Preah Sihanouk province

For the city, see Sihanoukville (city). For the municipality, see Sihanoukville Municipality.

Preah Sihanouk
ព្រះសីហនុ
Sihanoukville
Province
Top, from left: Ochheuteal Beach, Two Lions Roundabout
Centre: Sihanoukville
Bottom, from left: Koh Rong and Koh Ta Kiev
Official seal of Preah Sihanouk
Seal
Map of Cambodia highlighting Preah Sihanouk Province
Map of Cambodia
highlighting Preah Sihanouk Province
Coordinates: 10°37′24″N 103°31′30″E / 10.62333°N 103.52500°E / 10.62333; 103.52500
Country Cambodia
Established22 November 1957[1]
Provincial status22 December 2008
Named forNorodom Sihanouk
CapitalSihanoukville
Government
 • GovernorKuoch Chamroeun (CPP)
 • National Assembly
3 / 125
Area
 • Total1,938 km2 (748 sq mi)
 • Rank22nd
Elevation
316 m (1,037 ft)
Population
 (2023)[2]
 • TotalDecrease 304,761
 • Rank17th
 • Density160/km2 (400/sq mi)
  • Rank7th
Time zoneUTC+7 (ICT)
Postcode
18000
Dialing code034
ISO 3166 codeKH-18
Districts4
Communes26
Villages108[3]
HDI (2019)0.599[4]
medium · 7th
Websitesihanoukville.gov.kh
This article contains Khmer text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Khmer script.

Preah Sihanouk (Khmer: ព្រះសីហនុ, UNGEGN: Preăh Seihânŭ, ALA-LC: Braḥ Sīhanu [preah səjhanuʔ], lit. 'Holy Sihanouk'), also Sihanoukville, is a province (khaet) in southwest Cambodia on the Gulf of Thailand. The provincial capital, also called Sihanoukville, is a deep water port city and a steadily growing and diversifying urban center on an elevated peninsula.[5]

First established as Kampong Som (Khmer: កំពង់សោម, lit. 'The Som Rattan Port'), the province was later renamed in honor of former King Norodom Sihanouk, who orchestrated the establishment of Sihanoukville city and the Sihanoukville municipality as this took place alongside the construction of the Sihanoukville Port, which commenced in June 1955. The only deep water port of Cambodia, it includes an oil terminal and a transport logistics facility.[6][7]

Preah Sihanouk is divided into four districts, each with a distinct economic character, defined largely by location and access to resources.[8] In addition to the port and the growing tourism industry, the activities of countless NGOs and international investment have contributed to the rapid economic growth of the province over the course of the last decade.[9] Primary economic sectors are transport and logistics, process manufacturing, agriculture and fisheries, textiles, and real estate.

The islands and beaches of Preah Sihanouk Province are an international tourist destination as visitor numbers have risen steadily since the late-20th century.[10][11]

Sihanoukville municipality was elevated to provincial status on 22 December 2008 after King Norodom Sihamoni signed a decree converting the municipalities of Kep, Pailin, and Sihanoukville into provinces, as well as incorporating Kompong Seila District.[12][13] As one of Cambodia's agriculturally and industrially most diverse provinces, its economic future has a solid basis, although the essential sectors of agriculture and tourism require strict and permanent administrative protection of local natural resources.[14][15][16]

  1. ^ "History of Sihanoukville Province". sihanoukville.gov.kh. Sihanoukville Administration. Retrieved 18 August 2019.[not specific enough to verify]
  2. ^ "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.
  3. ^ "CITIES AND PROVINCES OF CAMBODIA" (PDF). BLC. 1 June 2008. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  4. ^ "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  5. ^ "Administrative Areas in Sihanoukville Municipality by District and Commune" (PDF). Statistics Japan. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  6. ^ Philpotts, Robert (March 2006). A Port for Independence. UK: Blackwater Books. p. 18.
  7. ^ "Cambodia Re-emerges". The New York Times. 19 October 2003. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  8. ^ "Economic Census of Cambodia 2011 Provincial Report 18 Preah Sihanouk Province" (PDF). Statistics Japan. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  9. ^ "Cambodia, Sihanoukville Autonomous Port". winne.com. Retrieved 5 February 2009.
  10. ^ "The rise of Sihanoukville". The Phnom Penh Post. 21 March 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  11. ^ "Introducing Sihanoukville". Lonely Travel. Retrieved 5 February 2009.
  12. ^ Khmerization (31 December 2008). "Decree creates three new provinces". Khmerization.blogspot.com. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  13. ^ "King Sihamoni signed a royal decree that would change the municipalities of Kep, Sihanoukville, and Pailin into provinces". derkeiler com. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  14. ^ "Sar Kheng Orders End to Illegal Fishing Off Coast". The Cambodia Daily. 8 September 2015. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  15. ^ "Economic corridors and Industrial estates..." (PDF). Bangkok Research Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 June 2015. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  16. ^ "Officials Unable to Explain Mystery Ships". The Cambodia Daily. 6 November 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2015.