Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

is divided into 25

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

s ( km, ខេត្ត, ). The capital

Phnom Penh Phnom Penh (; km, ភ្នំពេញ, ) is the capital and most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since the French protectorate of Cambodia and has grown to become the nation's primate city and its economic, indus ...

is not a province but an "autonomous municipality" ( km, រាជធានី, link=no, ; lit. 'Capital'), equivalent to a province governmentally and administered at the same level as the other 24 provinces.

has both the highest population and the highest

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

of all provinces, but is the second smallest in land area. The largest province by area is Mondulkiri and the smallest is Kep which is also the least populated province. Mondulkiri has the lowest population density. Each province is administered by a governor, who is nominated by the

Ministry of Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

, subject to approval by the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

. Provinces are divided into districts ( ''srok''). The districts in Phnom Penh are called '' khan'' () normally written as for addresses in English followed by the districts’ names (Ex: Khan Chamkar Mon; lit. 'Chamkar Mon District'). The number of districts in each province varies, from two in the smallest provinces to 14 in

Battambang Battambang ( km, បាត់ដំបង, UNGEGN: ) is the capital of Battambang Province and the third largest city in Cambodia. Founded in the 11th century by the Khmer Empire, Battambang is the leading rice-producing province of the coun ...

, Prey Veng, and Siem Reap. Further subdivision levels are ''

communes An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, relig ...

'' ( ''khum''), and further subdivided into villages (, ''phum''). In Phnom Penh, ''sangkat'' () is used in the place of ''khum'' and, similar to ''khan'', normally preferred for writing addresses in English (Ex: Sangkat Mittapheap; lit. 'Mittapheap Commune'). __TOC__

List of provinces

History

* 1974: The

Khmer Rouge The Khmer Rouge (; ; km, ខ្មែរក្រហម, ; ) is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) and by extension to the regime through which the CPK ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. ...

government did away with the former Cambodian traditional administrative divisions. Instead of provinces,

Democratic Kampuchea Kampuchea ( km, កម្ពុជា ), officially known as Democratic Kampuchea (DK; km, កម្ពុជាប្រជាធិបតេយ្យ ) from 5 January 1976, was a one-party totalitarian state which encompassed modern-day Camb ...

was divided into seven geographic zones ( km, តំបន់, ): the Northwest, the North, the Northeast, the East, the Southwest, the West, and the Centre. These zones were derived from divisions established by the Khmer Rouge when they fought against the

Khmer Republic The Khmer Republic ( km, សាធារណរដ្ឋខ្មែរ, ; french: République khmère) was a pro-United States military-led republican government of Cambodia that was formally declared on 9 October 1970. The Khmer Republic wa ...

during the

Cambodian Civil War The Cambodian Civil War ( km, សង្គ្រាមស៊ីវិលកម្ពុជា, Romanization of Khmer#UNGEGN, UNGEGN: ) was a civil war in Cambodia fought between the forces of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (known as the Khme ...

. * 2008: On 22 December 2008, King Norodom Sihamoni signed a decree that changed the municipalities of Kep,

Pailin Pailin ( km, ប៉ៃលិន, ) is a province in western Cambodia at the northern edge of the Cardamom Mountains near the border of Thailand. This province is surrounded by Battambang province, and was officially carved out of Battambang ...

and Sihanoukville into provincial municipalities, as well as adjusting several provincial borders. * 2013: On 31 December 2013, King Norodom Sihamoni signed a decree that split Kampong Cham into two provinces: Kampong Cham (west of the

Mekong River The Mekong or Mekong River is a trans-boundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's twelfth longest river and the third longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , and it drains an area of , discharging of water annuall ...

) and Tboung Khmum (east of the Mekong River). * 2018: In September 2018, Interior Minister

Sar Kheng Sar Kheng ( km, ស ខេង; born 15 January 1951) is a Cambodian politician. One of the highest-ranking members of the ruling Cambodian People's Party, he is the current Minister of the Interior and has served as a Deputy Prime Minister of Ca ...

proposed establishing two more provinces, with areas taken from Kandal, Mondulkiri, and Ratanakiri. Prime Minister

Hun Sen Hun Sen (; km, ហ៊ុន សែន, ; born 5 August 1952) is a Cambodian politician and former military commander who has served as the prime minister of Cambodia since 1985. He is the longest-serving head of government of Cambodia, and ...

rejected the plan.

References

External links

Statoid site
{{Portal bar, Cambodia Subdivisions of Cambodia

Provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Cambodia 1 Provinces, Cambodia

List of provinces

History

See also

References

External links