Cambodia

Airports

22 total, 9 usable; 6 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 4 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

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; stations--1 AM, no FM, 1 TV

Branches

SOC--Cambodian People's Armed Forces (CPAF); 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) and Khmer People's National Liberation Armed Forces (KPNLAF)

Defense expenditures

$NA, NA% of GDP

Manpower availability

males 15-49, 1,869,880; 1,030,356 fit for military service; 57,288 reach military age (18) annually

Agriculture

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

Budget

revenues $NA; expenditures $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Currency

riel (plural--riels); 1 riel (CR) = 100 sen

Economic aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $719 million; Western (non-US) countries (1970-88), $285 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $1,800 million

Electricity

126,000 kW capacity; 150 million kWh produced, 20 kWh per capita (1990)

Exchange rates

riels (CR) per US$1--560 (November 1990), 159.00 (1988), 100.00 (1987), 30.00 (1986), 7.00 (1985)

Exports

$32 million (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--natural rubber, rice, pepper, wood; partners--Vietnam, USSR, Eastern Europe, Japan, India

External debt

$600 million (1989)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

$890 million, per capita $130; real growth rate 0% (1989 est.)

Imports

$147 million (c.i.f., 1988); 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)

50% (first half 1990)

Overview

Cambodia is a desperately poor country whose economic development has been stymied by deadly political infighting. The economy is based on agriculture and related industries. Over the past decade Cambodia has been slowly recovering from its near destruction by war and political upheaval. It still remains, however, one of the world's poorest countries, with an estimated per capita GDP of about $130. The food situation is precarious; during the 1980s famine has been averted only through international relief. In 1986 the production level of rice, the staple food crop, was able to meet only 80% of domestic needs. The biggest success of the nation's recovery program has been in new rubber plantings and in fishing. Industry, other than rice processing, is almost nonexistent. Foreign trade is primarily with the USSR and Vietnam. Statistical data on the economy continues to be sparse and unreliable. Foreign aid from the USSR and Eastern Europe almost certainly is being slashed.

Unemployment rate

NA%

Climate

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

Coastline

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

Comparative area

slightly smaller than Oklahoma

Disputes

offshore islands and three sections of the boundary with Vietnam are in dispute; maritime boundary with Vietnam not defined; occupied by Vietnam on 25 December 1978

Environment

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

Land boundaries

2,572 km total; 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%; includes irrigated 1%

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

Total area

181,040 km2; land area: 176,520 km2

Administrative divisions

NGC--18 provinces (khet, singular and plural) and 1 capital city* (rottatheanei); 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; note--the SOC adds a province of Banteay Meanchey and an autonomous municipality of Kampong Saom to the NGC administrative structure

Capital

Phnom Penh

Constitution

SOC--27 June 1981

Diplomatic representation

none NGC--three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (double width), and blue with a white stylized three-towered temple representing Angkor Wat centered on the red band; SOC--two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and blue with a gold stylized five-towered temple representing Angkor Wat in the center

Executive branch

NGC--president, prime minister; SOC--chairman of the Council of State, Council of State, chairman of the Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers

Independence

9 November 1953 (from France)

Judicial branch

NGC--none; SOC--Supreme People's Court Chief of State--NGC--President Prince NORODOM SIHANOUK (since NA July 1982); SOC--Chairman of the Council of State HENG SAMRIN (since 27 June 1981) Head of Government--NGC--Prime Minister SON SANN (since NA July 1982); SOC--Chairman of the Council of Ministers HUN SEN (since 14 January 1985)

Legislative branch

NGC--none; SOC--unicameral National Assembly

Long-form name

none

Member of

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

National holidays

NGC--Independence Day, 17 April (1975); SOC--Liberation Day, 7 January (1979)

Political parties and leaders

NGC--three resistance groups including: Democratic Kampuchea (DK, also known as the Khmer Rouge) under KHIEU SAMPHAN; Khmer People's National Liberation Front (KPNLF) under SON SANN; and National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful, and Cooperative Cambodia (FUNCINPEC) under Prince NORODOM RANNARIDH; SOC--Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party (KPRP) led by HENG SAMRIN

Suffrage

NGC--none; SOC--universal at age 18 NGC--none; SOC--National Assembly--last held 1 May 1981; in February 1986 the Assembly voted to extend its term for five years; results--KPRP is the only party; seats--(123 total) KPRP 123

Type

disputed between the National Government of Cambodia (NGC) led by Prince NORODOM SIHANOUK, and the State of Cambodia (SOC) led by HENG SAMRIN

Birth rate

38 births/1,000 population (1991)

Death rate

16 deaths/1,000 population (1991)

Ethnic divisions

Khmer 90%, Chinese 5%, other 5%

Infant mortality rate

125 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

Labor force

2.5-3.0 million; agriculture 80% (1988 est.)

Language

Khmer (official), French

Life expectancy at birth

48 years male, 51 years female (1991)

Literacy

35% (male 48%, female 22%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

Nationality

noun--Cambodian(s); adjective--Cambodian

Net migration rate

0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)

Organized labor

Kampuchea Federation of Trade Unions (FSC); under government control

Population

7,146,386 (July 1991), growth rate 2.2% (1991)

Religion

Theravada Buddhism 95%, other 5%

Total fertility rate

4.5 children born/woman (1991)