1993 Edition

Area

total area: 181,040 km2 land area: 176,520 km2 comparative area: slightly smaller than Oklahoma

Climate

tropical; rainy, monsoon season (May to October); dry season (December to March); little seasonal temperature variation

Coastline

443 km

Environment

a land of paddies and forests dominated by Mekong River and Tonle Sap

International disputes

offshore islands and three sections of the boundary with Vietnam are in dispute; maritime boundary with Vietnam not defined

Irrigated land

920 km2 (1989 est.)

Land boundaries

total 2,572 km, Laos 541 km, Thailand 803 km, Vietnam 1,228 km

Land use

arable land: 16% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 3% forest and woodland: 76% other: 4%

Location

Southeast Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, between Thailand and Vietnam

Map references

Asia, Southeast Asia, Standard Time Zones of the World

Maritime claims

contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: 200 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm

Natural resources

timber, gemstones, some iron ore, manganese, phosphates, hydropower potential

Note

buffer between Thailand and Vietnam

Terrain

mostly low, flat plains; mountains in southwest and north

Birth rate

45.52 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Death rate

16.57 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Ethnic divisions

Khmer 90%, Vietnamese 5%, Chinese 1%, other 4%

Infant mortality rate

111.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)

Labor force

2,500,000 to 3,000,000 by occupation: agriculture 80% (1988 est.)

Languages

Khmer (official), French

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 49.06 years male: 47.6 years female: 50.6 years (1993 est.)

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1990) total population: 35% male: 48% female: 22%

Nationality

noun: Cambodian(s) adjective: Cambodian

Net migration rate

15.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Population

9,898,900 (July 1993 est.)

Population growth rate

4.41% (1993 est.)

Religions

Theravada Buddhism 95%, other 5%

Total fertility rate

5.81 children born/woman (1993 est.)

Administrative divisions

20 provinces (khet, singular and plural); Banteay Meanchey, Batdambang, Kampong Cham, Kampong Chhnang, Kampong Spoe, Kampong Thum, Kampot, Kandal, Kaoh Kong, Kracheh, Mondol Kiri, Phnum Penh, Pouthisat, Preah Vihear, Prey Veng, Rotanokiri, Siemreab-Otdar Meanchey, Stoeng Treng, Svay Rieng, Takev

Capital

Phnom Penh

Constitution

a new constitution will be drafted after the national election in 1993

Digraph

CB

Diplomatic representation in US

the Supreme National Council (SNC) represents Cambodia in international organizations

Elections

UN-supervised election for a 120-member constituent assembly based on proportional representation within each province is scheduled for 23-27 May 1993; the assembly will draft and approve a constitution and then transform itself into a legislature that will create a new Cambodian Government

Executive branch

a 12 member Supreme National Council (SNC), chaired by Prince NORODOM SIHANOUK, composed of representatives from each of the four political

- HUN SEN; Democratic Kampuchea (DK or Khmer Rouge) - KHIEU SAMPHAN; Khmer People's National Liberation Front (KPNLF) - SON SANN; National United Front for an Independent, Peaceful, Neutral, and Cooperative Cambodia (FUNCINPEC) - Prince NORODOM RANARIDDH

factions; faction names and delegation leaders are

State of Cambodia (SOC)

FAX

(855) 23-26437

Flag

SNC - blue background with white map of Cambodia in middle; SOC - two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and blue with a gold stylized five-towered temple representing Angkor Wat in the center

Head of Government

NGC - vacant, but will be determined following the national election in 1993; SOC - Chairman of the Council of Ministers HUN SEN (since 14 January 1985)

Independence

9 November 1949 (from France)

Judicial branch

Supreme People's Court pending a national election in 1993, the incumbent SOC faction's Supreme People's Court is the only functioning national judicial body

Leaders

Chief of State: SNC - Chairman Prince NORODOM SIHANOUK, under UN supervision

Legal system

NA

Legislative branch

pending a national election in 1993, the incumbent SOC faction's unicameral National Assembly is the only functioning national legislative body

Member of

AsDB, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, ITU, LORCS, NAM, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO

Names

conventional long form: none conventional short form: Cambodia

NGC

Independence Day, 17 April (1975)

Political parties and leaders

Democratic Kampuchea (DK, also known as the Khmer Rouge) under KHIEU SAMPHAN; Cambodian Pracheachon Party or Cambodian People's Party (CPP) under CHEA SIM; Khmer People's National Liberation Front (KPNLF) under SON SANN; National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful, and Cooperative Cambodia (FUNCINPEC) under Prince NORODOM RANARIDDH; Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) under SAK SUTSAKHAN

SOC

Liberation Day, 7 January (1979)

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Type

transitional government currently administered by the Supreme National Council (SNC), a body set up under United Nations' auspices, in preparation for an internationally supervised election in 1993 and including representatives from each of the country's four political factions

US representative

Charles TWINNING mission: 27 EO Street 240, Phnom Penh mailing address: Box P, APO AP 96546 telephone: (855) 23-26436 or (855) 23-26438

Agriculture

mainly subsistence farming except for rubber plantations; main crops - rice, rubber, corn; food shortages - rice, meat, vegetables, dairy products, sugar, flour

Budget

revenues $120 million; expenditures $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA (1992 est.)

Currency

1 riel (CR) = 100 sen

Economic aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $725 million; Western (non-US countries) (1970-89), $300 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $1.8 billion

Electricity

35,000 kW capacity; 70 million kWh produced, 9 kWh per capita (1990)

Exchange rates

riels (CR) per US$1 - 2,800 (September 1992), 500 (December 1991), 560 (1990), 159.00 (1988), 100.00 (1987)

Exports

$59 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.) commodities: natural rubber, rice, pepper, wood partners: Vietnam, USSR, Eastern Europe, Japan, India

External debt

$717 million (1990)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Imports

$170 million (c.i.f., 1990 est.) commodities: international food aid; fuels, consumer goods, machinery partners: Vietnam, USSR, Eastern Europe, Japan, India

Industrial production

growth rate NA%

Industries

rice milling, fishing, wood and wood products, rubber, cement, gem mining

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

250-300% (1992 est.)

National product

GDP - exchange rate conversion - $2 billion (1991 est.)

National product per capita

$280 (1991 est.)

National product real growth rate

NA%

Overview

Cambodia remains a desperately poor country whose economic recovery is held hostage to continued political unrest and factional hostilities. The country's immediate economic challenge is an acute financial crisis that is undermining monetary stability and preventing disbursement of foreign development assistance. Cambodia is still recovering from an abrupt shift in 1990 to free-market economic mechanisms and a cutoff in aid from former Soviet bloc countries; these changes have severely impacted on public sector revenues and performance. The country's infrastructure of roads, bridges, and power plants has been severely degraded, now having only 40-50% of prewar capacity. The economy remains essentially rural, with 90% of the population living in the countryside and dependent mainly on subsistence agriculture. Statistical data on the economy continue to be sparse and unreliable.

Unemployment rate

NA%

Airports

total: 15 usable: 9 with permanent-surface runways: 5 with runways over 3,659 m: with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 2 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 4

Highways

13,351 km total; 2,622 km bituminous; 7,105 km crushed stone, gravel, or improved earth; 3,624 km unimproved earth; some roads in disrepair

Inland waterways

3,700 km navigable all year to craft drawing 0.6 meters; 282 km navigable to craft drawing 1.8 meters

Ports

Kampong Saom, Phnom Penh

Railroads

612 km 1.000-meter gauge, government owned

Telecommunications

service barely adequate for government requirements and virtually nonexistent for general public; international service limited to Vietnam and other adjacent countries; broadcast stations - 1 AM, no FM, 1 TV

Communist resistance forces

National Army of Democratic Kampuchea (Khmer Rouge) non-Communist resistance forces: Armee National Kampuchea Independent (ANKI) which is sometimes anglicized as National Army of Independent Cambodia (NAIC), Khmer People's National Liberation Armed Forces (KPNLAF)

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $NA, NA% of GDP

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 1,883,679; fit for military service 1,033,168; reach military age (18) annually 74,585 (1993 est.)

SOC

Cambodian People's Armed Forces (CPAF)