Place
Kandal
កណ្ដាល
Kandal (កណ្ដាល)[1] is a province in Cambodia's Central Plain region[2] that surrounds the capital, Phnom Penh, without including it.[3] It borders Kampong Chhnang and Kampong Cham to the north and Prey Veng to the east. Kampong Speu and Takeo lie to the west, and Vietnam to the south.[3][4] Its capital is Ta Khmau, just south of Phnom Penh.[3] In the 2019 census it had the second largest population in the country, after Phnom Penh.[5]
Geography
The province covers 3,179 square kilometers.[5] Tourism of Cambodia describes it as a low, wet plain of rice fields and other crops, no more than about 10 meters above sea level.[3] Three rivers cross it: the Mekong, the Tonle Sap and the Bassac, a branch of the Mekong.[4] Into Cambodia writes that much of the province is fertile floodplain, flooded from time to time in the rainy season from May to October. It names a few hills, among them Phnom Oudong and Phnom Prasith.[4]
The official lists for the 2011 economic census and the 2019 census show the town of Ta Khmau (Krong Ta Khmau). They also show ten districts: Kandal Stueng, Kien Svay, Khsach Kandal, Kaoh Thum, Leuk Daek, Lvea Aem, Mukh Kampul, Angk Snuol, Ponhea Leu and S'ang.[6][5] Into Cambodia counts three towns and ten districts as of 2024, with the towns of Arey Ksat and Sampov Poun alongside Ta Khmau.[4]
People
The final results of the 2019 census counted 1,201,581 people in Kandal, 7.7 percent of the country's population, and 378 people per square kilometer, the second highest density after Phnom Penh.[5] After the 2008 census, 20 communes with 410,555 people were moved from Kandal to Phnom Penh.[7] The final census report gives a fall of about 0.5 percent a year between 2008 and 2019, measured from the 2008 count, which still included those communes.[5][7] In 2019, 98.3 percent of the people were Buddhist and 1.2 percent Muslim.[5]
History
Into Cambodia writes that no province named Kandal existed under Kings Norodom and Sisowath, when several of today's districts, among them Lvea Aem, S'ang, Kaoh Thum and Kandal Stueng, were provinces in their own right.[4] Oudong, in what is now Ponhea Leu district, was the royal capital from the early 17th century until the 1860s, when King Norodom moved the capital to Phnom Penh.[3][8][9]
Places
Phnom Oudong, also called Phnom Preah Reach Troap, lies in Ponhea Leu district about 40 kilometers north of Phnom Penh. Stupas on the hill hold the remains of past kings, and a large stupa finished in 2002 holds relics of the Buddha.[8]
Tourism of Cambodia places Angkor Chey pagoda, built with five peaks, in Kien Svay district, about 29 kilometers from Phnom Penh.[3]
Arts and crafts
The Lakhon Khol troupe of Wat Svay Andet, in Lvea Aem district on the east bank of the Mekong, is made up of villagers from Tak Skor and Peam Ta Ek. The Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts writes that the troupe performs mainly as a ritual, for happiness and prosperity, to keep misfortune away and to call for rain before the rice season. It performs on a set day soon after Khmer New Year.[10][1]
Tourism of Cambodia places the silk-weaving island of Koh Dach in Mukh Kampul district,[11] while the 2019 census lists it in Phnom Penh's Chroy Changvar district.[5]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Yosothor, ល្ខោនខោល (undated)
- ↑ National Institute of Statistics, Provisional Population Census 2019 (2019)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Tourism of Cambodia, Kandal (undated)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Into Cambodia, Kandal Province (undated)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 National Institute of Statistics, Ministry of Planning, General Population Census of the Kingdom of Cambodia 2019: National Report on Final Census Results (2020)
- ↑ Statistics Bureau of Japan, District Profile of Cambodian 2011 Economic Census: 08 Kandal Province (December 11, 2012)
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 National Institute of Statistics, Cambodia Inter-Censal Population Survey 2013: Final Report (2013)
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Tourism of Cambodia, Phnom Odong (undated)
- ↑ Canby Publications, Phnom Penh: Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda (undated)
- ↑ Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Cambodia (undated)
- ↑ Tourism of Cambodia, Koh Dach (undated)