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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Cambodia
Index
Under the leadership of the Khmer Rouge, Cambodia underwent a
brutal and radical revolution. When the communist forces took power
in Phnom Penh in April 1975, their immediate goals were to overhaul
the social system and to revitalize the national economy. The
economic development strategy of the Khmer Rouge was to build a
strong agricultural base supported by local small industries and
handicrafts. As explained by Deputy Premier Ieng Sary, the regime
was "pursuing radical transformation of the country, with
agriculture as the base. With revenues from agriculture we are
building industry which is to serve the development of
agriculture." This strategy was also the focus of a doctoral thesis
written by future Khmer Rouge leader Khieu Samphan at the
University of Paris in 1959. Samphan argued that Cambodia could
only achieve economic and industrial development by increasing and
expanding agricultural production. The new communist government
implemented the tenets of this thesis; it called for a total
collectivization of agriculture and for a complete nationalization
of all sectors of the economy.
Strict adherence to the principle of self-reliance constituted
the central goal of the Khmer Rouge regime. A Phnom Penh radio
broadcast in early May (about a month after the Khmer Rouge arrived
in the capital) underscored the importance of Cambodian self-
reliance and boasted that during the war the Khmer Rouge had used
scrap iron and wrecked military vehicles to manufacture their own
bullets and mines. The statement made it clear that the policy of
self-reliance would continue in peacetime. In another move aimed at
reducing foreign influence on the country, the regime announced on
May 10 that it would not allow foreigners to remain in Cambodia but
that the measure was only temporary; and it added, "We shall
reconsider the question [of allowing foreigners to enter the
country] after the re-establishment of diplomatic, economic and
commercial relations with other countries." Although Cambodia
resumed diplomatic relations with a number of nations, the new
government informed the UN General Assembly on October 6, 1975,
that it was neutral and economically self-sufficient and would not
ask for aid from any country. On September 9, however, the Chinese
ambassador arrived in Cambodia, and there were soon reports that
China was providing aid to the Khmer Rouge. Estimates of the number
of Chinese experts in Cambodia after that time ranged from 500 to
2,000. The policy of self-reliance also meant that the government
organized the entire population into forced-labor groups to work in
paddies and on other land to help the country reach its goal of
food self-sufficiency.
The Khmer Rouge, as soon as it took power on April 17, 1975,
emptied Phnom Penh (of its approximately 2 million residents) as
well as other cities and towns, and forced the people into the
countryside. This overnight evacuation was motivated by the urgent
need to rebuild the country's war-torn economy and by the Khmer
Rouge peasantry's hostility toward the cities. According to a Khmer
Rouge spokesman at the French embassy on May 10, the evacuation was
necessary to "revolutionize" and to "purify" the urban residents
and to annihilate Phnom Penh, which "Cambodian peasants regarded as
a satellite of foreigners, first French, and then American, and
which has been built with their sweat without bringing them
anything in exchange." The only people who were not ordered to
leave the city were those who operated essential public services,
such as water and electricity.
Other Khmer Rouge leaders rationalized the evacuation as a
matter of self-reliance. They told the Swedish ambassador in early
1976 that "they didn't have any transportation facilities to bring
food to the people, and so the logical thing was to bring the
people to the food, i.e., to evacuate them all and make them get
out into the ricefields." Indeed, when the evacuees reached their
destinations, they were immediately mobilized to clear land, to
harvest rice crops, to dig and restore irrigation canals, and to
build and repair dikes in preparation for the further expansion of
agriculture. The rice crop in November 1976 was reported to be good
in relation to earlier years. At the same time, plantations
producing cotton, rubber, and bananas were established or
rehabilitated.
While the Khmer Rouge gave high priority to agriculture, it
neglected industry. Pol Pot sought "to consolidate and perfect
[existing] factories," rather than to build new ones. About 100
factories and workshops were put back into production; most of them
(except a Chinese-built cement plant, a gunnysack factory, and
textile mills in Phnom Penh and in Batdambang) were repair and
handicraft shops revived to facilitate agricultural development.
Cambodia's economic revolution was much more radical and
ambitious than that in any other communist country. In fact, Khmer
Rouge leader Premier Ieng Sary explained that Cambodia wanted "to
create something that never was before in history. No model exists
for what we are building. We are not imitating either the Chinese
or the Vietnamese model." The state or cooperatives owned all land;
there were no private plots as in China or in the Soviet Union. The
constitution, adopted in December 1975 and proclaimed in January
1976, specifically stated that the means of production were the
collective property of the state
(see
Democratic Kampuchea, 1975- 78, ch. 1).
