Most Cambodians consider themselves to be Khmers, descendants of the Angkor Empire that extended over much of Southeast Asia and reached its zenith between the 10th and 13th centuries. Attacks by the Thai and Cham (from present-day Vietnam) weakened the empire, ushering in a long period of decline. The king placed the country under French protection in 1863, and it became part of French Indochina in 1887. Following Japanese occupation in World War II, Cambodia gained full independence from France in 1953. In April 1975, after a seven-year struggle, communist Khmer Rouge forces captured Phnom Penh and 1.5 million Cambodians died from execution, forced hardships, or starvation during the Khmer Rouge regime. A December 1978 Vietnamese invasion drove the Khmer Rouge into the countryside, began a 10-year Vietnamese occupation, and touched off 20 years of civil war. Khmer Rouge surrendered in early 1999, and the first relatively peaceful election took place in July 2003. Today, Cambodia is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy with civil law system (influenced by the UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia) customary law, Communist legal theory, and common law.
Cambodia has 24 provinces and 1 municipality in terms of administrative regions.
Economically, Cambodia has experienced strong economic growth during the 2000s. The tourism, garment, construction and real estate, and agriculture sectors accounted for the bulk of growth.
Source: CIA World Factbook - Cambodia
