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Cambodia Index

Hun Sen's April 1987 proposal for a talk with Sihanouk was resurrected in August when the prince sent a message to Hun Sen through the Palestine Liberation Organization's ambassador in Pyongyang. Sihanouk was hopeful that his encounter with Hun Sen would lead to another UN-sponsored Geneva conference on Indochina, which, he believed, would assure a political settlement that would allow Vietnam and the Soviet Union to save face. Such a conference, Sihanouk maintained, should include the UN secretary general, representatives of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, Laos, Vietnam, and the four Cambodian factions. He also suggested the inclusion of ASEAN countries, members of the defunct International Control Commission (India, Canada, and Poland), and other concerned parties.

The Heng Samrin regime had apparently envisioned a meeting between Sihanouk and Hun Sen when it announced on August 27 a "policy on national reconciliation." While artfully avoiding the mention of Vietnam, the policy statement called for talks with the three resistance leaders but not with "Pol Pot and his close associates." An appeal to overseas Cambodians to support Phnom Penh's economic and national defense efforts and assurances that Cambodians who had served the insurgent factions would be welcomed home and would be assisted in resuming a normal life and in participating in the political process were key features of the policy. The regime also expressed for the first time its readiness to negotiate the issue of Cambodian refugees in Thailand. The offer to negotiate undercut the resistance factions, which, Phnom Penh contended, were exploiting displaced Cambodians by using them against the Heng Samrin regime for military and political purposes.

Resistance leaders questioned Phnom Penh's sincerity in promulgating its policy of reconciliation and were uncertain how to respond. At their annual consultation in Beijing, they and their Chinese hosts predictably called for a Vietnamese pullout as a precondition to a negotiated settlement. Sihanouk, however, launching a gambit of his own through Cambodian emigres in Paris, called for reconciliation émigrés among all Khmer factions. The initiative met with a favorable, but qualified, response from PRK Prime Minister Hun Sen and, in early October, the Phnom Penh government unveiled its own five-point plan for a political settlement. The PRK proposals envisioned peace talks between the rival Cambodian camps and "a high position [for Sihanouk] in the leading state organ" of the PRK, Vietnamese withdrawal in conjunction with the cutoff of outside aid to the resistance, general elections (organized by the Heng Samrin regime) held after the Vietnamese withdrawal, and the formation of a new four-party coalition. The October 8 plan also proposed negotiations with Thailand for the creation of a zone of peace and friendship along the Cambodian-Thai border, for discussions on an "orderly repatriation" of Cambodian refugees from Thailand, and for the convening of an international conference. The conference was to be attended by the rival Cambodian camps, the Indochinese states, the ASEAN states, the Soviet Union, China, India, France, Britain, the United States, and other interested countries. The CGDK, however, rejected the plan as an attempt to control the dynamics of national reconciliation while Cambodia was still occupied by Vietnam.

Sihanouk and the PRK continued their exploratory moves. On October 19, Hun Sen agreed to meet with Sihanouk, even though Sihanouk had cancelled similar meetings scheduled for late 1984 and for June 1987. At the end of October, Hun Sen flew to Moscow for diplomatic coordination. The CGDK announced on October 31 that a "clarification on national reconciliation policy" had been signed by all three resistance leaders. It was likely that the two main goals of the clarification, which was dated October 1, were to restate the CGDK's position on peace talks and to underline the unity among the resistance leaders. The statement said that "the first phase" of Vietnamese withdrawal must be completed before a four-party coalition government could be set up, not within the framework of the PRK but under the premises of a "neutral and noncommunist" Cambodia.

Sihanouk was clearly in the spotlight at this point. It was possible that his personal diplomacy would stir suspicion among his coalition partners, as well as among Chinese and ASEAN leaders. It was also possible that he might strike a deal with Phnom Penh and Hanoi and exclude the Khmer Rouge faction and its patron, China. Mindful of such potential misgivings, Sihanouk went to great lengths to clarify his own stand. He said that he would not accept any "high position" in the illegal PRK regime, that he would disclose fully the minutes of his talks with Hun Sen, and that he would not waver from his commitment to a "neutral and noncommunist" Cambodia free of Vietnamese troops.