The Cambodian economic system was unique in at least two
respects. First, the government abolished private ownership of
land. The Khmer Rouge believed that, under the new government,
Cambodia should be a classless society of "perfect harmony" and
that private ownership was "the source of egoist feelings and
consequently social injustices." Second, Cambodia was a cashless
nation; the government confiscated all republican era currency.
Shops closed, and workers received their pay in the form of food
rations, because there was no money in circulation.
On August 12, 1975, fewer than four months after the Khmer
Rouge had taken power, Khieu Samphan claimed that, within a year or
two, Cambodia would have sufficient food supplies and would be able
to export some of its products. To achieve this goal in record
time, large communes comprising several villages replaced village
cooperatives, which had formed in the areas controlled by the Khmer
Rouge in 1973 and which had spread throughout the country by 1975.
Unlike China and Vietnam, which had introduced collectivization
gradually over several years, Cambodia imposed the system hastily
and without preparation.
The Khmer Rouge, in line with the slogan, "If we have dikes, we
will have water; if we have water, we will have rice; if we have
rice, we can have absolutely everything," organized the workers
into three "forces." The first force comprised unmarried men (ages
fifteen to forty) who were assigned to construct canals, dikes, and
dams. The second force consisted of married men and women who were
responsible for growing rice near villages. The third force was
made up of people forty years of age and older who were assigned to
less arduous tasks, such as weaving, basket-making, or watching
over the children. Children under the age of fifteen grew
vegetables or raised poultry. Everyone had to work between ten and
twelve hours a day, and some worked even more, often under adverse,
unhealthy conditions.
On September 27, 1977, in a major speech celebrating the
anniversary of the Kampuchean (or Khmer) Communist Party (KCP--see
Appendix B), Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot asserted that, "Our entire
people, our entire revolutionary army and all our cadres live under
a collective regime through a communal support system." He then
listed the government's achievements in rebuilding the economy and
concluded that, "Though not yet to the point of affluence, our
people's standard of living has reached a level at which people are
basically assured of all needs in all fields."
Measuring the economic performance of the Khmer Rouge regime
was impossible because statistics were not available, and no
monetary transactions or bookkeeping were carried out. The economic
life described by foreign diplomats, by Western visitors, and by
Cambodian refugees in Thai camps ranged from spartan to dismal.
Phnom Penh became a ghost town of only about 10,000 people. There
were no shops, post offices, telephones, or telegraph services.
Frequent shortages of water and of electricity occurred in all
urban areas, and the government prohibited movement across
provincial borders, except for that of trucks distributing rice and
fuel.
Conditions in the cooperatives varied considerably from place
to place. In some areas, cooperative members had permission to
cultivate private plots of land and to keep livestock. In others,
all property was held communally. Conditions were most primitive in
the new economic zones, where city dwellers had been sent to farm
virgin soil and where thousands of families lived in improvised
barracks
(see Democratic Kampuchea, 1975-78
, ch. 1).
Cambodia made progress in improving the country's irrigation
network and in expanding its rice cultivation area. Phnom Penh
radio claimed that a network of ditches, canals, and reservoirs had
been constructed throughout the country "like giant checkerboards,
a phenomenon unprecedented in the history of our Cambodia." Still,
rice production and distribution were reported to be
unsatisfactory. Rice harvests were poor in 1975 and 1978, when the
worst floods in seventy years struck the Mekong Valley. Even after
the better harvests of 1976 and 1977, however, rice distribution
was unequal, and the government failed to reach the daily ration of
570 grams per person. (The daily ration of rice per person actually
varied by region from 250 to 500 grams.) Party leaders, cadres,
soldiers, and factory workers ate well, but children, the sick, and
the elderly suffered from malnutrition and starvation. There also
were reports that the government was stockpiling rice in
preparation for war with Vietnam and exporting it to China in
exchange for military supplies. This diverted rice could have been
one explanation for the people's meager rice ration.
At the end of 1978, when Vietnamese troops invaded Cambodia,
the ensuing turbulence completely disrupted the nation's economic
activity, particularly in the countryside, which once again became
a war theater traversed by a massive population movement.
