| Kampot | |
| Official Name: | Kampot Province Central Khmer: ខេត្តកំពត |
| Native Name: | Central Khmer: កំពត |
| Native Name Lang: | km |
| Settlement Type: | Province |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of Kampot in Cambodia |
| Coordinates: | 10.6°N 114°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Established Title: | Provincial status |
| Established Date: | 20 August 1923 |
| Seat Type: | Capital |
| Seat: | Kampot |
| Leader Party: | CPP |
| Leader Title: | Governor |
| Leader Name: | Mao Thonin |
| Leader Title2: | National Assembly |
| Area Total Km2: | 4873 |
| Area Rank: | Ranked 17th |
| Population Footnotes: | [1] |
| Population Total: | 652,602 |
| Population Rank: | 12th |
| Population As Of: | 2023 |
| Population Density Rank: | 12th |
| Population Density Km2: | 143 |
| Blank Name Sec1: | Districts |
| Blank Info Sec1: | 8 |
| Blank1 Name Sec1: | Communes |
| Blank1 Info Sec1: | 93 |
| Blank2 Name Sec1: | Villages |
| Blank2 Info Sec1: | 488 |
| Timezone: | ICT |
| Utc Offset: | +7 |
| Area Code Type: | Dialing code |
| Area Code: | +855 |
| Iso Code: | KH-7 |
Kampot (Central Khmer: កំពត in Central Khmer pronounced as /kɑmpɔːt/,) is a province in southwestern Cambodia. It borders the provinces of Koh Kong and Kampong Speu to the north, Takéo to the east, Kep and the country of Vietnam (Kiên Giang) to the south, and Sihanoukville to the west. To its south it has a coastline of around 45 km on the Gulf of Thailand.[2] It is rich in low arable lands and has abundant natural resources. Its capital is the city of Kampot.
Kampot Province had a population of 627,884[3] in 2010 and consist of eight districts divided into 92 communes with a total of 477 villages.[4] Touk Meas City is located in the province.
In the 19th century, during the French Indochina period, Kampot became a regional administrative center with the status of a state border district as a result of the delimitation of the Kingdom of Cambodia. The Circonscription Résidentielle de Kampot contained the arrondissements of Kampot, Kompong-Som, Trang and Kong-Pisey.[5] [6]
In 1889, French colonial census reports a multi-ethnic community: Kampot town consisted of "Cambodian Kampot" on the Prek-Kampot River and "Chinese Kampot" on the right riverbank of the west branch of the Prek-Thom River. Nearby was also a Vietnamese village, called Tien-Thanh and another Vietnamese village on Traeuy Koh Island. A Malay also existed on Traeuy Koh Island. Additional villages of mixed ethnicity are listed.[7]
Destruction and mass murder happened throughout the whole area of Kampot province, as the Cambodian genocide and bloody massacres engulfed Kampot province under the terror of Khmer Rouge rule. A total 90,450 persons were massacred throughout the province.[8] Ta Mok himself massacred 30,000 people in the Angkor Chey District of Kampot.
The province is subdivided into 7 districts and 1 municipality.
| ISO code | District | Khmer | Population (2019)[10] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 07-01 | Angkor Chey | Central Khmer: ស្រុកអង្គរជ័យ | 88,263 | |
| 07-02 | Banteay Meas | Central Khmer: ស្រុកបន្ទាយមាស | 100,299 | |
| 07-03 | Chhouk | Central Khmer: ស្រុកឈូក | 125,406 | |
| 07-04 | Chum Kiri | Central Khmer: ស្រុកជុំគិរី | 56,784 | |
| 07-05 | Dang Tong | Central Khmer: ស្រុកដងទង់ | 63,911 | |
| 07-06 | Kampong Trach | Central Khmer: ស្រុកកំពង់ត្រាច | 98,683 | |
| 07-07 | Central Khmer: ស្រុកទឹកឈូ | 126,789 | ||
| 07-08 | Central Khmer: ក្រុងកំពត | 38,950 |
The state religion is Theravada Buddhism. More than 96.9% of the people in Kampot are Buddhists. Chams have been practicing Islam for hundreds of years. A small percentage follow Christianity.