1995 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1995 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Area
total area: 181,040 sq km land area: 176,520 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Oklahoma
Climate
tropical; rainy, monsoon season (May to November); dry season (December to April); little seasonal temperature variation
Coastline
443 km
Environment
current issues: logging activities throughout the country and strip mining for gems in the western region along the border with Thailand are resulting in habitat loss and declining biodiversity (in particular, destruction of mangrove swamps threatens natural fisheries); deforestation; soil erosion; in rural areas, a majority of the population does not have access to potable water natural hazards: monsoonal rains (June to November); flooding; occasional droughts international agreements: party to - Marine Life Conservation, Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping
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.)
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
Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, between Thailand and Vietnam
Map references
Southeast Asia
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
a land of paddies and forests dominated by the Mekong River and Tonle Sap
Terrain
mostly low, flat plains; mountains in southwest and north
People and Society
Age structure
0-14 years: 46% (female 2,367,414; male 2,438,104) 15-64 years: 51% (female 2,932,788; male 2,494,203) 65 years and over: 3% (female 185,337; male 143,527) (July 1995 est.)
Birth rate
44.42 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate
16.16 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions
Khmer 90%, Vietnamese 5%, Chinese 1%, other 4%
Infant mortality rate
109.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Labor force
2.5 million to 3 million by occupation: agriculture 80% (1988 est.)
Languages
Khmer (official), French
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 49.46 years male: 48 years female: 51 years (1995 est.)
Literacy
age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 35% male: 48% female: 22%
Nationality
noun: Cambodian(s) adjective: Cambodian
Net migration rate
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Population
10,561,373 (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate
2.83% (1995 est.)
Religions
Theravada Buddhism 95%, other 5%
Total fertility rate
5.81 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Government
Administrative divisions
21 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, Sihanoukville, Stoeng Treng, Svay Rieng, Takev note: Siemreab-Otdar Meanchey may have been divided into two provinces named Siemreab and Otdar Meanchey
Capital
Phnom Penh
Constitution
promulgated September 1993
Digraph
CB
Diplomatic representation in US
Ambassador SISOWATH SIRIRATH represents Cambodia at the United Nations
Executive branch
chief of state: King Norodom SIHANOUK (reinstated 24 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
FAX
[855] (23) 26437
Flag
horizontal band of red separates two equal horizontal bands of blue with a white three-towered temple representing Angkor Wat in the center
Independence
9 November 1949 (from France)
Judicial branch
Supreme Court provided for by the constitution has not yet been established and the future judicial system is yet to be defined by law
Legal system
currently being defined
Legislative branch
unicameral; a 120-member constituent assembly based on proportional representation within each province was established following the UN-supervised election in May 1993; the constituent assembly was transformed into a legislature in September 1993 after delegates promulgated the constitution
Member of
ACCT, AsDB, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL, ITU, 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
Political parties and leaders
National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful, and Cooperative Cambodia (FUNCINPEC), Prince NORODOM RANARIDDH; Cambodian Pracheachon Party or Cambodian People's Party (CPP), CHEA SIM; Buddhist Liberal Democratic Party, SON SANN; Democratic Kampuchea (DK, also known as the Khmer Rouge), KHIEU SAMPHAN; Molinaka, PROM NEAKAREACH
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Type
multiparty liberal democracy under a constitutional monarchy established in September 1993
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, 26438
Economy
Agriculture
mainly subsistence farming except for rubber plantations; main crops - rice, rubber, corn; food shortages - rice, meat, vegetables, dairy products, sugar, flour
Budget
revenues: $190 million expenditures: $365 million, including capital expenditures of $120 million (1994 est.)
Currency
1 new riel (CR) = 100 sen
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; IMF pledged $120 million in aid for 1995-98
Electricity
capacity: 40,000 kW production: 160 million kWh consumption per capita: 14 kWh (1993)
Exchange rates
riels (CR) per US$1 - 2,470 (December 1993), 2,800 (September 1992), 500 (December 1991), 560 (1990), 159.00 (1988), 100.00 (1987)
Exports
$283.6 million (f.o.b., 1993) commodities: timber, rubber, soybeans, sesame partners: Singapore, Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia
External debt
$383 million to OECD members (1993)
Fiscal year
calendar year
Illicit drugs
increasingly used as a transshipment country for heroin produced in the Golden Triangle; growing money-laundering center; high-level narcotics-related corruption in government; possible small-scale heroin production; large producer of cannibis
Imports
$479.3 million (c.i.f., 1993) commodities: cigarettes, construction materials, petroleum products, machinery partners: Singapore, Vietnam, Japan, Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia
Industrial production
growth rate 7.9% (1993 est.); accounts for 8% of GDP
Industries
rice milling, fishing, wood and wood products, rubber, cement, gem mining
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
26%-30% (1994 est.)
National product
GDP - purchasing power parity - $6.4 billion (1994 est.)
National product per capita
$630 (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate
5% (1994 est.)
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. Growth, starting from a low base, has been strong in 1991-94. Despite such positive developments, the reconstruction effort faces many tough challenges because of the persistence of internal political divisions and the related lack of confidence of foreign investors. Rural Cambodia, where 90% of about 9.5 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 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 1994 as a whole was less than a quarter of the 1992 rate and was declining during the year.
Unemployment rate
NA%
Communications
Radio
broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Telephone system
NA telephones; service barely adequate for government requirements and virtually nonexistent for general public local: NA intercity: NA international: international service limited to Vietnam and other adjacent countries
Television
broadcast stations: 1 televisions: NA
Transportation
Airports
total: 22 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 3 with paved runways under 914 m: 2 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 3 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 10
Highways
total: 34,100 km (some roads in serious disrepair) paved: bituminous 3,000 km unpaved: crushed stone, gravel, or improved earth 3,100 km; unimproved earth 28,000 km
Inland waterways
3,700 km navigable all year to craft drawing 0.6 meters; 282 km navigable to craft drawing 1.8 meters
Merchant marine
none
Ports
Kampong Saom (Sihanoukville), Kampot, Krong Kaoh Kong, Phnom Penh
Railroads
total: 655 km narrow gauge: 655 km 1.000-m gauge
Military and Security
Defense expenditures
exchange rate conversion - $85 million, 1.4% of GDP (1995 est.) ________________________________________________________________________ CAMEROON
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)
Manpower availability
males age 15-49 2,255,050; males fit for military service 1,256,632; males reach military age (18) annually 70,707 (1995 est.)
Resistance forces
National Army of Democratic Kampuchea (Khmer Rouge)