Kampot province

Kampot
កំពត
Province
Kampot Province
ខេត្តកំពត
Official seal of Kampot
Seal
Map of Cambodia highlighting Kampot
Map of Cambodia highlighting Kampot
Coordinates: 10°36′N 104°10′E / 10.600°N 104.167°E / 10.600; 104.167
Country Cambodia
Provincial status20 August 1923
CapitalKampot
Government
 • GovernorMao Thonin (CPP)
 • National Assembly
6 / 125
Area
 • Total
4,873 km2 (1,881 sq mi)
 • RankRanked 17th
Population
 (2023)[1]
 • Total
Decrease 652,602
 • Rank12th
 • Density143/km2 (370/sq mi)
  • Rank12th
Time zoneUTC+7 (ICT)
Dialing code+855
ISO 3166 codeKH-7
Districts8
Communes93
Villages488
Websitekampot.gov.kh
This article contains Khmer text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Khmer script.

Kampot (Khmer: កំពត [kɑmpɔːt], lit. 'The Kampot's Fish') is a province in southwestern Cambodia. It borders the provinces of Koh Kong and Kampong Speu to the north, Takéo to the east, Kep and the country of Vietnam (Kiên Giang) to the south, and Sihanoukville to the west. To its south it has a coastline of around 45 km on the Gulf of Thailand.[2] It is rich in low arable lands and has abundant natural resources. Its capital is the city of Kampot.

Kampot Province had a population of 627,884[3] in 2010 and consist of eight districts divided into 92 communes with a total of 477 villages.[4] Touk Meas City is located in the province.

History

In the 19th century, during the French Indochina period, Kampot became a regional administrative center with the status of a state border district as a result of the delimitation of the Kingdom of Cambodia. The Circonscription Résidentielle de Kampot contained the arrondissements of Kampot, Kompong-Som, Trang and Kong-Pisey.[5][6]

In 1889, French colonial census reports a multi-ethnic community: Kampot town consisted of "Cambodian Kampot" on the Prek-Kampot River and "Chinese Kampot" on the right riverbank of the west branch of the Prek-Thom River. Nearby was also a Vietnamese village, called Tien-Thanh and another Vietnamese village on Traeuy Koh Island. A Malay also existed on Traeuy Koh Island. Additional villages of mixed ethnicity are listed.[7]


Khmer Rouge era

Destruction and mass murder happened throughout the whole area of Kampot province, as the Cambodian genocide and bloody massacres engulfed Kampot province under the terror of Khmer Rouge rule. A total 90,450 persons were massacred throughout the province.[8] Ta Mok himself massacred 30,000 people in the Angkor Chey District of Kampot.

Economy

Agriculture

  • Kampot pepper is a specialized product, protected by GI law, totaling 13 ha and a harvesting area of 10.50 ha located in Domnak Kantoul, Kang Tboung Commune, Kompong Trach District.
  • Durian, another specialized product totaling 537 ha and yielding 10,657 tons located in Makbrang Commune, Tek Chhou district.
  • Rubber, plantation area: 20 ha
  • Kampot sea salt is extracted from the seawater through salt evaporation ponds in the coastal areas of Kampot and Kep provinces.

Forestry and mining

  • Forestry area: 227,154 ha
  • 48 Mineral production and mining areas

Tourism

Districts

The province is subdivided into 7 districts and 1 municipality.

ISO code District Khmer Population (2019)[10]
07-01 Angkor Chey ស្រុកអង្គរជ័យ 88,263
07-02 Banteay Meas ស្រុកបន្ទាយមាស 100,299
07-03 Chhouk ស្រុកឈូក 125,406
07-04 Chum Kiri ស្រុកជុំគិរី 56,784
07-05 Dang Tong ស្រុកដងទង់ 63,911
07-06 Kampong Trach ស្រុកកំពង់ត្រាច 98,683
07-07 Tuek Chhou ស្រុកទឹកឈូ 126,789
07-08 Kampot Municipality ក្រុងកំពត 38,950

Religion

Religion in Kampot (2019 census)[11]

  Buddhism (96.9%)
  Islam (2.8%)
  Christianity (0.2%)
  Animism and Other religions (0%)

The state religion is Theravada Buddhism. More than 96.9% of the people in Kampot are Buddhists. Chams have been practicing Islam for hundreds of years. A small percentage follow Christianity.

References

  1. ^ "General Population Census of the Kingdom of Cambodia 2019 – Final Results" (PDF). National Institute of Statistics. Ministry of Planning. 26 January 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  2. ^ "A List of Cambodian Islands". Visit Koh Rong. 2019-10-26. Retrieved 2019-11-12.
  3. ^ Kampot Data Book 2009 (PDF). National Committee for Sub-National Democratic Development (NCDD). October 2009. p. 15. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-04-30. Retrieved 2011-10-27.
  4. ^ General Population Census of Cambodia, 1998: Village Gazetteer. National Institute of Statistics. February 2000. pp. xviii.
  5. ^ "Kampot of the Belle Époque: From the Outlet of Cambodia to a Colonial Resort - After colonization by the French..." (PDF). Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto. Retrieved December 26, 2015.
  6. ^ "The History of the Vinh Te Canal". UNREPRESENTED NATIONS AND PEOPLES ORGANIZATION. January 27, 2004. Retrieved December 26, 2015.
  7. ^ "Kampot of the Belle Époque: From the Outlet of Cambodia to a Colonial Resort - When the French installed the Résidence,..." (PDF). Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto. Retrieved December 26, 2015.
  8. ^ "The Muslim World League Journal". November 1982.
  9. ^ "Kampot Province". Cambodia Advisor. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  10. ^ https://www.nis.gov.kh/nis/Census2019/Final%20General%20Population%20Census%202019-English.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  11. ^ "Final General Population Census 2019-English.pdf" (PDF). National Institute of Statistics Ministry of planning. October 2020.
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