast monsoon ushers in the dry season, which lasts from November to April. The country experiences the heaviest precipitation from September to October with the driest period occurring from January to February.

According to the International Development Research Center and The United Nations, Cambodia is considered Southeast Asia's most vulnerable country to the effects of climate change, alongside the Philippines. [99][100] Nearly all provinces in Cambodia are affected by climate change. [101] Rural coastalpopulations are particularly at risk. Shortages of clean water, extreme flflooding, mudslides, higher sea levels and potentially destructive storms are of particular concern,according to the Cambodia Climate Change Alliance. Climate change has also had a major impact on water levels, ecology and productivity of the Tonlé Sap in recent years,affecting the food security and agriculture of a large proportion of Cambodia's population.[102][103] Cambodia has two distinct seasons. The rainy season, which runs from May to October, can see temperatures drop to 22 °C (72 °F) and is generally accompanied with high humidity. The dry season lasts from November to April when temperatures can rise up to 40 °C (104 °F) around April. Disastrous flflooding occurred in 2001 and again in 2002,with some degree of flflooding almost every year.[104] Severe flflooding also affected 17 provinces in Cambodia during the 2020 Pacifific typhoon season.

Biodiversity

 

Cambodia's biodiversity is largely founded on its seasonal tropical forests, containing some 180 recorded tree species, and riparian ecosystems. There are 212 mammal species, 536 bird species, 240 reptile species, 850 freshwater fifish species (Tonle Sap Lake area),and 435 marine fifish species recorded by science. Much of this biodiversity is contained around the Tonle Sap Lake and the surroundingbiosphere.[106]The Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve is a reserve surrounding the Tonle Sap lake. It encompasses the lake and nine provinces: KampongThom, Siem Reap, Battambang, Pursat, Kampong Chhnang, Banteay Meanchey, Pailin, Oddar Meanchey and Preah Vihear. In 1997, it was successfully nominated as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. [107] Other key habitats include the evergreen and dry Dipterocarp forests of Mondolkiri province, protected by Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary, Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary, and Srepok Wildlife Sanctuary, as well as Ratanakiri province, and the Cardamom Mountains ecosystem, including Preah Monivong National Park, Botum-Sakor National Park, and the Phnom Aural Wildlife Sanctuary and Phnom Samkos Wildlife Sanctuary.

The Worldwide Fund for Nature recognises six distinct terrestrial ecoregions in Cambodia – the Cardamom Mountains rain forests,Central Indochina dry forest, Southeast Indochina dry evergreen forest, Southern Annamite Range tropical forest, Tonle Sap freshwaterswamp forest, and Tonle Sap-Mekong peat swamp forest. [108]

Environment

Cambodia has a bad but improving performance in the global Environmental Performance Index (EPI) with an overall ranking of 146 outof 180 countries in 2016. This is among the worst in the Southeast Asian region, only ahead of Laos and Myanmar. The EPI wasestablished in 2001 by the World Economic Forum as a global gauge to measure how well individual countries perform in implementingthe United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.

The environmental areas where Cambodia performs worst on the EPI (i.e. highest ranking) are air quality (148), water resourcemanagement (140) and health impacts of environmental issues (137), with the areas of sanitation, environmental impacts of fifisheries andforest management following closely. Cambodia has an unusually large expanse of protected areas, both on land and at sea, with theland-based protections covering about 20% of the country. This secures Cambodia a better than average ranking of 61 in relation tobiodiversity and habitat, despite the fact deforestation, illegal logging, construction and poaching are heavily deteriorating theseprotections and habitats in reality, partly fueled by the government's placement of economic land concessions and plantations withinprotected areas.[109][110][111]

The rate of deforestation in Cambodia is one of the highest in the world and it is often perceived as the most destructive, singularenvironmental issue in the country.[111] Cambodia's primary forest cover fell from over 70% in 1969 to just 3.1% in 2007. In total,Cambodia lost 25,000 km2 (9,700 sq mi) of forest between 1990 and 2005 – 3,340 km2 (1,290 sq mi) of which was primary forest. Since2007, less than 3,220 km2 (1,243 sq mi) of primary forest remain with the result that the future sustainability of the forest reserves ofCambodia is under severe threat.[112][113]

In 2010–2015, the annual rate of deforestation was 1.3%. The environmental degradation also includes national parks and wildlifesanctuaries on a large scale and many endangered and endemic species are now threatened with extinction due to loss of habitats.

