Cambodia is one of the poorest and least developed countries in South East Asia. It is situated in the Mekong Sub-region, surrounded by Thailand in the north and west, Laos in the north, Vietnam in the east and southeast and the Gulf of Thailand in the south-west. The overall populace is around 11 million, living on an area of 180.000 sq. km. of which more than 40% is covered by forest.