Official Name: Kingdom of Cambodia
PROFILE
Geography
Area: 181,040 sq. km. (69,900 sq. mi.); about the size of Missouri.
Cities:
Capital--Phnom Penh (pop. 1.3 million), Battambang, Siem Reap, Sihanoukville, Prey Veng, Kompong Cham.
Terrain: Central plain drained by the Tonle Sap (Great Lake) and Mekong and Bassac Rivers. Forests away from the rivers and the lake, mountains in the southwest (Cardamom Mountains) and north (Dangrek Mountains) along the border with Thailand.
Climate: Tropical monsoon with rainy season June-Oct. and dry season Nov.-May.
People
Nationality:
Noun and adjective--Cambodian(s), Khmer.
Population (2008 census): 13.4 million.
Avg. annual population growth rate (2008 census) 1.54%.
Health:
Infant mortality rate--58/1,000.
Life expectancy--59 years male; 63 years female.
Ethnic groups: Cambodian 90%; Vietnamese 5%; Chinese 1%; others 4%: small numbers of hill tribes, Cham, and Lao.
Religions: Theravada Buddhism 95%; Islam; animism; Christian.
Languages: Khmer (official) spoken by more than 95% of the population; some French still spoken in urban areas; English increasingly popular as a second language.
Education:
Years compulsory--9 years.
Enrollment--primary school, 94.4%; grades 7 to 9, 33.9%; grades 10 to 12, 16.4%; and tertiary, 2.8%.
Completion rates--primary school, 85.58%; lower secondary school, 49.05%; upper secondary school, 20.58%; university, 6%.
Literacy (total population over 15 that can read and write, 2007)--75.1% (male approx. 85%; female approx. 64%).
Government
Type: Multiparty democracy under a constitutional monarchy.
Independence: November 9, 1953.
Constitution: September 24, 1993; amended March 6, 1999 and March 2, 2006.
Branches:
Executive--King Sihamoni (head of state since October 29, 2004), prime minister (Hun Sen since January 14, 1985), 10 deputy prime ministers, 16 senior ministers, 26 ministers, 206 secretaries of state, and 205 undersecretaries of state.
Legislative--National Assembly, consisting of 123 elected members; Senate, consisting of 61 members.
Judicial--Supreme Court, Appeals Court, and lower courts.
Administrative subdivisions: 23 provinces and 1 capital municipality.
Political parties and leaders:
Ruling parties--A coalition government of the Cambodian People's Party (CPP), led by Samdech Chea Sim; and the National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful, and Cooperative Cambodia (FUNCINPEC), led by Keo Puth Reasmey.
Opposition parties--The Sam Rainsy Party (SRP), led by Sam Rainsy; Human Rights Party, led by Kem Sokha.
Economy
GDP (2010 est.): $11.3 billion.
Per capita GDP (2010 est.): $783.
Annual growth rate (2010 est.): 5.5%.
Inflation (2010 est.): 4%.
Natural resources: Timber, gemstones, some iron ore, manganese and phosphate, hydroelectric potential from the Mekong River, unknown quantities of oil, gas, and bauxite.
Agriculture (33.4% of GDP, 2009): About 4,848,000 hectares (12 million acres) are unforested land; all are arable with irrigation, but 2.5 million hectares are cultivated.
Products--rice, rubber, corn, meat, vegetables, dairy products, sugar, flour.
Industry (21.4% of GDP, 2009.):
Types--garment and shoe manufacturing, rice milling, tobacco, fisheries and fishing, wood and wood products, textiles, cement, some rubber production, paper and food processing.
Services (39.8% of GDP, 2009.): Tourism, telecommunications, transportation, and construction.
Central government budget (2009):
Revenues--$1.38 billion;
expenditures--$1.8 billion;
foreign financing--$606 million.
Trade:
Exports ($3.9 billion, 2009)--garments, shoes, rice, cigarettes, natural rubber, pepper, wood, fish.
Major partners--United States, Germany, U.K., Singapore, Japan, Vietnam.
Imports ($5.4 billion, 2009)--fuels, cigarettes, vehicles, consumer goods, machinery.
Major partners--Thailand, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Taiwan, United States.
Economic aid received: $989 million in grants or concessional loans were disbursed in 2009.
Major donors--Asian Development Bank (ADB), UN Development Program (UNDP), World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, the EU, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Sweden, Thailand, the U.K., and the U.S.
Principal foreign commercial investors: Korea, China, Russia, Thailand, the U.S., and Vietnam.
Exchange rate (2010): 4,166 riel per U.S. $1.
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2732.htm