There are many reasons for the deforestation in Cambodia, which range from opportunistic illegal loggings to large scale clearings frombig construction projects and agricultural activities. The global issue of land grabbing is particularly rampant in Cambodia. Thedeforestation involves the local population, Cambodian businesses and authorities as well as transnational corporations from all over the world.[114][115]

Plans for hydroelectric development in the Greater Mekong Subregion, by Laos in particular, pose a "real danger to the food supply of Vietnam and Cambodia. Upstream damswill imperil the fifish stocks that provide the vast majority of Cambodia's protein and could also denude the Mekong River of the silt Vietnam needs for its rice basket." The richfifisheries of Tonle Sap, the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia, largely supply the impoverished country's protein. The lake is unusual: It all but disappears in the dry seasonand then expands massively as water flflow from the Mekong backs up when the rains come. "Those fifish are so important for their livelihoods, both economically and nutritionally",

said Gordon Holtgrieve, a professor at the University of Washington who researches Cambodia's freshwater fifish and he points out that none of the dams that are either built orbeing built on the Mekong river "are pointing at good outcomes for the fifisheries".[116]

In the 2010s, the Cambodian government and educational system has increased its involvement and co-operation with both national and international environmentalgroups.[117][118][119] A new National Environmental Strategy and Action Plan (NESAP) for Cambodia is to be implemented from late 2016 to 2023 and contains new ideas for howto incite a green and environmentally sustainable growth for the country.[120]

In November 2017, the U.S. cut funds to help clear unexploded ordnance including land mines and chemical weapons in Cambodia which it had dropped during the Vietnam War.

 

Administrative divisions

Main article: Administrative divisions of CambodiaThe autonomous municipality (reach thani) and provinces (khaet) of Cambodia are fifirst-level administrative divisions. Cambodia is divided into 25 provinces including theautonomous municipality.

Municipalities and districts are the second-level administrative divisions of Cambodia. The provinces are subdivided into 159 districts and 26 municipalities. The districts andmunicipalities in turn are further divided into communes (khum) and quarters (sangkat).

Administrative divisions

Main article: Administrative divisions of CambodiaThe autonomous municipality (reach thani) and provinces (khaet) of Cambodia are fifirst-level administrative divisions. Cambodia is divided into 25 provinces including theautonomous municipality.

Municipalities and districts are the second-level administrative divisions of Cambodia. The provinces are subdivided into 159 districts and 26 municipalities. The districts andmunicipalities in turn are further divided into communes (khum) and quarters (sangkat).

Textiles

The garment industry represents the largest portion of Cambodia's manufacturing sector, accounting for 80% of the country'sexports. In 2012, the exports grew to $4.61 billion up 8% over 2011. In the fifirst half of 2013, the garment industry reportedexports worth $1.56 billion.[172] The sector employs 335,400 workers, of which 91% are female.

Better Factories Cambodia was created in 2001 as a unique partnership between the UN's International Labour Organization(ILO) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group. The programme engages withworkers, employers, and governments to improve working conditions and boost the competitiveness of the garment industry.[173]

On 18 May 2018, the Project Advisory Committee (PAC) of the ILO Better Factories Cambodia Programme met in Phnom Penhto provide input into the draft conclusions and recommendations of the BFC's independent mid-term evaluation, as well as todiscuss options on how to further strengthen the programme's transparent reporting initiative.

The members of the PAC concurred with the fifindings of the evaluation related to the impact the programme has had on theCambodian garment sector and workers, including: a. contributing to sustained overall growth of the garment industry b.improving the lives of at least half a million Cambodian workers of factories in the BFC programme and many more of their familymembers; c. ensuring that workers receive correct wages and social protection benefifits d. virtually eliminating child labour in thesector e. making Cambodia's garment factories safer overall f. creating a "level playing fifield" for labour across garment sector g.inflfluencing business practices through (1) using factory data to highlight areas for improvement and (2) being a core part of risk management strategies of internationalbrands/buyers.

