Kampong Cham province

Kampong Cham (Template:Langx, UNGEGN: Template:Transliteration Template:IPA; Template:Literal translation) is a province of Cambodia located on the central lowlands of the Mekong River. It borders the provinces of Kampong Chhnang to the west, Kampong Thom and Kratié to the north, Tboung Khmum to the east, and Prey Veng and Kandal to the south. Kampong Cham was officially divided into two provinces on 31 December 2013 in what was seen by many as a political move by the ruling party.<ref name=PPPost>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=CamDly>Template:Cite news</ref> All land west of the Mekong remained Kampong Cham while land east of the river became Tbong Khmum province. Prior to this division, Kampong Cham extended eastward to the international border with Vietnam, was the eleventh largest province in Cambodia, and with a population of 1,680,694, was the most populous province in Cambodia. Its capital and largest city is Kampong Cham.

Etymology

Kampong Cham is the corrupted word of "Kampong Rong Chamm" means 'The Waiting Port' then shorten as "Kampong Chamm", Later, the sound changed to "Kampong Cham" in Khmer. Kampong means 'port' or 'harbor'. Chamm refers to the 'waiting'. A symbol the province is known for is two snakes sinuously wrapped around each other, which is located at the capital city bridge, Kampong Cham. Meanwhile, in Malay, the name Kampong Cham comes from the word Kampong 'village' and Cham refers to the Cham ethnic group.

Geography

Houses on the border of the Mekong river.

Kampong Cham is primarily lowlands. The main river is the Mekong River, which forms the eastern border of the province, separating it from Tbong Khmum province.

Religion

The state religion is Theravada Buddhism. More than 97.6% of the people in Kampong Cham province are Buddhists. About 2.3% population of Kampong Cham province follow Islam followed by Chams. Christianity is followed by 0.1% in the province.

Administration

Kampong Cham is subdivided into 9 districts and 1 municipality which in turn are subdivided into communes (khum) which are further divided into villages (phum).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The province formerly consisted of 16 districts, however a request by Hun Sen's government to split the province in two was made after his ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) lost the province to the opposition in the July 2013 elections.<ref name=CamDly/> The CPP won only eight of the available 18 National Assembly seats in Hun Sen's home province. The request, which was ostensibly made in order to improve administrative efficiency in the large province, was approved by King Sihamoni on 31 December 2013. The 10 districts that remain in Kampong Cham province overwhelmingly voted for the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, led by Sam Rainsy, while five of the six districts cut out from Kampong Cham to form Tboung Khmum province were won solidly by the CPP.<ref name=PPPost/>

ISO code	Name	Khmer	Population (2019)<ref>http://nis.gov.kh/nis/Census2019/Final%20General%20Population%20Census%202019-English.pdf Template:Webarchive Template:Bare URL PDF</ref>	Subdivisions
— Municipality —
03-05	Kampong Cham	Template:Lang	38,365	4 sangkat
— District —
03-01	Batheay	Template:Lang	106,997	12 khum
03-02	Chamkar Loeu	Template:Lang	101,675	8 khum
03-03	Cheung Prey	Template:Lang	92,898	10 khum
03-06	Kampong Siem	Template:Lang	94,729	15 khum
03-07	Kang Meas	Template:Lang	85,488	11 khum
03-08	Koh Sotin	Template:Lang	48,069	8 khum
03-13	Prey Chhor	Template:Lang	133,712	15 khum
03-14	Srey Santhor	Template:Lang	81,687	14 khum
03-15	Steung Trang	Template:Lang	103,501	12 khum

2 districts in south Mekong river are Koh Sotin and Steung Trang

Politics

Template:See also Kampong Cham is allocated 10 seats in the National Assembly, down from 18. It had been the largest constituency until 2018.

Notable people

• Bun Rany, President of Cambodian Red Cross
• Hang Thun Hak, former Prime Minister
• Hem Heng, diplomat
• Heng Samrin, Speaker of the National Assembly
• Hun Manet, son of Hun Sen and current Prime Minister
• Hun Neang, father of Hun Sen
• Hun Sen, former Prime Minister
• In Tam, former Prime Minister
• Keng Vannsak, author
• Kong Korm, Senator
• Say Chhum, President of the Senate
• Sim Var, former Prime Minister

See also

• Wat Moha Leap
• Khmer people
• Cham people
• Champa
• Kampong Cham (city), the capital city of Kampong Cham province.

External links

• Beyond Angkor: Historical Sites in Kampong Cham Province - Unique Graphical Interactive Maps
• Map