1994 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1994 (Project Gutenberg)
Introduction
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
Agriculture
accounts for 50% of GDP; mainly subsistence farming except for rubber plantations; main crops - rice, rubber, corn; food shortages - rice, meat, vegetables, dairy products, sugar, flour
Airports
total: 20 usable: 13 with permanent-surface runways: 6 with runways over 3,659 m: with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 2 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 8
Area
total area: 181,040 sq km land area: 176,520 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Oklahoma
Birth rate
45.09 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Budget
revenues: $350 million expenditures: $350 million, including capital expenditures of $133 million (1994 est.)
Capital
Phnom Penh
Climate
tropical; rainy, monsoon season (May to October); dry season (December to March); little seasonal temperature variation
Coastline
443 km
Constitution
promulgated September 1993
Currency
1 new riel (CR) = 100 sen
Death rate
16.36 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures
$NA, NA% of GDP
Digraph
CB
Diplomatic representation in US
Ambassador SISOWATH SIRIRATH represents Cambodia at the United Nations
Economic aid
recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $725 million; Western (non-US countries) (1970-89), $300 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $1.8 billion; donor countries and multilateral institutions pledged $880 million in assistance in 1992
Electricity
capacity: 35,000 kW production: 70 million kWh consumption per capita: 9 kWh (1990)
Environment
current issues: deforestation resulting in habitat loss and declining biodiversity (in particular, destruction of mangrove swamps threatens natural fisheries) natural hazards: monsoonal rains (June to November) international agreements: party to - Marine Life Conservation; signed, but not ratified - Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping
Ethnic divisions
Khmer 90%, Vietnamese 5%, Chinese 1%, other 4%
Exchange rates
riels (CR) per US$1 - 2,390 (December 1993), 2,800 (September 1992), 500 (December 1991), 560 (1990), 159.00 (1988), 100.00 (1987)
Executive branch
chief of state: King Norodom SIHANOUK (reinstated NA September 1993) head of government: power shared between First Prime Minister Prince Norodom RANARIDDH and Second Prime Minister HUN SEN cabinet: Council of Ministers; elected by the National Assembly
Exports
$70 million (f.o.b., 1992 est.) commodities: natural rubber, rice, pepper, raw timber partners: Thailand, Japan, India, Singapore, Malaysia, China, Vietnam
External debt
total outstanding bilateral official debt to OECD members $248 million (yearend 1991), plus 840 million ruble debt to former CEMA countries
FAX
(855) 23-26437
Fiscal year
calendar year
Flag
horizontal band of red separates two equal horizontal bands of blue with a white three-towered temple representing Angkor Wat in the center
Highways
total: 13,351 km (some roads in serious disrepair) paved: bituminous 2,622 km unpaved: crushed stone, gravel, or improved earth 7,105 km; unimproved earth 3,624 km
Illicit drugs
secondary transshipment country for heroin produced in the Golden Triangle
Imports
$360 million (c.i.f., 1992 est.) commodities: international food aid; fuels, consumer goods, machinery partners: Japan, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, China, Vietnam
Independence
9 November 1949 (from France)
Industrial production
growth rate 15.6% (year NA); accounts for 10% of GDP
Industries
rice milling, fishing, wood and wood products, rubber, cement, gem mining
Infant mortality rate
110.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
60% (1993 est.)
Inland waterways
3,700 km navigable all year to craft drawing 0.6 meters; 282 km navigable to craft drawing 1.8 meters
International disputes
offshore islands and sections of the boundary with Vietnam are in dispute; maritime boundary with Vietnam not defined; parts of border with Thailand in dispute; maritime boundary with Thailand not clearly defined
Irrigated land
920 sq km (1989 est.)
Judicial branch
Supreme Court established under the constitution has not yet been established and the future judicial system is yet to be defined by law
Khmer Royal Armed Forces (KRAF)
created in 1993 by the merger of the Cambodian People's Armed Forces and the two non-Communist resistance armies; note - the KRAF is also known as the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF)
Labor force
2.5 million to 3 million by occupation: agriculture 80% (1988 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%
Languages
Khmer (official), French
Legal system
currently being defined
Legislative branch
unicameral; a 120-member constituent assembly based on proportional representation within each province was establised following the UN-supervised election in May 1993; the constituent assembly was transformed into a legislature in September 1993 after delegates promulgated the constitution
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 49.26 years male: 47.8 years female: 50.8 years (1994 est.)
Literacy
age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 35% male: 48% female: 22%
Location
Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, between Thailand and Vietnam
Manpower availability
males age 15-49 2,182,912; fit for military service 1,217,357; reach military age (18) annually 67,463 (1994 est.)
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
Member of
ACCT (observer), AsDB, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL, ITU, LORCS, NAM, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO
Names
conventional long form: Kingdom of Cambodia conventional short form: Cambodia local long form: Reacheanachak Kampuchea local short form: Kampuchea
National holiday
Independence Day, 9 November 1949
National product
GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $6 billion (1993 est.)
National product per capita
$600 (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate
7.5% (1993 est.)
Nationality
noun: Cambodian(s) adjective: Cambodian
Natural resources
timber, gemstones, some iron ore, manganese, phosphates, hydropower potential
Net migration rate
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Note
a land of paddies and forests dominated by the Mekong River and Tonle Sap
Overview
The Cambodian economy - virtually destroyed by decades of war - is slowly recovering. Government leaders are moving toward restoring fiscal and monetary discipline and have established good working relations with international financial institutions. Despite such positive developments, the reconstruction effort faces many tough challenges. Rural Cambodia, where 90% of almost ten million Khmer live, remains mired in poverty. The almost total lack of basic infrastructure in the countryside will hinder development and will contribute to a growing imbalance in growth between urban and rural areas over the near term. Moreover, the new government's lack of experience in administering economic and technical assistance programs, and rampant corruption among officials, will slow the growth of critical public sector investment. Inflation for 1993 as a whole was 60%, less than a quarter of the 1992 rate, and was declining during the year. The government hoped the rate would fall to 10% in early 1994.
Political parties and leaders
National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful, and Cooperative Cambodia (FUNCINPEC) under Prince NORODOM RANARIDDH; Cambodian Pracheachon Party or Cambodian People's Party (CPP) under CHEA SIM; Buddhist Liberal Democratic Party under SON SANN; Democratic Kampuchea (DK, also known as the Khmer Rouge) under KHIEU SAMPHAN
Population
10,264,628 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate
2.87% (1994 est.)
Ports
Kampong Saom, Phnom Penh
Railroads
612 km 1.000-meter gauge, government owned
Religions
Theravada Buddhism 95%, other 5%
Resistance forces
National Army of Democratic Kampuchea (Khmer Rouge)
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
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
Terrain
mostly low, flat plains; mountains in southwest and north
Total fertility rate
5.81 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Type
multiparty liberal democracy under a constitutional monarchy established in September 1993
Unemployment rate
NA%
US diplomatic representation
chief of mission: Ambassador Charles H. TWINING embassy: 27 EO Street 240, Phnom Penh mailing address: Box P, APO AP 96546 telephone: (855) 23-26436 or (855) 23-26438