Sihanouk and Hun Sen met at Fère-en-Tardenois, a village northeast of Paris, from December 2 to December 4, 1987. The communiqué they issued at the end of their talks mentioned their agreement to work for a political solution to the nine-year-old conflict and to call for an international conference. The conference, to be convened only after all Cambodian factions reached an agreement on a coalition arrangement, would support the new coalition accord and would guarantee the country's independence, neutrality, and nonalignment. The two leaders also agreed to meet again at Fère-en-Tardenois in January 1988 and in Pyongyang at a later date. The communiqué ended with a plea to the other Cambodian parties--Sihanouk's coalition partners--to join the next rounds of talks.

The communiqué offered no practical solution. In fact, it did not mention Vietnam, despite Sihanouk's demand that the communiqué include a clause on Vietnamese withdrawal. At a December 4 press conference, Hun Sen disclosed an understanding with Sihanouk that "concrete questions" would be discussed at later meetings. Included in the concrete questions were "the withdrawal of Vietnamese troops, Cambodia's future government, and Norodom Sihanouk's position." Hun Sen also revealed that during the meeting Sihanouk had told him that "the future political regime of Cambodia" should be a French-style democracy with a multiparty system and free radio and television. In an official commentary the following day, Hanoi was deliberately vague on Hun Sen's concrete questions, which, it said, would be dealt with "at the next meetings."

In foreign capitals, there were mixed reactions to what Hun Sen called the "historic meeting." Officials in Phnom Penh, Hanoi, Vientiane, and Moscow were enthusiastic. Thai officials, however, were cautious, if not disappointed, and they stressed the need for Vietnamese withdrawal and for Thailand's participation in peace talks with the Cambodians. Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta both welcomed the unofficial, or indirect, talks as a promising start toward a political solution. They agreed with Bangkok on the necessity of Vietnamese withdrawal. Officials in Pyongyang said the meeting was "a good thing," but declined to accept the suggestion of Hun Sen and Sihanouk that they mediate between China and the Soviet Union on the Cambodian issue. China stressed that it supported Sihanouk's efforts to seek "a fair and reasonable political settlement of the Kampuchean question." Such a settlement was said to be possible only when Vietnam withdrew all its troops from Cambodia.

On December 10, Sihanouk abruptly announced the cancellation of the second meeting with Hun Sen. He said that such a meeting would be useless because Son Sann and Khieu Samphan refused to participate in it and because they also refused to support the joint communiqué. He added that--out of fear that the governments in Phnom Penh, Hanoi, and Moscow might realize an unwarranted propaganda advantage from the meeting--he would not meet Hun Sen. But on December 15, Sihanouk announced abruptly that he would resume talks with Hun Sen because ASEAN members saw the cancellation as "a new complication" in their efforts to pressure the Vietnamese into leaving Cambodia. By December 20, Sihanouk and Hun Sen had agreed to resume talks on January 27, 1988. On December 21, Son Sann expressed his readiness to join the talks in a personal capacity, provided that Vietnam agreed to attend the talks or, if this was not possible, provided that Vietnam informed the UN secretary general and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council of its plan to vacate Cambodia as quickly as possible after all Cambodian factions had embarked on the process of internal reconciliation.

As 1987 drew to a close, talking and fighting continued amid hopes and uncertainties about the future of Cambodia. It was equally clear that progress toward a political settlement hinged chiefly on the credibility of Vietnam's announced intention to withdraw from Cambodia by 1990 and that this withdrawal alone was insufficient to guarantee a peaceful solution to Cambodia's problems. At least three more critical issues were at stake: an equitable power-sharing arrangement among these four warring factions, an agreement among the factions to disarm in order to ensure that civil war would not recur, and an effective international guarantee of supervision for the implementation of any agreements reached by the Cambodian factions. Still another critical question was whether or not an eventual political settlement was sufficient to assure a new Cambodia that was neutral, nonaligned, and noncommunist.

                     *     *     *

Cambodia: 1975-1982 by Michael Vickery provides an instructive discussion on the throes of transition from Pol Pot's Democratic Kampuchea to Heng Samrin's People's Republic of Kampuchea. Kampuchea: Politics, Economics and Society, also by Michael Vickery, presents a wide-ranging treatment of the People's Republic of Kampuchea. Other studies include Ben Kiernan's How Pol Pot Came to Power; Craig Etcheson's The Rise and Demise of Democratic Kampuchea; Revolution and Its Aftermath in Kampuchea: Eight Essays, edited by David P. Chandler and Ben Kiernan; Milton Osborne's Before Kampuchea: Preludes to Tragedy; and Kampuchea: Decade of the Genocide--Report of a Finnish Inquiry Commission, edited by Kimmo Kiljunen.

