Background: Following a five-year struggle communist Khmer Rouge forces captured Phnom Penh in 1975 and ordered the evacuation of all cities and towns; over 1 million displaced people died from execution or enforced hardships. A 1978 Vietnamese invasion drove the Khmer Rouge into the countryside and touched off 13 years of fighting. UN-sponsored elections in 1993 helped restore some semblance of normalcy as did the rapid diminishment of the Khmer Rouge in the mid-1990s.

Area
Total: 181,040 km²
Land: 176,520 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Oklahoma

Land boundaries: Total 2,572 km, Laos 541 km, Thailand 803 km, Vietnam 1,228 km

Coastline: 443 km

Maritime claims
Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Continental shelf: 200 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: Tropical; rainy, monsoon season (May to November; dry season (December to April; little seasonal temperature variation

Terrain: Mostly low, flat plains; mountains in southwest and north

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: Gulf of Thailand 0 m
Extremes highest point: Phnum Aoral 1,810 m

Natural resources:

Land use
Arable land: 16%
Permanent crops: 1%
Permanent pastures: 3%
Forests and woodland: 76%
Other: 4%

Irrigated land: 920 km² (1989 est.)

Population:
Growth rate:

Nationality
Noun: Cambodian(s)
Adjective: Cambodian

Ethnic groups:

Languages: Khmer (official), French

Religions:

Population growth rate:

Birth rate:

Death rate:

Net migration rate:

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
Current issues 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 agreements note: A land of paddies and forests dominated by the Mekong River and Tonle Sap

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
Under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.86 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female
All ages:

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 49.48 years (1996 est.), 49.46 years (1995 est.)
Male: 48.39 years (1996 est.), 48 years (1995 est.)
Female: 51.39 years (1996 est.), 51 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate:

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over that can read and write (1990 est.)
Total population: 35%
Male: 48%
Female: 22%

Country name
Conventional long form: Kingdom of Cambodia
Conventional short form: Cambodia
Local long form: Reacheanachak Kampuchea
Local short form: Kampuchea

Government type: Multiparty liberal democracy under a constitutional monarchy established in September 1993

Capital: Phnom Penh

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

Independence: 9 November 1949 (from France)

National holiday: Independence Day, 9 November 1949

Constitution: Promulgated September 1993

Legal system: Currently being defined

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

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

Legislative branch: Unicameral National Assembly:Members elected for five-year terms; elections last held 23 May 1993 (next to be held NA 1998; results_percent of vote by party NA; seats_(120 total) FUNCINPEC 58, CPP 51, Buddhist Liberal Democratic Party 10, Molinaka 1
Note: the May 1993 elections were for the Constituent Assembly which became the National Assembly after the new constitution was promulgated in September 1993

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

International organization participation: ACCT, AsDB, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, ITU, Mekong Group, NAM, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant)

Flag description:

Economy 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 1991-95. 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. The decline of inflation from the 1992 rate of more than 50% is one of the bright spots.

Real gdp growth rate:

Real gdp per capita:

Agriculture products: Mainly subsistence farming except for rubber plantations; main crops_rice, rubber, corn; food shortages_rice, meat, vegetables, dairy products, sugar, flour

Industries:

Industrial production growth rate: Growth rate 7.9% (1993 est.), accounts for 13.5% of GDP

Labor force: 2.5 million to 3 million
By occupation: Agriculture 80% (1988 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA

Budget
Revenues: $210 million
Expenditures: $346 million, including capital expenditures of $120 million (1994 est.)

Fiscal year: Calendar year

Exports:
Commodities:
Partners:

Debt external: $383 million to OECD members (1993)

Exchange rates: Riels (CR) per US$1_2,585 (December 1994), 2,470 (December 1993), 2,800 (September 1992), 500 (December 1991), 560 (1990), 159.00 (1988), 100.00 (1987)

Electricity
Capacity: 40,000 kW
Production: 160 million kWh
Consumption per capita: 14 kWh (1993)

Telephone system: 7,000 telephones (1981 est.); 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; satellite earth station_1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean Region)

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $85 million, 1.4% of GDP (1995 est.)

Airports: 14
2438 to 3047 m: 2
15-24 to 2437 m: 1
914 to 1523 m: 7

Heliports: 2 (1995 est.)

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

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