Tourism

Tourism

This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflflect recent events or newly available information.(August 2019)

Main article: Tourism in Cambodia

The tourism industry is the country's second-greatest source of hard currency after the textile industry.[76] International visitor arrivals in2018 topped six million, a ten-fold increase since the beginning of the 21st century.[176] Tourism employs 26% of the country's workforce,which translates into roughly 2.5 million jobs for Cambodians.[177]Besides Phom Penh and Angkor Wat, other tourist destinations include Sihanoukville in the southwest which has several popularbeaches and Battambang in the northwest, both of which are popular stops for backpackers who make up a signifificant portion of visitorsto Cambodia.[178] The area around Kampot and Kep including the Bokor Hill Station are also of interest to visitors. Tourism has increasedsteadily each year in the relatively stable period since the 1993 UNTAC elections.[179]Most international arrivals in 2018 were Chinese. Tourism receipts exceeded US$4.4 billion in 2018, accounting for almost ten percent ofthe kingdom's gross national product. The Angkor Wat historical park in Siem Reap Province, the beaches in Sihanoukville, the capitalcity Phnom Penh, and Cambodia's 150 casinos (up from just 57 in 2014)[180] are the main attractions for foreign tourists.

Cambodia's reputation as a safe destination for tourism however has been hindered by civil and political unrest [181][182][183] and several high-profifile examples of serious crimecommitted against tourists visiting the kingdom.[184][185][186]Cambodia's tourist souvenir industry employs a lot of people around the main places of interest. The quantity of souvenirs that are produced is not suffificient to face theincreasing number of tourists and a majority of products sold to the tourists on the markets are imported from China, Thailand, and Vietnam.[187] Some of the locally producedsouvenirs include:

Krama (traditional scarf)

Ceramics

Soap, candles, spices[188]

Wood carvings, lacquerware, silver plate[189]

Painted bottles containing infused rice wine

Agriculture

Further information: Agriculture in Cambodia

Agriculture is the mainstay of the Cambodian economy. Agriculture accounted for 90 percent of GDP in 1985 and employed approximately 80 percent of the workforce. Rice isthe principal commodity. Major secondary crops include maize, cassava, sweet potatoes, groundnuts, soybeans, sesame seeds, dry beans, and rubber. The principal commercialcrop is rubber. In the 1980s it was an important primary commodity, second only to rice, and one of the country's few sources of foreign exchange.

Transport

 

The civil war and neglect severely damaged Cambodia's transport system. With assistance from other countries, Cambodia has beenupgrading the main highways to international standards and most are vastly improved from 2006. Most main roads are now paved.

Cambodia has two rail lines, totalling about 612 kilometres (380 miles) of single, one-metre (3-foot-3-inch) gauge track.[190] The lines runfrom the capital to Sihanoukville on the southern coast. Trains are again running to and from the Cambodian capital and populardestinations in the south. After 14 years, regular rail services between the two cities restarted recently – offering a safer option than roadfor travellers.[191] Trains also run from Phnom Penh to Sisophon (although trains often run only as far as Battambang). As of 1987, onlyone passenger train per week operated between Phnom Penh and Battambang but a US$141 million project, funded mostly by the AsianDevelopment Bank, has been started to revitalise the languishing rail system that will "(interlink) Cambodia with major industrial andlogistics centers in Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City".[190]

Besides the main inter-provincial traffific artery connecting Phnom Penh with Sihanoukville, resurfacing a former dirt road with concrete/asphalt and bridging fifive major rivercrossings have now permanently connected Phnom Penh with Koh Kong, and hence there is now uninterrupted road access to neighbouring Thailand and its road network.

Cambodia's road traffific accident rate is high by world standards. In 2004, the number of road fatalities per 10,000 vehicles was ten timeshigher in Cambodia than in the developed world, and the number of road deaths had doubled in the preceding three years.[192]

Cambodia's extensive inland waterways were important historically in international trade. The Mekong and the Tonle Sap River, theirnumerous tributaries, and the Tonle Sap provided avenues of considerable length, including 3,700 kilometres (2,300 miles) navigable allyear by craft drawing 0.6 metres (2.0 feet) and another 282 kilometres (175 miles) navigable to craft drawing 1.8 metres (5.9 feet).[193]Cambodia has two major ports, Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville, and fifive minor ones. Phnom Penh, at the junction of the Bassac, theMekong, and the Tonle Sap Rivers, is the only river port capable of receiving 8,000-ton ships during the wet season and 5,000-ton shipsduring the dry season.

