World Facts

conventional long form: Kingdom of Cambodia
Capital: Phnom Penh
Type of Government: multiparty democracy under a constitutional monarchy established in September 1993-
Administrative Divisions: 20 provinces (khaitt, singular and plural) and 4 municipalities (krong, singular and plural)
Age Structure: 0-14 years: 37.3% (male 2,559,734/female 2,510,235)
Agriculture: rice, rubber, corn, vegetables, cashews, tapioca
Airports: 20 (2004 est.)
With Paved Runways: total: 6
With Unpaved Runways:
Area: total: 181,040 sq km. slightly smaller than Oklahoma
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. Cambodia 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 surrended in early 1999. Some of the remaining 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.
Birth rate: 27.08 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget: revenues: $559.4 million
Coastline: 443 km-
Climate: tropical; rainy, monsoon season (May to November); dry season (December to April); little seasonal temperature variation
Communications:
Constitution: promulgated 21 September 1993
Currency: riel (KHR)
Current account balance: $-269 million (2005 est.)
Death rate: 8.97 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external: $800 million (2003 est.)-
Dependency status: -
Dependent areas:
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Joseph A. MUSSOMELI
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador EK SEREYWATH
Disputes - international: Southeast Asian states have enhanced border surveillance to check the spread of avian flu; Cambodia and Thailand dispute sections of boundary with missing boundary markers and Thai encroachments into Cambodian territory; maritime boundary with Vietnam is hampered by unresolved dispute over offshore islands; Cambodia accuses Thailand of obstructing access to Preah Vihear temple ruins awarded to Cambodia by ICJ decision in 1962; in 2004 Cambodian-Laotian and Laotian-Vietnamese boundary commissions reerect missing markers completing most of their demarcations-
Distribution of family income: -
Economic aid - donor:
Economic aid - recipient: $504 million pledged in grants and concessional loans for 2005 by international donors
Economy - overview: In 1999, the first full year of peace in 30 years, the government made progress on economic reforms. The United States and Cambodia signed a Bilateral Textile Agreement, which gave Cambodia a guaranteed quota of US textile imports and established a bonus for improving working conditions and enforcing Cambodian labor laws and international labor standards in the industry. From 2001 to 2004, the economy grew at an average rate of 6.4%, driven largely by an expansion in the garment sector and tourism. With the January 2005 expiration of a WTO Agreement on Textiles and Clothing, Cambodia-based textile producers were forced to compete directly with lower priced producing countries such as China and India. Economic growth slowed to an estimated 3.8% in 2005, due to sharply higher competitive pressures in the garment industry and early droughts in 14 of 24 provinces. Faced with the possibility that that its vibrant garment industry, with more than 200,000 jobs, could be in serious danger, the Cambodian government has committed itself to a policy of continued support for high labor standards in an attempt to maintain favor with buyers. The tourism industry continues to grow rapidly, with foreign visitors surpassing one million for the year by September 2005. The long-term development of the economy remains a daunting challenge. The Cambodian government continues to work with bilateral and multilateral donors, including the World Bank and IMF, to address the country's many pressing needs. In December 2004, official donors pledged $504 million in aid for 2005 on the condition that the Cambodian government implement steps to reduce corruption. 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 20 years or younger. The population lacks education and productive skills, particularly in the poverty-ridden countryside, which suffers from an almost total lack of basic infrastructure. Fully 75% of the population remains engaged in subsistence farming.
Electricity - consumption:
Electricity - exports:
Electricity - imports:
Electricity - production:
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Gulf of Thailand 0 m
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
Ethnic groups: Khmer 90%, Vietnamese 5%, Chinese 1%, other 4%
Exchange rates: riels per US dollar - 4,098 (2005), 4,016.25 (2004), 3,973.33 (2003), 3,912.08 (2002), 3,916.33 (2001)
Executive branch: chief of state: King Norodom SIHAMONI (since 29 October 2004)
Exports: $2.663 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Exports - partners: US 55.9%, Germany 11.7%, UK 6.9%, Vietnam 4.4%, Canada 4.2% (2004)
Fiscal year: calendar year
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; only national flag to incorporate a building in its design
GDP (official exchange rate): $4.92 billion (2005 est.)
