The Kingdom of Cambodia is a country in Southeast Asia with a population of more than 13 million. Cambodia is the successor state of the once powerful Khmer Empire, which ruled most of the Indochinese Peninsula between the 11th and 14th centuries.
A citizen of Cambodia is usually identified as "Cambodian". "Khmer", which strictly only refers to ethnic Khmers, is also used. Most Cambodians are Theravada Buddhists of Khmer extraction, but the country also has a substantial number of predominantly Muslim Cham, as well as small hill tribes.
The country shares a border with Thailand to its west and north, with Laos to its northeast, and with Vietnam to its east. In the south it faces the Gulf of Thailand. The geography of Cambodia is dominated by the Mekong river (colloquial Khmer: Tonle Thom or "the great river") and the Tonlé Sap ("the fresh water river"), an important source of fish. Its low geography means much of the country sits near to below sea level, and its main source of water from the Mekong reverses its water flow in the wet season into the neighbouring Tonle Sap River.
