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 ...
is divided into 25
province
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 out ...
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.
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 ...
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 RosenberPopu ...
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 ...
.
Provinces are divided into districts ( ''srok''). The districts in Phnom Penh are called ''
khan
Khan may refer to:
*Khan (inn), from Persian, a caravanserai or resting-place for a travelling caravan
*Khan (surname), including a list of people with the name
*Khan (title), a royal title for a ruler in Mongol and Turkic languages and used by ...
'' () normally written as for addresses in English followed by the districts’ names (Ex:
Khan Chamkar Mon
Chamkar Mon ( km, ចំការមន, meaning 'Mulberry Farm') is the southernmost district in central Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The district has an area of 10.56 km2. As of the 2019 census, its population is 70,772.
Administration
Chamkar ...
; 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 cou ...
,
Prey Veng, and
Siem Reap
Siem Reap ( km, សៀមរាប, ) is the second-largest city of Cambodia, as well as the capital and largest city of Siem Reap Province in northwestern Cambodia.
Siem Reap has French colonial and Chinese-style architecture in the Old ...
. Further subdivision levels are ''
communes'' ( ''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, UNGEGN: ) was a civil war in Cambodia fought between the forces of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (known as the Khmer Rouge, supported by North Vi ...
.
* 2008: On 22 December 2008, King
Norodom Sihamoni
Norodom Sihamoni ( km, នរោត្តម សីហមុនី, ; born 14 May 1953) is King of Cambodia. He became King on 14 October 2004, a week after the abdication of his father, Norodom Sihanouk. He is the eldest son of Norodom Sih ...
signed a decree that changed the municipalities of
Kep,
Pailin and
Sihanoukville into provincial municipalities, as well as adjusting several provincial borders.
* 2013: On 31 December 2013, King
Norodom Sihamoni
Norodom Sihamoni ( km, នរោត្តម សីហមុនី, ; born 14 May 1953) is King of Cambodia. He became King on 14 October 2004, a week after the abdication of his father, Norodom Sihanouk. He is the eldest son of Norodom Sih ...
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 annual ...
) and
Tboung Khmum (east of the Mekong River).
* 2018: In September 2018, Interior Minister
Sar Kheng 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.
See also
*
List of Cambodian provinces by Human Development Index
*
Subdivisions of Cambodia
Administrative divisions of Cambodia have several levels. Cambodia is divided into 24 provinces (''Khaet''; km, ខេត្ត, ) and the special administrative unit Phnom Penh. Though a different administrative unit, Phnom Penh is at provin ...
*
List of Cambodian districts and sections
This is a list of Cambodia's 162 districts ( ''srok''), 27 district-level municipalities ( ''krong'') and 14 sections ( ''khan'') organized by each province and an autonomous municipality (Phnom Penh). Each has a code in parentheses displaying t ...
*
Communes of Cambodia
The communes of Cambodia ( '' khum''/ '' sangkat'') are the third-level administrative divisions in Cambodia. They are the subdivisions of the districts and municipalities of Cambodia. Communes can consist of as few as 3 or as many as 30 vill ...
*
ISO 3166-2:KH
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