Kandal (, ; ) is a province of Cambodia which completely surrounds the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh. Located in the country's southeast, it borders the provinces of Kampong Speu and Takéo to the west, Kampong Chhnang and Kampong Cham to the north, Prey Veng to the east, and shares an international border with Vietnam (An Giang and ÃÂá»Âng Tháp). It is the second most populous province in Cambodia after the capital Phnom Penh.
The province consists of the plain wet area, covering rice fields and other agricultural plantations. The average altitude of the province is no more than 10 meters above sea level. The province features the Bassac and Mekong Rivers.
The province has a warm and humid tropical climate. The monsoon season normally begins in May and runs through October, while the rest of the year is the dry season. The warmest period of the year occurs between March and May, while the coolest period is from November through March.
Along National Road #6 to the border with Kampong Cham, there is a Cham Muslims community. Before the Democratic Kampuchea period, the Cham comprised 8âÂÂ12% of the population of Kandal province, and later mixed with the Khmer and embraced Theravada Buddhism. Other ethnic minorities are Vietnamese Cambodians who mostly live in Kandal, Phnom Penh, and Kampong Cham, and Chinese Cambodians who also live around Kandal and other provinces. The latter two ethnic groups make up about 2% of the population of Kandal.
The province is subdivided into 10 districts and 3 cities. The districts are further subdivided into 146 communes (khum) and 1087 villages.