Country Facts

The People

Ethnic Composition

Khmer	90%
Vietnamese	5%
Chinese	1%
Other	4%

Religious Composition

Theravada Buddhism	95%
Other	5%

Languages Spoken

Khmer (official), French, English

Education and Literacy

35 percent of the population over the age of 15 can read. By gender, 48 percent of the male population and 22 percent of the female population are literate.

Labor Force

Total: 6 million (1998)
By occupation: agriculture 80% (2001)

Geography

Land Mass Total

44,735 sq mi (181,040 sq km)

Land

43,619 sq mi (176,520 sq km)

Water

1,116 sq mi (4,520 sq km)

Land Boundaries

Total: 1,598 mi (2,572 km)

Border countries: Laos 336 mi (541 km), Thailand 498 mi (803 km), Vietnam
763 mi (1,228 km)

Coastline

275 mi (443 km)

Maritime claim

Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Continental shelf: 200 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate/Weather

Tropical; rainy, monsoon season (May to November); dry season (December to April); little seasonal temperature variation.

Terrain

Mostly low-lying plains; mountains in southwest and north.

Elevation extremes

Lowest: Gulf of Thailand 0 ft (0 m)
Highest: Phnum Aoral 5,938 ft (1,810 m)

Natural Resources

Timber, gemstones, some iron ore, manganese, phosphates, hydropower potential.

Land use

Arable land	21%
Permanent crops	1%
Other	78%

(1998)

Natural hazards

Monsoon 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, a majority of the population does not have access to potable water; toxic waste delivery from Taiwan sparked unrest in Kompong Som (Sihanoukville) in December 1998.

Geography Note

A land of paddies and forests dominated by the Mekong River and Tonle Sap.

Demographics

Population

12,775,324
Note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2002).

Age structure

0-14 years:	40.7%	Male: 2,646,883	Female: 2,550,015
15-64 years:	55.8%	Male: 3,373,692	Female: 3,758,736
65 years and over:	3.5%	Male: 182,149	Female: 263,849

(2002)

Growth Rate

2.24% (2002)

Life Expectancy

57.1 years (2002)
female: 59.5 years
male: 54.81 years

GDP Per Capita

Purchasing power parity
US$1,500 (2001)

Infant Mortality

64 deaths/1,000 live births (2002)

Sex ratio

At birth:	1.05 male(s)/female
Under 15 years:	1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years:	0.9 male(s)/female
65 years and over:	0.69 male(s)/female
Total population:	0.94 male(s)/female

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002)

Economy & Trade

Cambodia's economy slowed dramatically in 1997 to 1998 due to the regional economic crisis, civil violence, and political infighting. Foreign investment and tourism fell off. In 1999, the first full year of peace in 30 years, progress was made on economic reforms and growth resumed at 5 percent. GDP growth for 2000 had been projected to reach 5.5 percent, but the worst flooding in 70 years severely damaged agricultural crops, and high oil prices hurt industrial production, and growth for the year is estimated at only 4 percent. In 2001, severe floods damaged an estimated 15 percent of the area devoted to rice. Tourism now is Cambodia's fastest growing industry, with arrivals up 34 percent in 2000 and up another 40 percent in 2001 before the September 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S. The long-term development of the economy after decades of war remains a daunting challenge. The population lacks education and productive skills, particularly in the poverty-ridden countryside, which suffers from an almost total lack of basic infrastructure. Fear of renewed political instability and corruption within the government discourage foreign investment and delay foreign aid. On the brighter side, the government is addressing these issues with assistance from bilateral and multilateral donors. Such projects as the opening of the Japanese-financed commercial transport bridges on National Road 6A are clear indicators of Cambodia's plan to put foreign investment to good use. Cambodia is also forging ahead with its goal to join the WTO by September 2003. If accomplished, it would give Cambodia the dubious distinction of being the first LDC ("least developed country") to join the WTO.

Unemployment

2.8% (1999)

Inflation Rate

1.6% (2000)

Industries

Garments, rice milling, fishing, wood and wood products, rubber, cement, gem mining, textiles.

Exports

US$1.05 billion (f.o.b., 2000)

Imports

US$1.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000)

Total Trade

Purchasing power parity
GDP US$18.7 billion (2001)

Top Export Partners

US 46.4%, Vietnam 26.1%, Germany 5.6%, Singapore 5.0%, UK 3.9% (2000)

Top Import Partners

Singapore 22.5%, Thailand 19.8%, Hong Kong 15.6%, China 4.9%, Vietnam 4.9% (2000)

Top Exports

Timber, garments, rubber, soybeans, sesame.

Top Imports

Cigarettes, gold, construction materials, petroleum products, machinery, motor vehicles.

Debt - external

US$829 million (1999)

Economic aid

US$548 million pledged in grants and concessional loans for 2001 by international donors

Fiscal Year:

Calendar year

Business Workweek

	Monday - Friday	Saturday - Sunday
Offices	9a.m. to 5p.m.	Closed
Retail	9a.m. to 5p.m.	Closed
Banks	8a.m. to 3:30p.m.	Some banks are open for a half day on Saturdays.
Government	8a.m. to 5p.m.	Closed

Holidays

Official Holidays

Holidays	2003	2004	2005
New Year's Day	January 1	January 1	January 1
Chinese New Year¹	February 1	January 22	February 9
Women's Day	March 8	March 8	March 8
Traditional Khmer New Year	April 13 to 15	April 13 to 15	April 13 to 15
Labor Day	May 1	May 1	May 1
International Children's Day	June 1	June 1	June 1
Constitution Day	September 24	September 24	September 24
Paris Peace Agreement	October 23	October 23	October 23
Birthday of the King	October 30 to November 1	October 30 to November 1	October 30 to November 1
Water Festival²	October/ November	October/ November	October/ November
Independence Day	November 9	November 9	November 9
Human Rights Day	December 10	December 10	December 10
Christmas Day³	December 25	December 25	December 25

¹	Celebrations denoting the beginning of the New Year based on the exact astronomical observations of the longitude of the sun and phases of the moon according the the Chinese calendar. Holidays can last up to five days.
²	The Water Festival begins at the time of the full moon in either late October or early November, and takes place in Phnom Penh on the banks of the Tonle Sap and Mekong Rivers. The festival marks the change in directional flow of the Tonle Sap River, and is considered a time of thanksgiving.
³	Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. In A.D.320, Pope Julius I fixed the date at December 25 based on the Gregorian calendar. The Orthodox church calculates Christmas using the Julian calendar and celebrates 13 days later on January 7.

Country information used by permission of World Trade Press