GDP (purchasing power parity): $28.71 billion (2005 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 32.9%
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $2,100 (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 4% (2005 est.)
Geographic coordinates: 13 00 N, 105 00 E
Geography - note: a land of paddies and forests dominated by the Mekong River and Tonle Sap-
Government - note:
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 2.6% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 15,000 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 170,000 (2003 est.)
Heliports: 2 (2005 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.9%-
Illicit drugs:
Imports: $3.538 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Imports - partners: Thailand 22.5%, Hong Kong 14.1%, China 13.6%, Vietnam 10.9%, Singapore 10.8%, Taiwan 8.4% (2004)
Independence: 9 November 1953 (from France)
Industrial production growth rate: 22% (2002 est.)
Industries: tourism, garments, rice milling, fishing, wood and wood products, rubber, cement, gem mining, textiles
Infant mortality rate: total: 71.48 deaths/1,000 live births
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.3% (2005 est.)
International organization participation: ACCT, APT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, EAS, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIS, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Internet country code: .kh
Internet hosts: 818 (2003)
Internet users: 30,000 (2002)
Investment (gross fixed): 22.8% of GDP (2005 est.)
Irrigated land: 2,700 sq km (1998 est.)
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
Labor force: 7 million (2003 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
Land boundaries: total: 2,572 km
Land use: arable land: 20.96%
Languages: Khmer (official) 95%, French, English
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 in recent years
Legislative branch:
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 58.92 years
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Location: Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, between Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos
Major infectious diseases: degree of risk: very high
Manpower available for military service: males age 18-49: 2,981,823 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 1,844,144 (2005 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually: males: 175,305 (2005 est.)
Map references: Southeast Asia
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm
Median age: total: 19.91 years-
Merchant marine: -
Military - note:
Military branches: Royal Cambodian Armed Forces: Army, Royal Khmer Navy, Royal Cambodian Air Force (2005)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $112 million (FY01 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 3% (FY01 est.)
Military service age and obligation: 18-30 years of age for compulsory military service for all males; conscription law passed September 2004; service obligation is 18 months (September 2004)
National holiday: Independence Day, 9 November (1953)
Nationality: noun: Cambodian(s)-
Natural gas - consumption: -
Natural gas - exports: -
Natural gas - imports:
Natural gas - production: -
Natural gas - proved reserves:
Natural hazards: monsoonal rains (June to November); flooding; occasional droughts
Natural resources: oil and gas, timber, gemstones, some iron ore, manganese, phosphates, hydropower potential
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Oil - consumption: 3,700 bbl/day (2003 est.)
Oil - exports: NA (2001)
Oil - imports: NA (2001)
Oil - production: 0 bbl/day (2003)-
Oil - proved reserves: -
People - note: -
Political parties and leaders: Cambodian Pracheachon Party (Cambodian People's Party) or CPP [CHEA SIM]; National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful, and Cooperative Cambodia or FUNCINPEC [Prince Norodam RANARIDDH]; Sam Rangsi Party or SRP [SAM RANGSI]
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
Population: 13,607,069
Population below poverty line: 40% (2004 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.81% (2005 est.)
Ports and terminals: Phnom Penh-
Public debt:
Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 17, (2003)-
Railways: -
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
Religions: Theravada Buddhist 95%, other 5%
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $1.1 billion (2005 est.)
Roadways: total: 12,323 km
Sex ratio:
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system: general assessment: adequate landline and/or cellular service in Phnom Penh and other provincial cities; mobile phone coverage is rapidly expanding in rural areas
Telephones - main lines in use: 35,400 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 380,000 (2002)
Television broadcast stations: 7 (2003)
Terrain: mostly low, flat plains; mountains in southwest and north
Total fertility rate: 3.44 children born/woman (2005 est.)-
Transportation - note:
Unemployment rate: 2.5% (2000 est.)-
Waterways: