Ratanakiri province

Ratanakiri
រតនគិរី
Ratanakiri Province
ខេត្តរតនគិរី
Primitive thatched houses on stilts lining a dusty red dirt road. Surrounding vegetation includes a variety of trees and some banana plants.
Ratanakiri countryside
Official seal of Ratanakiri
Map showing location of Ratanakiri in northeast Cambodia
Location of Ratanakiri in Cambodia
Coordinates: 13°44′N 107°0′E / 13.733°N 107.000°E / 13.733; 107.000
Country Cambodia
Established1959[1]
CapitalBanlung
Subdivisions1 municipality; 8 districts
Government
 • GovernorNhem Samoeurn (CPP)
 • National Assembly
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Area
 • Total10,782 km2 (4,163 sq mi)
 • Rank9th
Population
 (2023)[2]
 • TotalIncrease 238,975
 • Rank20th
 • Density19/km2 (50/sq mi)
  • Rank21st
Time zoneUTC+07:00 (ICT)
Websitewww.ratanakiri.gov.kh

Ratanakiri (Khmer: រតនគិរី, UNGEGN: Rôtânôkĭri, ALA-LC: Ratanagirī [rɔətanakiriː]; lit.'Gem Mountains') is a province of northeast Cambodia. It borders the provinces of Mondulkiri to the south and Stung Treng to the west and the countries of Laos (Attapeu) and Vietnam (Gia Lai and Kon Tum) to the north and east, respectively. The province extends from the mountains of the Annamite Range in the north, across a hilly plateau between the Tonlé San and Tonlé Srepok rivers, to tropical deciduous forests in the south. In recent years, logging and mining have scarred Ratanakiri's environment, long known for its beauty.

For over a millennium, Ratanakiri has been occupied by the highland Khmer Loeu people, who are a minority elsewhere in Cambodia. During the region's early history, its Khmer Loeu inhabitants were exploited as slaves by neighboring empires. The slave trade economy ended during the French colonial era, but a harsh Khmerization campaign after Cambodia's independence again threatened Khmer Loeu ways of life. The Khmer Rouge built its headquarters in the province in the 1960s, and bombing during the Vietnam War devastated the region. Today, rapid development in the province is altering traditional ways of life.

Ratanakiri is sparsely populated; its 184,000 residents make up just over 1% of the country's total population. Residents generally live in villages of 20 to 60 families and engage in subsistence shifting agriculture. Ratanakiri is among the least developed provinces of Cambodia. Its infrastructure is poor, and the local government is weak. Health indicators in Ratanakiri are extremely poor; men's life expectancy is 39 years, and women's is 43 years. Education levels are also low, with just under half of the population illiterate.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference adbhistory was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ NISC 2019