With increasing economic activity has come an increase in automobile use, though motorcycles still predominate.[194] "Cyclo" (as hand-me-down French) or Cycle rickshawswere popular in 1990s but are increasingly replaced by remorques (carriages attached to motorcycles) and rickshaws imported from India. Cyclos are unique to Cambodia in thatthe cyclist sits behind the passenger seat.[195]

Cambodia has three commercial airports. In 2018, they handled a record of 10 million passengers.[196] Phnom Penh International Airport is the busiest airport in Cambodia. SiemReap-Angkor International Airport is the second busiest, and serves the most international flflights in and out of Cambodia. Sihanouk International Airport, is in the coastal city ofSihanoukville.

Energy

Cambodia has high potential for developing renewable energy resources. Even though the country has not attracted much international investment in renewable energy by 2020,the country serves as a model to learn from for other ASEAN countries in terms of conducting solar power auctions.[197] To attract more investment in renewable energy, thegovernment could improve renewable energy governance, adopt clear targets, develop an effective regulatory framework, improve project bankability and facilitate market entryfor international investors.[197] Cambodia is highly vulnerable to the negative effects of climate change and it is advised that the country focuses more on developing renewable energy as part of climate change mitigation measure

 

Languages

See also: Demographics of Cambodia § Languages

The Khmer language is a member of the Mon–Khmer subfamily of the Austroasiatic language group. French, once the language of governmentin Indochina, is still spoken by many older Cambodians, and is also the language of instruction in some schools and universities that are fundedby the government of France. There is also a French-language newspaper and some TV channels are available in French. Cambodia is amember of La Francophonie. Cambodian French, a remnant of the country's colonial past, is a dialect found in Cambodia and is sometimes used in government, particularly incourt. Since 1993, there has been a growing use of English, which has been replacing French as the main foreign language. English is widely taught in several universities andthere is also a signifificant press in that language, while street signs are now bilingual in Khmer and English.[210] Due to this shift, mostly English is now used in Cambodia's international relationships, and it has replaced French both on Cambodia's stamps and, since 2002, on Cambodian currency.[211]The Khmer script is derived from the South Indian Pallava script.

Culture

Main articles: Culture of Cambodia and Preah Ko Preah Keo

Various factors contribute to the Cambodian culture including Theravada Buddhism, Hinduism, French colonialism, Angkorian culture,and modern globalization. The Cambodian Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts is responsible for promoting and developing Cambodianculture. Cambodian culture not only includes the culture of the lowland ethnic majority, but also some 20 culturally distinct hill tribescolloquially known as the Khmer Loeu, a term coined by Norodom Sihanouk to encourage unity between the highlanders and lowlanders.

Rural Cambodians wear a krama scarf which is a unique aspect of Cambodian clothing. The sampeah is a traditional Cambodiangreeting or a way of showing respect to others. Khmer culture, as developed and spread by the Khmer empire, has distinctive styles ofdance, architecture, and sculpture, which have been exchanged with neighbouring Laos and Thailand throughout history. Angkor Wat(Angkor means "city" and Wat means "temple") is the best-preserved example of Khmer architecture from the Angkorian era along withhundreds of other temples that have been discovered in and around the region.

Traditionally, the Khmer people have a recorded information on Tra leaves. Tra leaf books record legends of the Khmer people, theRamayana, the origin of Buddhism and other prayer books. They are taken care of by wrapping in cloth to protect from moisture and theclimate.[234]

Bon Om Touk (Cambodian Water & Moon Festival), the annual boat rowing contest, isthe most attended Cambodian national festival. Held at the end of the rainy seasonwhen the Mekong River begins to sink back to its normal levels allowing the Tonle SapRiver to reverse flflow, approximately 10% of Cambodia's population attends this eventeach year to play games, give thanks to the moon, watch fifireworks, dine, and attendthe boat race in a carnival-type atmosphere.[235]

Popular games include soccer, kicking a sey, which is similar to a footbag, and chess.Based on the classical Indian solar calendar and Theravada Buddhism, the Cambodian New Year is a major holiday that takesplace in April. Recent artistic fifigures include singers Sinn Sisamouth and Ros Serey Sothea (and later Preap Sovath and Sokun Nisa), who introduced new musical styles to thecountry.

