POPULATION 12,775,324
THERAVADA BUDDHIST 89 percent
MAHAYANA BUDDHIST 5 percent
MUSLIM 3 percent
OTHER 3 percent

Country Overview

Introduction

The Kingdom of Cambodia lies on the northeastern shore of the Gulf of Thailand in Southeast Asia and is bordered by Thailand to the west and northwest, Laos to the northeast, and Vietnam to the east and southeast. The greatest concentrations of population and economic activity are on the flood plains of the Mekong and Sab Rivers, which flow from Laos and the Tonle Sap lake, respectively, toward southern Vietnam and the South China Sea, merging in the vicinity of Phnom Penh. Some 75 percent of Cambodia's population is involved in agriculture, mostly in the cultivation of rice. Theravada Buddhism is the traditional religion of nearly all of the country's farmers. As in neighboring countries, however, Buddhism is mixed with spirit practice. Hindu-Brahmanist traditions, which preceded Theravada Buddhism, still capture the popular imagination and figure...