Agricultural production was again a major casualty, with the result
that there was a severe food crisis in 1979.
Data as of December 1987
- Cambodia-Illicit Trade with Thailand and with Singapore
- Cambodia-THE KAMPUCHEAN (OR KHMER) UNITED FRONT FOR NATIONAL CONSTRUCTION AND DEFENSE
- Cambodia-Politics under the Khmer Rouge
- Cambodia-Chapter 1 - Historical Setting
- Cambodia-Airports
- Cambodia-First Plan, 1986-90
- Cambodia-Vietnamese Aid
- Cambodia-The Economy
- Cambodia-Local People's Revolutionary Committees
- Cambodia-Austronesian
- Cambodia-The March 1970 Coup d'Etat
- Cambodia-The Constitution
- Cambodia-Fisheries
- Cambodia-Water Transportation Railroads
- Cambodia-The Khmer People's National Liberation Front
- Cambodia-The Economy under the Khmer Rouge, 1975-79
- Cambodia-Handicrafts
- Cambodia-SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND ORGANIZATION
- Cambodia-Establishing Democratic Kampuchea
- Cambodia-Taxes
- Cambodia-Intraparty Conflict
- Cambodia-ECONOMIC SETTING
- Cambodia-CAMBODIA UNDER SIHANOUK, 1954-70
- Cambodia-INDUSTRY
- Cambodia-Other Religions
- Cambodia-Khmer People's National Liberation Armed Forces
- Cambodia-The Fall of Phnom Penh
- Cambodia-Petroleum
- Cambodia-HEALTH AND WELFARE
- Cambodia-East Germany
- Cambodia-The Successor State of Chenla
- Cambodia-People's Security Service LAW ENFORCEMENT AND COUNTERSUBVERSION
- Cambodia-Conditions of Service
- Cambodia-Livestock
- Cambodia-PREFACE
- Cambodia-THE ANGKORIAN PERIOD
- Cambodia-GEOGRAPHY
- Cambodia-Natural Resources
- Cambodia-THE MEDIA
- Cambodia-The Second Indochina War, 1954-75
- Cambodia-Democratic Kampuchea
- Cambodia-Composition and Deployment
- Cambodia-FOREIGN AFFAIRS
- Cambodia-CAMBODIA
- Cambodia-Origins of the Coalition
- Cambodia-HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
- Cambodia-The French Protectorate
- Cambodia-ECONOMY
- Cambodia-Distribution Dynamics
- Cambodia-Revolutionary Terror
- Cambodia-Soviet Aid
- Cambodia-Sihanouk's Peacetime Economy, 1953-70
- Cambodia-Public Health
- Cambodia-Foreign Economic and Technical Assistance
- Cambodia-The Geneva Conference
- Cambodia-Protection under the Law
- Cambodia-ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
- Cambodia-Coalition Government Resistance Forces
- Cambodia-Origins of Buddhism on the Indian Subcontinent
- Cambodia-The Japanese Occupation, 1941-45
- Cambodia-Social Stratification and Social Mobility
- Cambodia-Other Groups
- Cambodia-DOMESTIC COMMERCE
- Cambodia-Public School System
- Cambodia -COUNTRY PROFILE
- Cambodia-The Time of Greatness, A.D - 802-1431
- Cambodia-From "Proximity Talks" to a "Cocktail Party"
- Cambodia-Early Indianized Kingdom of Funan
- Cambodia-The Purge
- Cambodia-PREHISTORY AND EARLY KINGDOMS
- Cambodia-National United Front for an Independent, Peaceful, Neutral, and Cooperative Cambodia
- Cambodia-Soviet Union
- Cambodia-The KPRP Second Congress
- Cambodia-The First Indochina War, 1945-54
- Cambodia-The Council of Ministers
- Cambodia-INTO THE MAELSTROM: INSURRECTION AND WAR, 1967-75
- Cambodia-Vietnam
- Cambodia-Welfare Programs
- Cambodia-The Council of State
- Cambodia-Collectivization and Solidarity Groups
- Cambodia-Early Khmer Rouge Atrocities
- Cambodia-Hydroelectric Power
- Cambodia-Period of Decline, 1431-1863
- Cambodia-Private Education
- Cambodia-Poland
- Cambodia-The Chinese
- Cambodia-Composition of Trade
- Cambodia-THE KAMPUCHEAN, (OR KHMER) PEOPLE'S REVOLUTIONARY PARTY
- Cambodia-MILITARY DEVELOPMENTS IN POSTWAR CAMBODIA
- Cambodia-THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KAMPUCHEA
- Cambodia-The Colonial Economy
- Cambodia-The Khmer
- Cambodia-FOREIGN TRADE AND AID
- Cambodia-Drainage
- Cambodia-AGRICULTURE
- Cambodia-Other Food and Commercial Crops
- Cambodia-Migration and Refugees
- Cambodia-Major Manufacturing Industries
- Cambodia-DEMOCRATIC KAMPUCHEA, 1975-78
- Cambodia-Domestic Developments
- Cambodia-Cambodian Adaptations
- Cambodia-Role of Buddhism in Cambodian Life
- Cambodia-The Coalition's Strategy
- Cambodia-Regional Divisions
- Cambodia-Chapter 2 - The Society and Its Environment
- Cambodia-Foreign Troops and Advisers
- Cambodia-Austroasiatic-Mon-Khmer LANGUAGES
- Cambodia-Vietnamese Invasion of Cambodia
- Cambodia-New Economic Policy and System
- Cambodia-THE FRENCH COLONIAL PERIOD, 1887-1953
- Cambodia-Housing
- Cambodia-The Vietnamese
- Cambodia-Roads and Highways
- Cambodia-The Widening War
