Takeo Province

Takeo is where Khmer civilization began—the "birthplace" that predates even Angkor by centuries. The Funan Kingdom established walled and moated cities at Angkor Borei between the 1st and 6th centuries CE, and 34 temples built before the Angkor period still stand across the province. When Funan fell, Water Chenla inherited this territory while Land Chenla held the northern highlands. The canals cutting through the countryside—connecting towns, villages, rivers, and now Vietnam—were dug "a very long time ago," infrastructure that still moves wooden boats loaded with Vietnamese cargo.

The 1.03 million inhabitants of 2024 farm flat, low-lying plains irrigated by Mekong tributaries—one of Cambodia's primary rice-growing regions. With 11% of national production, Takeo ranks among the top producers alongside Prey Veng and Battambang. Duck farms, flooded rice paddies, and fisheries structure rural households almost entirely around water-dependent agriculture. The Vietnam border to the south and east shapes both legal trade through formal crossings and informal commerce through ancient waterways that ignore modern boundaries.

That border connection defines Takeo's evolutionary trajectory. What was once the Funan Kingdom's heartland now functions as Cambodia's gateway to the Mekong Delta, while Vietnamese An Giang Province (site of ancient Óc Eo) mirrors Takeo on the other side. By 2026, Vietnam's economic growth, Cambodian-Vietnamese bilateral relations, and cross-border infrastructure investment will determine whether Takeo leverages its position as a commercial corridor or remains primarily an agricultural hinterland with ancient temples.