| Kampong Cham | |
| Native Name: | Central Khmer: កំពង់ចាម |
| Official Name: | Kampong Cham Province Central Khmer: ខេត្តកំពង់ចាម |
| Native Name Lang: | km |
| Settlement Type: | Province |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of Kampong Cham in Cambodia |
| Coordinates: | 11.9833°N 132°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  Cambodia |
| Established Title: | Provincial status |
| Established Date: | 1 January 1885 |
| Established Title1: | Division |
| Established Date1: | 31 December 2013 |
| Seat Type: | Capital |
| Seat: | Kampong Cham |
| Parts Type: | Subdivisions |
| Parts: | 1 municipality; 9 districts |
| Leader Party: | CPP |
| Leader Title: | Governor |
| Leader Name: | Un Chanda |
| Leader Title1: | National Assembly |
| Area Total Km2: | 4549 |
| Area Rank: | 18th |
| Population Footnotes: | [1] |
| Population Total: | 988,846 |
| Population As Of: | 2023 |
| Population Density Km2: | 198 |
| Population Density Rank: | 5th |
| Population Rank: | 7th |
| Timezone: | ICT |
| Utc Offset: | +07:00 |
| Area Code Type: | Dialing code |
| Area Code: | +855 |
| Iso Code: | KH-3 |
Kampong Cham (Central Khmer: កំពង់ចាម, UNGEGN: in Central Khmer pronounced as /kɑmpɔŋ caːm/;) is a province of Cambodia located on the central lowlands of the Mekong River. It borders the provinces of Kampong Chhnang to the west, Kampong Thom and Kratié to the north, Tboung Khmum to the east, and Prey Veng and Kandal to the south. Kampong Cham was officially divided into two provinces on 31 December 2013 in what was seen by many as a political move by the ruling party.[2] [3] All land west of the Mekong remained Kampong Cham while land east of the river became Tbong Khmum province. Prior to this division, Kampong Cham extended eastward to the international border with Vietnam, was the eleventh largest province in Cambodia, and with a population of 1,680,694, was the most populous province in Cambodia. Its capital and largest city is Kampong Cham.
Kampong Cham is the corrupted word of "Kampong Rong Chamm" means "The Waiting Port" then shorten as "Kampong Chamm", Later, the sound changed to "Kampong Cham" in Khmer. Kampong means port or harbor. Chamm refers to the "Waiting". A symbol the province is known for is two snakes sinuously wrapped around each other, which is located at the capital city bridge, Kampong Cham.
Kampong Cham is primarily lowlands. The main river is the Mekong River, which forms the eastern border of the province, separating it from Tbong Khmum province.
The state religion is Theravada Buddhism. More than 97.6% of the people in Kampong Cham province are Buddhists. About 2.3% population of Kampong Cham province follow Islam followed by Chams. Christianity is followed by 0.1% in the province.
Kampong Cham is subdivided into 9 districts and 1 municipality which in turn are subdivided into communes (khum) which are further divided into villages (phum).[4] The province formerly consisted of 16 districts, however a request by Hun Sen's government to split the province in two was made after his ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) lost the province to the opposition in the July 2013 elections.[3] The CPP won only eight of the available 18 National Assembly seats in Hun Sen's home province. The request, which was ostensibly made in order to improve administrative efficiency in the large province, was approved by King Sihamoni on 31 December 2013. The 10 districts that remain in Kampong Cham province overwhelmingly voted for the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, led by Sam Rainsy, while five of the six districts cut out from Kampong Cham to form Tboung Khmum province were won solidly by the CPP.[2]
| ISO code | Name | Khmer | Population (2019)[5] | Subdivisions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — Municipality — | ||||
| 03-05 | Kampong Cham | Central Khmer: កំពង់ចាម | 38,365 | 4 sangkat |
| — District — | ||||
| 03-01 | Batheay | Central Khmer: បាធាយ | 106,997 | 12 khum |
| 03-02 | Chamkar Loeu | Central Khmer: ចំការលើ | 101,675 | 8 khum |
| 03-03 | Cheung Prey | Central Khmer: ជើងព្រៃ | 92,898 | 10 khum |
| 03-06 | Kampong Siem | Central Khmer: កំពង់សៀម | 94,729 | 15 khum |
| 03-07 | Kang Meas | Central Khmer: កងមាស | 85,488 | 11 khum |
| 03-08 | Koh Sotin | Central Khmer: កោះសូទិន | 48,069 | 8 khum |
| 03-13 | Prey Chhor | Central Khmer: ព្រៃឈរ | 133,712 | 15 khum |
| 03-14 | Srey Santhor | Central Khmer: ស្រីសន្ធរ | 81,687 | 14 khum |
| 03-15 | Steung Trang | Central Khmer: ស្ទឹងត្រង់ | 103,501 | 12 khum |
2 districts in south Mekong river are Koh Sotin and Steung Trang
See also: Kampong Cham (National Assembly constituency). Kampong Cham is allocated 10 seats in the National Assembly, down from 18. It had been the largest constituency until 2018.