- Cambodia-Ports
- Cambodia-Chapter 4 - Government and Politics
- Cambodia-The French Protectorate, 1863-1954
- Cambodia-National Army of Democratic Kampuchea
- Cambodia-Coalition Structure
- Cambodia-Major Trading Partners
- Cambodia-Penal System
- Cambodia-Dress
- Cambodia-TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATIONS
- Cambodia-Chinese Religion
- Cambodia-NATIONAL SECURITY
- Cambodia-Buddhism RELIGION
- Cambodia
- Cambodia-The Emergence of Nationalism
- Cambodia-Armée Nationale Sihanoukiste
- Cambodia-ECONOMIC ROLE OF THE KAMPUCHEAN PEOPLE'S REVOLUTIONARY PARTY
- Cambodia-The Search for Peace
- Cambodia-Other Ethnic Groups
- Cambodia-The Wartime Economy, 1970-75
- Cambodia-Climate
- Cambodia
- Cambodia-Threats and Capabilities
- Cambodia
- Cambodia-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS AFTER INDEPENDENCE
- Cambodia-Chapter 5 - National Security
- Cambodia-Government Structure
- Cambodia-Khmer Rouge Armed Forces MILITARY DEVELOPMENTS UNDER THE KHMER ROUGE
- Cambodia-POPULATION
- Cambodia-Topography
- Cambodia-The Judiciary
- Cambodia-Islam
- Cambodia-International and Western Aid
- Cambodia-EDUCATION
- Cambodia
- Cambodia-Diet
- Cambodia
- Cambodia-GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
- Cambodia-The Cambodian Left: The Early Phases
- Cambodia-CAMBODIA'S STRUGGLE FOR SURVIVAL, 1432-1887
- Cambodia-Foreword
- Cambodia-Cambodia in Turmoil
- Cambodia-Domination by Thailand and by Vietnam
- Cambodia-TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATIONS
- Cambodia-Background MAJOR POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS, 1977-81
- Cambodia-FINANCE
- Cambodia-Religious and Minority Communities
- Cambodia-The Paris Student Group
- Cambodia
- Cambodia-Mission and Doctrine
- Cambodia-Nonaligned Foreign Policy
- Cambodia-Phnom Penh and Its Allies
- Cambodia
- Cambodia-Organization and Control
- Cambodia-Chapter 3 - The Economy
- Cambodia-COALITION GOVERNMENT OF DEMOCRATIC KAMPUCHEA
- Cambodia-Labor Force
- Cambodia-Buddhist Education
- Cambodia
- Cambodia-Rice Production and Cultivation
- Cambodia-Currency Banking
- Cambodia-Society under the Angkar
- Cambodia
- Cambodia-Tenuous Security
- Cambodia-ENVIRONMENT
- Cambodia-Education and Health
- Cambodia-INTRODUCTION
- Cambodia
Background | | Most Cambodians consider themselves to be Khmers, descendants of the Angkor Empire that extended over much of Southeast Asia and reached its zenith between the 10th and 13th centuries. Attacks by the Thai and Cham (from present-day Vietnam) weakened the empire, ushering in a long period of decline. The king placed the country under French protection in 1863 and it became part of French Indochina in 1887. Following Japanese occupation in World War II, Cambodia gained full independence from France in 1953. In April 1975, after a five-year struggle, Communist Khmer Rouge forces captured Phnom Penh and evacuated all cities and towns. At least 1.5 million Cambodians died from execution, forced hardships, or starvation during the Khmer Rouge regime under POL POT. A December 1978 Vietnamese invasion drove the Khmer Rouge into the countryside, began a 10-year Vietnamese occupation, and touched off almost 13 years of civil war. The 1991 Paris Peace Accords mandated democratic elections and a ceasefire, which was not fully respected by the Khmer Rouge. UN-sponsored elections in 1993 helped restore some semblance of normalcy under a coalition government. Factional fighting in 1997 ended the first coalition government, but a second round of national elections in 1998 led to the formation of another coalition government and renewed political stability. The remaining elements of the Khmer Rouge surrendered in early 1999. Some of the surviving Khmer Rouge leaders are awaiting trial by a UN-sponsored tribunal for crimes against humanity. Elections in July 2003 were relatively peaceful, but it took one year of negotiations between contending political parties before a coalition government was formed. In October 2004, King Norodom SIHANOUK abdicated the throne and his son, Prince Norodom SIHAMONI, was selected to succeed him. Local elections were held in Cambodia in April 2007, and there was little in the way of pre-election violence that preceded prior elections. National elections in July 2008 were relatively peaceful.
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Location | | Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, between Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos
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Area(sq km) | | total: 181,035 sq km land: 176,515 sq km water: 4,520 sq km
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Geographic coordinates | | 13 00 N, 105 00 E
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Land boundaries(km) | | total: 2,572 km border countries: Laos 541 km, Thailand 803 km, Vietnam 1,228 km
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Coastline(km) | | 443 km
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Climate | | tropical; rainy, monsoon season (May to November); dry season (December to April); little seasonal temperature variation
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Elevation extremes(m) | | lowest point: Gulf of Thailand 0 m highest point: Phnum Aoral 1,810 m
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Natural resources | | oil and gas, timber, gemstones, iron ore, manganese, phosphates, hydropower potential
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Land use(%) | | arable land: 20.44% permanent crops: 0.59% other: 78.97% (2005)
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Irrigated land(sq km) | | 2,700 sq km (2003)
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Total renewable water resources(cu km) | | 476.1 cu km (1999)
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Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural) | | total: 4.08 cu km/yr (1%/0%/98%) per capita: 290 cu m/yr (2000)
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Natural hazards | | monsoonal rains (June to November); flooding; occasional droughts
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Environment - current issues | | illegal logging activities throughout the country and strip mining for gems in the western region along the border with Thailand have resulted in habitat loss and declining biodiversity (in particular, destruction of mangrove swamps threatens natural fisheries); soil erosion; in rural areas, most of the population does not have access to potable water; declining fish stocks because of illegal fishing and overfishing
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Environment - international agreements | | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
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Geography - note | | a land of paddies and forests dominated by the Mekong River and Tonle Sap
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Population | | 14,494,293 note: estimates for this country take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2009 est.)
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Age structure(%) | | 0-14 years: 32.6% (male 2,388,922/female 2,336,439) 15-64 years: 63.8% (male 4,498,568/female 4,743,677) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 197,649/female 329,038) (2009 est.)
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Median age(years) | | total: 22.1 years male: 21.4 years female: 22.8 years (2009 est.)
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Population growth rate(%) | | 1.765% (2009 est.)
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Birth rate(births/1,000 population) | | 25.73 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
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Death rate(deaths/1,000 population) | | 8.08 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
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Net migration rate(migrant(s)/1,000 population) | | NA
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Urbanization(%) | | urban population: 22% of total population (2008) rate of urbanization: 4.6% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
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Sex ratio(male(s)/female) | | at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.6 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
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Infant mortality rate(deaths/1,000 live births) | | total: 54.79 deaths/1,000 live births male: 61.84 deaths/1,000 live births female: 47.42 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
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Life expectancy at birth(years) | | total population: 62.1 years male: 60.03 years female: 64.27 years (2009 est.)
