Phnom Penh, << nawm pehn, >> is the capital of Cambodia. It lies in the south-central part of the country, where the Tonle Sap and Bassac rivers join the Mekong River. Phnom Penh serves as Cambodia’s trading and industrial center. The city’s products include cigarettes, rubber, and textiles.
Phnom Penh was founded in the 1400’s and became the permanent capital in 1867. In 1970, the Vietnam War between Communists and non-Communists spread to Cambodia. A Cambodian Communist group called the Khmer Rouge gained control of the country in 1975. At that time, Phnom Penh had about 2 million people. The Khmer Rouge forced most of the people out of the city to work in rural areas. The population fell to an estimated 20,000 people. In 1979, Vietnamese troops and a Cambodian Communist group overthrew the Khmer Rouge and took control of Phnom Penh. People then began returning to the city. By the early 2000’s, the population had grown to an estimated 1 million.
