Cambodia is divided into 25 provinces (Khmer: ខេត្ត, khétt[kʰaet]). The capital Phnom Penh is not a province but an "autonomous municipality" (Khmer: រាជធានី, réachthéani[riəceaʔtʰiəniː]; lit. 'capital'), equivalent to a province governmentally and administered at the same level as the other 24 provinces.
Phnom Penh has both the highest population and the highest population density of all provinces, but is the second smallest in land area. The largest province by area is Mondulkiri and the smallest is Kep which is also the least populated province. Mondulkiri has the lowest population density.
Provinces are divided into districts (ស្រុក, srŏk). The districts in Phnom Penh are called khan (ខណ្ឌ) normally written as for addresses in English followed by the districts' names (Ex: Khan Chamkar Mon; lit. 'Chamkar Mon District'). The number of districts in each province varies, from two in the smallest provinces to 14 in Battambang, Prey Veng, and Siem Reap. Further subdivision levels are communes (ឃុំkhum), and further subdivided into villages (ភូមិ, phum). In Phnom Penh, sangkat (សង្កាត់) is used in the place of khum and, similar to khan, normally preferred for writing addresses in English (Ex: Sangkat Mittapheap; lit. 'Mittapheap Commune').
1974: The Khmer Rouge government did away with the former Cambodian traditional administrative divisions. Instead of provinces, Democratic Kampuchea was divided into seven geographic zones (Khmer: តំបន់, tâmbán): the Northwest, the North, the Northeast, the East, the Southwest, the West, and the Centre. These zones were derived from divisions established by the Khmer Rouge when they fought against the Khmer Republic during the Cambodian Civil War.[2]
2008: On 22 December 2008, King Norodom Sihamoni signed a decree that changed the municipalities of Kep, Pailin and Sihanoukville into provincial municipalities, as well as adjusting several provincial borders.[3]
2018: In September 2018, Interior Minister Sar Kheng proposed establishing two more provinces, with areas taken from Kandal, Mondulkiri, and Ratanakiri.[5] Prime Minister Hun Sen rejected the plan.