External factors impinging on Cambodia in the 1970s and the 1980s are analyzed from various perspectives in William Shawcross's Sideshow: Kissinger, Nixon, and the Destruction of Cambodia; The Third Indochina Conflict, a collection of essays edited by David Elliot; Chang Pao-min's Kampuchea Between China and Vietnam, which describes Cambodia as a pawn in Sino-Vietnamese rivalry for influence in Southeast Asia in general and Indochina in particular; and Henry Kissinger's White House Years and Years of Upheaval. Kishore Mahbubani's "The Kampuchean Problem: A Southeast Asian Perspective," in the Winter 1983-84 issue of Foreign Affairs, analyzes the complexity of the Cambodian problem, a topic also covered in Justus van der Kroef's "`Proximity Cocktails' and `Provisional Salvation': Cambodia's Tortuous Course," in the April 1986 issue of Issues & Studies. The Fall 1986 issue of the International Journal of Politics is a special edition of six essays devoted entirely to the subject of "Cambodia: Politics and International Relations."

Further insights into the politics of warring Cambodian factions are offered in the following publications: Indochina Chronology, a quarterly publication of the Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California at Berkeley, which contains a section on Kampuchea; Southeast Asian Affairs, an annual publication of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore; the Far Eastern Economic Review's annual Asia Yearbook; "Kampuchea" in the Yearbook on International Communist Affairs, of the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace; and the occasional "Kampuchea Diary" columns by Jacques Bekaert, in the Bangkok Post. (For further information and complete citations, see Bibliography.)

