About Cambodia

Cambodia: key facts
Size:181,035 square kilometers
Capital:Phnom Penh
Population:13.9 million; 80% live in rural areas whilst the remaining 20% are in urban or peri-urban areas¹
Per capita income:Approx US$343¹
Poverty levels:Over 29% of people are living under the poverty line earning less than US$1 per day²
Life expectancy:57 years old¹
% total pop malnourished:36.10%
% of children under 5 malnourished:47%
Infant mortality (per 1,000 live births):122
Literacy (15 years+):69%¹
Agricultural production (%GDP):30%³
Agricultural labor force (% total):77%³
Access to market:Only 30% of the population have access to formal or semi-formal sources of credit¹
No. of commercial banks:151¹
Semi formal lending:831¹

 

Recent history

  • se_asiaMid-1960s-mid-1990s: 30 years of war and social turmoil when opposing political factions generated skirmishes across the country.  In 1975, the Khmer Rouge took power, instigating brutal experimental policies under which nearly 2 million people died.
  • In the 1980s, the Khmer Rouge and other factions waged war with Vietnam along the Thai-Cambodia border; a civil war between Khmer Rouge remnants and central authorities followed in the 1990s. 
  • In 1993, Cambodia held its first general election. In 1998, a second general election was held, which produced a coalition government whose efforts at cooperation have helped establish relative peace and stability.  
  • Cambodia is still considered to be one of the poorest countries in the world but new political stability has brought the hope for a better future.

Sources

¹National Bank of Cambodia December 2005
²Plan International Study May 2003
³Cambodia Development Resource Institute