Every year, Cambodians visit pagodas across the country to mark the Pchum Ben (Ancestors' Day). During the 15-day festival, people offer prayers and food to the spirits of theirdead relatives. For most Cambodians, it is a time to remember their relatives, who died during 1975–1979 Khmer Rouge regim

Cuisine

Main article: Cuisine of Cambodia

Rice is the staple grain, as in other Southeast Asian countries. Fish from the Mekong and Tonlé Sap rivers is also animportant part of the diet. The supply of fifish and fifish products for food and trade as of 2000 was 20 kilograms (44pounds) per person or 2 ounces per day per person.[237] Some of the fifish can be made into prahok for longer storage.The cuisine of Cambodia contains tropical fruits, soups and noodles. Key ingredients are kaffifir lime, lemon grass,garlic, fifish sauce, soy sauce, tamarind, ginger, oyster sauce, coconut milk and black pepper. Some delicacies are numbanh chok (នCបIJuក), fifish amok (KមLuក!តM) and aping (KពMង). The country also boasts various distinct local street foods.French inflfluence on Cambodian cuisine includes the Cambodian red curry with toasted baguette bread. The toastedbaguette pieces are dipped in the curry and eaten. Cambodian red curry is also eaten with rice and rice vermicellinoodles. Probably the most popular dine out dish, kuy teav, is a pork broth rice noodle soup with fried garlic, scallions,green onions that may also contain various toppings such as beef balls, shrimp, pork liver or lettuce. Kampot pepper isreputed to be the best in the world and accompanies crab at the Kep crab shacks and squid in the restaurants on theOu Trojak Jet river.[238] The cuisine is relatively unknown to the world compared to that of its neighbours Thailand andVietnam.

Drinks

Cambodians drink plenty of tea, grown in Mondulkiri Province and around Kirirom.[239] te krolap is a strong tea, madeby putting water and a mass of tea leaves into a small glass, placing a saucer on top, and turning the whole thingupside down to brew. When it's dark enough, the tea is decanted into another cup and plenty of sugar added, but nomilk. Lemon tea te kdau kroch chhma, made with Chinese red-dust tea and lemon juice, is refreshing both hot and iced and is generally served with a hefty dose of sugar.[240]

Regarding coffee, the beans are generally imported from Laos and Vietnam – although domestically produced coffee from Ratanakiri Province and Mondulkiri Province can befound in some places. Beans are traditionally roasted with butter and sugar, plus various other ingredients that might include anything from rum to pork fat, giving the beverage astrange, sometimes faintly chocolatey aroma.[240]Cambodia has several industrial breweries, located mainly in Sihanoukville Province and Phnom Penh. There are also a growing number of microbreweries in Phnom Penh andSiem Reap. [241][242] Between 2014 and 2018, the number of craft beer breweries rose from two to nine. As of 2019, there are 12 brewpubs or microbreweries in Cambodia.[243]Rice wine is a popular alcoholic drink. Its quality varies widely and it is often infused with fruits or medicinal herbs.[244] When prepared with macerated fruits or spices, like theSombai liqueur, it is called sra tram (soaked wine) and has gained more and more popularity with the development of tourism as it is smoother to drink than plain ricewine.

Science and technology

Main article: Science and technology in CambodiaA National Committee for Science and Technology representing 11 ministries has been in place since 1999. Although seven ministries are responsible for the country's 33 publicuniversities, the majority of these institutions come under the umbrella of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports.[259]In 2010, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports approved a Policy on Research Development in the Education Sector. This move represented the fifirst step towards anational approach to research and development across the university sector and the application of research for the purposes of national development.[259]This policy was followed by the country's fifirst National Science and Technology Master Plan 2014–2020. It was offificially launched by the Ministry of Planning in December 2014,as the culmination of a two-year process supported by the Korea International Cooperation Agency. The plan makes provision for establishing a science and technologyfoundation to promote industrial innovation, with a particular focus on agriculture, primary industry and ICTs.[259][260] Cambodia was ranked 109th in the Global Innovation Index in 2021, down from 98th in 2019