Data as of December 1987

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.
Location		Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, between Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos
Area(sq km)		total: 181,035 sq km land: 176,515 sq km water: 4,520 sq km
Geographic coordinates		13 00 N, 105 00 E
Land boundaries(km)		total: 2,572 km border countries: Laos 541 km, Thailand 803 km, Vietnam 1,228 km
Coastline(km)		443 km
Climate		tropical; rainy, monsoon season (May to November); dry season (December to April); little seasonal temperature variation
Elevation extremes(m)		lowest point: Gulf of Thailand 0 m highest point: Phnum Aoral 1,810 m
Natural resources		oil and gas, timber, gemstones, iron ore, manganese, phosphates, hydropower potential
Land use(%)		arable land: 20.44% permanent crops: 0.59% other: 78.97% (2005)
Irrigated land(sq km)		2,700 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources(cu km)		476.1 cu km (1999)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)		total: 4.08 cu km/yr (1%/0%/98%) per capita: 290 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards		monsoonal rains (June to November); flooding; occasional droughts
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
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
Geography - note		a land of paddies and forests dominated by the Mekong River and Tonle Sap
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.)
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.)
Median age(years)		total: 22.1 years male: 21.4 years female: 22.8 years (2009 est.)
Population growth rate(%)		1.765% (2009 est.)
Birth rate(births/1,000 population)		25.73 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
Death rate(deaths/1,000 population)		8.08 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
Net migration rate(migrant(s)/1,000 population)		NA
Urbanization(%)		urban population: 22% of total population (2008) rate of urbanization: 4.6% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
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.)
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.)
Life expectancy at birth(years)		total population: 62.1 years male: 60.03 years female: 64.27 years (2009 est.)
Total fertility rate(children born/woman)		3.04 children born/woman (2009 est.)
Nationality		noun: Cambodian(s) adjective: Cambodian
Ethnic groups(%)		Khmer 90%, Vietnamese 5%, Chinese 1%, other 4%
Religions(%)		Buddhist 96.4%, Muslim 2.1%, other 1.3%, unspecified 0.2% (1998 census)
Languages(%)		Khmer (official) 95%, French, English
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
Government type		multiparty democracy under a constitutional monarchy
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)
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)
Constitution		promulgated 21 September 1993
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
Suffrage		18 years of age; universal
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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
GDP (official exchange rate)		$11.25 billion (2008 est.)
GDP - real growth rate(%)		5% (2008 est.) 10.2% (2007 est.) 10.8% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP)		$2,000 (2008 est.) $1,900 (2007 est.) $1,800 (2006 est.) note: data are in 2008 US dollars
GDP - composition by sector(%)		agriculture: 29% industry: 30% services: 41% (2007 est.)
Labor force		8.6 million (2008 est.)
Labor force - by occupation(%)		agriculture: 75% industry: NA% services: NA% (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate(%)		3.5% (2007 est.) 2.5% (2000 est.)
Population below poverty line(%)		35% (2004)
Household income or consumption by percentage share(%)		lowest 10%: 3% highest 10%: 34.2% (2007)
Distribution of family income - Gini index		43 (2007 est.) 40 (2004 est.)
Investment (gross fixed)(% of GDP)		22.4% of GDP (2008 est.)
Budget		revenues: $1.274 billion expenditures: $1.592 billion (2008 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)(%)		25% (2008 est.) 5.9% (2007 est.)
Stock of money		$591.7 million (31 December 2008) $513.6 million (31 December 2007)
Stock of quasi money		$2.328 billion (31 December 2008) $2.309 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of domestic credit		$1.67 billion (31 December 2008) $1.131 billion (31 December 2007)
Market value of publicly traded shares		$NA
Economic aid - recipient		$698.2 million pledged in grants and concession loans for 2007 by international donors (2007)
Agriculture - products		rice, rubber, corn, vegetables, cashews, tapioca, silk
Industries		tourism, garments, construction, rice milling, fishing, wood and wood products, rubber, cement, gem mining, textiles
Industrial production growth rate(%)		8% (2008 est.)
Current account balance		-$1.06 billion (2008 est.) -$506.3 million (2007 est.)
Exports		$4.708 billion (2008 est.) $4.089 billion (2007 est.)
Exports - commodities(%)		clothing, timber, rubber, rice, fish, tobacco, footwear
Exports - partners(%)		US 54.4%, Germany 7.7%, Canada 5.9%, UK 5.5%, Vietnam 4.5% (2008)
Imports		$6.534 billion (2008 est.) $5.424 billion (2007 est.)
Imports - commodities(%)		petroleum products, cigarettes, gold, construction materials, machinery, motor vehicles, pharmaceutical products
Imports - partners(%)		Thailand 26.8%, Vietnam 19%, China 14.5%, Hong Kong 8.1%, Singapore 6.9% (2008)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold		$2.641 billion (31 December 2008 est.) $2.143 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Debt - external		$4.127 billion (31 December 2008 est.) $3.89 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
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)
Currency (code)		riel (KHR)
Telephones - main lines in use		45,100 (2008)
Telephones - mobile cellular		4.237 million (2008)
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)
Internet country code		.kh
Internet users		74,000 (2008)
Airports		17 (2009)
Roadways(km)		total: 38,093 km paved: 2,977 km unpaved: 35,116 km (2007)
Ports and terminals		Phnom Penh, Kampong Saom (Sihanoukville)
Military branches		Royal Cambodian Armed Forces: Royal Cambodian Army, Royal Khmer Navy, Royal Cambodian Air Force (2009)
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)
Manpower available for military service		males age 16-49: 3,759,034 females age 16-49: 3,784,333 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service		males age 16-49: 2,673,383 females age 16-49: 2,763,256 (2009 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually		male: 177,881 female: 175,332 (2009 est.)
Military expenditures(% of GDP)		3% of GDP (2005 est.)
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
Electricity - production(kWh)		1.273 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - production by source(%)		fossil fuel: 65% hydro: 35% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)
Electricity - consumption(kWh)		1.272 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - exports(kWh)		0 kWh (2008 est.)
Electricity - imports(kWh)		167 million kWh (2007 est.)
Oil - production(bbl/day)		0 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Oil - consumption(bbl/day)		4,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Oil - exports(bbl/day)		0 bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - imports(bbl/day)		30,970 bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - proved reserves(bbl)		0 bbl (1 January 2009 est.)
Natural gas - production(cu m)		0 cu m (2008 est.)
Natural gas - consumption(cu m)		0 cu m (2008 est.)
Natural gas - exports(cu m)		0 cu m (2008)
Natural gas - proved reserves(cu m)		0 cu m (1 January 2009 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate(%)		0.8% (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS		75,000 (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths		6,900 (2007 est.)
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)
Literacy(%)		definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 73.6% male: 84.7% female: 64.1% (2004 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)(years)		total: 10 years male: 10 years female: 9 years (2006)
Education expenditures(% of GDP)		1.7% of GDP (2004)