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Total fertility rate(children born/woman) | | 3.04 children born/woman (2009 est.)
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Nationality | | noun: Cambodian(s) adjective: Cambodian
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Ethnic groups(%) | | Khmer 90%, Vietnamese 5%, Chinese 1%, other 4%
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Religions(%) | | Buddhist 96.4%, Muslim 2.1%, other 1.3%, unspecified 0.2% (1998 census)
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Languages(%) | | Khmer (official) 95%, French, English
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Country name | | conventional long form: Kingdom of Cambodia conventional short form: Cambodia local long form: Preahreacheanachakr Kampuchea (phonetic pronunciation) local short form: Kampuchea former: Khmer Republic, Democratic Kampuchea, People's Republic of Kampuchea, State of Cambodia
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Government type | | multiparty democracy under a constitutional monarchy
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Capital | | name: Phnom Penh geographic coordinates: 11 33 N, 104 55 E time difference: UTC+7 (12 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
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Administrative divisions | | 23 provinces (khett, singular and plural) and 1 municipality (krong, singular and plural) provinces: Banteay Mean Cheay, Batdambang, Kampong Cham, Kampong Chhnang, Kampong Spoe, Kampong Thum, Kampot, Kandal, Kaoh Kong, Keb, Krachen, Mondol Kiri, Otdar Mean Cheay, Pailin, Pouthisat, Preah Seihanu (Sihanoukville), Preah Vihear, Prey Veng, Rotanah Kiri, Siem Reab, Stoeng Treng, Svay Rieng, Takev municipalities: Phnum Penh (Phnom Penh)
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Constitution | | promulgated 21 September 1993
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Legal system | | primarily a civil law mixture of French-influenced codes from the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) period, royal decrees, and acts of the legislature, with influences of customary law and remnants of communist legal theory; increasing influence of common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations
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Suffrage | | 18 years of age; universal
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Executive branch | | chief of state: King Norodom SIHAMONI (since 29 October 2004) head of government: Prime Minister HUN SEN (since 14 January 1985) [co-prime minister from 1993 to 1997]; Permanent Deputy Prime Minister MEN SAM AN (since 25 September 2008); Deputy Prime Ministers SAR KHENG (since 3 February 1992); SOK AN, TEA BANH, HOR NAMHONG, NHEK BUNCHHAY (since 16 July 2004); BIN CHHIN (since 5 September 2007); KEAT CHHON, YIM CHHAI LY (since 24 September 2008); KE KIMYAN (since 12 March 2009) cabinet: Council of Ministers named by the prime minister and appointed by the monarch elections: the king is chosen by a Royal Throne Council from among all eligible males of royal descent; following legislative elections, a member of the majority party or majority coalition is named prime minister by the Chairman of the National Assembly and appointed by the king
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Legislative branch | | bicameral, consists of the Senate (61 seats; 2 members appointed by the monarch, 2 elected by the National Assembly, and 57 elected by parliamentarians and commune councils; members serve five-year terms) and the National Assembly (123 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: Senate - last held 22 January 2006 (next to be held in January 2011); National Assembly - last held 27 July 2008 (next to be held in July 2013) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - CPP 69%, FUNCINPEC 21%, SRP 10%; seats by party - CPP 45, FUNCINPEC 10, SRP 2; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - CPP 58%, SRP 22%, HRP 7%; NRP 6%; FUNCINPEC 5%; others 2%; seats by party - CPP 90, SRP 26, HRP 3, FUNCINPEC 2, NRP 2
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Judicial branch | | Supreme Council of the Magistracy (provided for in the constitution and formed in December 1997); Supreme Court (and lower courts) exercises judicial authority
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Political pressure groups and leaders | | Cambodian Freedom Fighters or CFF; Partnership for Transparency Fund or PTF (anti-corruption organization); Students Movement for Democracy; The Committee for Free and Fair Elections or Comfrel other: human rights organizations; vendors
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International organization participation | | ACCT, ADB, APT, ARF, ASEAN, EAS, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
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Flag description | | three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (double width), and blue with a white three-towered temple representing Angkor Wat outlined in black in the center of the red band note: only national flag to incorporate an actual building in its design
