Serei Saophoan (city)

Serei Saophoan
សិរីសោភ័ណ
Sisophon
Roundabout in the centre of Serei Saophoan (September 2022)
Serei Saophoan
Location of Serei Saophoan, Cambodia
Coordinates: 13°35′02″N 102°58′25″E / 13.5839°N 102.9736°E / 13.5839; 102.9736
Country Cambodia
ProvinceBanteay Meanchey
MunicipalitySerei Saophoan
Government
 • MayorHil Raya
Elevation
15 m (49 ft)
Population
 (2019)[1]
 • Total
99,019
 • Rank4th
Time zoneUTC+07:00 (ICT)

Serei Saophoan (Khmer: សិរីសោភ័ណ [serəj saopʰɔən]) is the capital and largest city of the Banteay Meanchey Province and the fourth most populous city in Cambodia. The city separates Cambodia's National Highway 5 and National Highway 6. Its administrative name is "Serei Sophon" as used by the government. The more commonly used name Sisophon is derived from the Thai pronunciation Si Sophon when it was under Thai rule. Another nickname "Svay" is used mainly by truck drivers, train drivers and workers transporting goods. The origin of the word "Svay" is unknown.

Its population was 61,482 in the 1998 census, changing little to 61,631 in the 2008 census having been overtaken by Poipet in size.[2]

About forty minutes from Sisophon there is a Khmer Angkor temple ruin called Banteay Chmar which was built during the reign of Jayavarman VII in the late 12th to early 13th century.

Name

The name "Sisophon" is of Thai origin, derived from Sanskrit "Śrī Śobhana", with "śobhana" literally meaning "beautiful", "bright", or "glorious". Before the Thais renamed it, it was a village known as "Phum Svay", meaning "village of mango trees", or "Phum Ta Svay", meaning "village of Grandfather Svay" (since "Svāy", meaning "mango tree", is a common given name in the countryside). The old name still survives in a hybrid form "Svay-Sisophon" used locally, as well as in the name of a nearby hill called Phnom Svay.[3]: 432 

Climate

Climate data for Serei Saophoan (1982–2024)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 31.5
(88.7)
33.0
(91.4)
35.7
(96.3)
35.9
(96.6)
36.0
(96.8)
33.3
(91.9)
33.8
(92.8)
32.1
(89.8)
32.5
(90.5)
32.9
(91.2)
31.5
(88.7)
30.2
(86.4)
33.2
(91.8)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 21.0
(69.8)
21.5
(70.7)
22.7
(72.9)
25.4
(77.7)
25.8
(78.4)
24.2
(75.6)
23.4
(74.1)
24.0
(75.2)
23.7
(74.7)
23.1
(73.6)
22.4
(72.3)
20.0
(68.0)
23.1
(73.6)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 6.4
(0.25)
13.2
(0.52)
56.4
(2.22)
79.3
(3.12)
249.4
(9.82)
264.3
(10.41)
270.0
(10.63)
304.9
(12.00)
426.7
(16.80)
327.5
(12.89)
103.6
(4.08)
10.2
(0.40)
2,111.9
(83.14)
Source: World Meteorological Organization[4]

Notable people

See also

References

  1. ^ "General Population Census of the Kingdom of Cambodia 2019 – Final Results" (PDF). National Institute of Statistics. Ministry of Planning. 26 January 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 October 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  2. ^ http://www.citypopulation.de/Cambodia.html Archived 2012-10-15 at the Wayback Machine Citypopulation.de Cambodia
  3. ^ Pou, Saveros (1967). "La Toponymie Khmère". Bulletin de l'École française d'Extrême-Orient. 53 (2): 376–451. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  4. ^ "World Weather Information Service". World Meteorological Organization. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
  • Sisophon travel guide from Wikivoyage