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Economy - overview | | From 2004 to 2007, the economy grew about 10% per year, driven largely by an expansion in the garment sector, construction, agriculture, and tourism. Growth dropped to below 7% in 2008 as a result of the global economic slowdown. With the January 2005 expiration of a WTO Agreement on Textiles and Clothing, Cambodian textile producers were forced to compete directly with lower-priced countries such as China, India, Vietnam, and Bangladesh. The garment industry currently employs more than 320,000 people and contributes more than 85% of Cambodia's exports. In 2005, exploitable oil deposits were found beneath Cambodia's territorial waters, representing a new revenue stream for the government if commercial extraction begins. Mining also is attracting significant investor interest, particularly in the northern parts of the country. The government has said opportunities exist for mining bauxite, gold, iron and gems. In 2006, a US-Cambodia bilateral Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) was signed, and several rounds of discussions have been held since 2007. The tourism industry has continued to grow rapidly, with foreign arrivals exceeding 2 million per year in 2007-08, however, economic troubles abroad will dampen growth in 2009. Rubber exports declined more than 15% in 2008 due to falling world market prices. The global financial crisis is weakening demand for Cambodian exports, and construction is declining due to a shortage of credit. The long-term development of the economy remains a daunting challenge. The Cambodian government is working with bilateral and multilateral donors, including the World Bank and IMF, to address the country's many pressing needs. The major economic challenge for Cambodia over the next decade will be fashioning an economic environment in which the private sector can create enough jobs to handle Cambodia's demographic imbalance. More than 50% of the population is less than 21 years old. The population lacks education and productive skills, particularly in the poverty-ridden countryside, which suffers from an almost total lack of basic infrastructure.
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GDP (purchasing power parity) | | $28.01 billion (2008 est.) $26.67 billion (2007 est.) $24.2 billion (2006 est.) note: data are in 2008 US dollars
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GDP (official exchange rate) | | $11.25 billion (2008 est.)
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GDP - real growth rate(%) | | 5% (2008 est.) 10.2% (2007 est.) 10.8% (2006 est.)
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GDP - per capita (PPP) | | $2,000 (2008 est.) $1,900 (2007 est.) $1,800 (2006 est.) note: data are in 2008 US dollars
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GDP - composition by sector(%) | | agriculture: 29% industry: 30% services: 41% (2007 est.)
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Labor force | | 8.6 million (2008 est.)
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Labor force - by occupation(%) | | agriculture: 75% industry: NA% services: NA% (2004 est.)
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Unemployment rate(%) | | 3.5% (2007 est.) 2.5% (2000 est.)
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Population below poverty line(%) | | 35% (2004)
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Household income or consumption by percentage share(%) | | lowest 10%: 3% highest 10%: 34.2% (2007)
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Distribution of family income - Gini index | | 43 (2007 est.) 40 (2004 est.)
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Investment (gross fixed)(% of GDP) | | 22.4% of GDP (2008 est.)
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Budget | | revenues: $1.274 billion expenditures: $1.592 billion (2008 est.)
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Inflation rate (consumer prices)(%) | | 25% (2008 est.) 5.9% (2007 est.)
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Stock of money | | $591.7 million (31 December 2008) $513.6 million (31 December 2007)
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Stock of quasi money | | $2.328 billion (31 December 2008) $2.309 billion (31 December 2007)
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Stock of domestic credit | | $1.67 billion (31 December 2008) $1.131 billion (31 December 2007)
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Market value of publicly traded shares | | $NA
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Economic aid - recipient | | $698.2 million pledged in grants and concession loans for 2007 by international donors (2007)
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Agriculture - products | | rice, rubber, corn, vegetables, cashews, tapioca, silk
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Industries | | tourism, garments, construction, rice milling, fishing, wood and wood products, rubber, cement, gem mining, textiles
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Industrial production growth rate(%) | | 8% (2008 est.)
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Current account balance | | -$1.06 billion (2008 est.) -$506.3 million (2007 est.)
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Exports | | $4.708 billion (2008 est.) $4.089 billion (2007 est.)
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Exports - commodities(%) | | clothing, timber, rubber, rice, fish, tobacco, footwear
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Exports - partners(%) | | US 54.4%, Germany 7.7%, Canada 5.9%, UK 5.5%, Vietnam 4.5% (2008)
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Imports | | $6.534 billion (2008 est.) $5.424 billion (2007 est.)
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Imports - commodities(%) | | petroleum products, cigarettes, gold, construction materials, machinery, motor vehicles, pharmaceutical products
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Imports - partners(%) | | Thailand 26.8%, Vietnam 19%, China 14.5%, Hong Kong 8.1%, Singapore 6.9% (2008)
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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | | $2.641 billion (31 December 2008 est.) $2.143 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
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Debt - external | | $4.127 billion (31 December 2008 est.) $3.89 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
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Exchange rates | | riels (KHR) per US dollar - 4,070.94 (2008 est.), 4,006 (2007), 4,103 (2006), 4,092.5 (2005), 4,016.25 (2004)
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Currency (code) | | riel (KHR)
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Telephones - main lines in use | | 45,100 (2008)
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Telephones - mobile cellular | | 4.237 million (2008)
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Telephone system | | general assessment: mobile-phone systems are widely used in urban areas to bypass deficiencies in the fixed-line network; fixed-line connections stand at well less than 1 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular usage, aided by increasing competition among service providers, is increasing and stands at 30 per 100 persons domestic: adequate landline and/or cellular service in Phnom Penh and other provincial cities; mobile-phone coverage is rapidly expanding in rural areas international: country code - 855; adequate but expensive landline and cellular service available to all countries from Phnom Penh and major provincial cities; satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) (2008)
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Internet country code | | .kh
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Internet users | | 74,000 (2008)
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Airports | | 17 (2009)
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Roadways(km) | | total: 38,093 km paved: 2,977 km unpaved: 35,116 km (2007)
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Ports and terminals | | Phnom Penh, Kampong Saom (Sihanoukville)
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Military branches | | Royal Cambodian Armed Forces: Royal Cambodian Army, Royal Khmer Navy, Royal Cambodian Air Force (2009)
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Military service age and obligation(years of age) | | conscription law of October 2006 requires all males between 18-30 to register for military service; 18-month service obligation (2006)
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Manpower available for military service | | males age 16-49: 3,759,034 females age 16-49: 3,784,333 (2008 est.)
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Manpower fit for military service | | males age 16-49: 2,673,383 females age 16-49: 2,763,256 (2009 est.)
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Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually | | male: 177,881 female: 175,332 (2009 est.)
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Military expenditures(% of GDP) | | 3% of GDP (2005 est.)
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Disputes - international | | Cambodia and Thailand dispute sections of boundary with missing boundary markers and claims of Thai encroachments into Cambodian territory; maritime boundary with Vietnam is hampered by unresolved dispute over sovereignty of offshore islands; Thailand accuses Cambodia of obstructing inclusion of Thai areas near Preah Vihear temple ruins, awarded to Cambodia by ICJ decision in 1962, as part of a planned UN World Heritage site
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Electricity - production(kWh) | | 1.273 billion kWh (2007 est.)
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Electricity - production by source(%) | | fossil fuel: 65% hydro: 35% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)
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Electricity - consumption(kWh) | | 1.272 billion kWh (2007 est.)
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Electricity - exports(kWh) | | 0 kWh (2008 est.)
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Electricity - imports(kWh) | | 167 million kWh (2007 est.)
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Oil - production(bbl/day) | | 0 bbl/day (2008 est.)
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Oil - consumption(bbl/day) | | 4,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
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Oil - exports(bbl/day) | | 0 bbl/day (2007 est.)
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Oil - imports(bbl/day) | | 30,970 bbl/day (2007 est.)
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Oil - proved reserves(bbl) | | 0 bbl (1 January 2009 est.)
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Natural gas - production(cu m) | | 0 cu m (2008 est.)
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Natural gas - consumption(cu m) | | 0 cu m (2008 est.)
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Natural gas - exports(cu m) | | 0 cu m (2008)
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Natural gas - proved reserves(cu m) | | 0 cu m (1 January 2009 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate(%) | | 0.8% (2007 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | | 75,000 (2007 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - deaths | | 6,900 (2007 est.)
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Major infectious diseases | | degree of risk: very high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: dengue fever, Japanese encephalitis, and malaria note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2009)
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Literacy(%) | | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 73.6% male: 84.7% female: 64.1% (2004 est.)
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School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)(years) | | total: 10 years male: 10 years female: 9 years (2006)
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Education expenditures(% of GDP) | | 1.7% of GDP (2004)
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