Most Cambodians consider themselves to be Khmers descendants of the Angkor Empire that extended over much of Southeast Asia and reached its zenith between the 10th and 13th centuries. Attacks by the Thai and Cham (from present-day Vietnam) weakened the empire ushering in a long period of decline. The king placed the country under French protection in 1863 and it became part of French Indochina in 1887. Following Japanese occupation in World War II Cambodia gained full independence from France in 1953. In April 1975 after a seven-year struggle communist Khmer Rouge forces captured Phnom Penh and evacuated all cities and towns. At least 1.5 million Cambodians died from execution forced hardships or starvation during the Khmer Rouge regime under POL POT. A December 1978 Vietnamese invasion drove the Khmer Rouge into the countryside began a 10-year Vietnamese occupation and touched off almost 13 years of civil war.
The 1991 Paris Peace Accords mandated democratic elections and a cease-fire which was not fully respected by the Khmer Rouge. UN-sponsored elections in 1993 helped restore some semblance of normalcy under a coalition government. Factional fighting in 1997 ended the first coalition government but a second round of national elections in 1998 led to the formation of another coalition government and renewed political stability. The remaining elements of the Khmer Rouge surrendered in early 1999. Some of the surviving Khmer Rouge leaders have been tried or are awaiting trial for crimes against humanity by a hybrid UN-Cambodian tribunal supported by international assistance. Elections in July 2003 were relatively peaceful but it took one year of negotiations between contending political parties before a coalition government was formed. In October 2004 King Norodom SIHANOUK abdicated the throne and his son Prince Norodom SIHAMONI was selected to succeed him. The most recent local (Commune Council) elections were held in Cambodia in 2012 with little of the preelection violence that preceded prior elections. National elections in July 2013 were disputed with the opposition - the Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) - boycotting the National Assembly. The political impasse was ended nearly a year later with the CNRP agreeing to enter parliament in exchange for ruling party commitments to electoral and legislative reforms. The CNRP made further gains in local commune elections in June 2017 accelerating sitting Prime Minister Hun SEN’s efforts to marginalize the CNRP before national elections in 2018. Hun Sen arrested CNRP’s President Kem Sokha in September 2017 and subsequently dissolved the CNRP in November 2017 and banned its leaders from participating in politics for at least five years. CNRP’s seats in the National Assembly were redistributed to smaller more pliant opposition parties.

arable land: 22.7%
permanent crops: 0.9%
permanent pasture: 8.5%

urban: 100% of population
rural: 69.1% of population
total: 75.5% of population
urban: 0% of population
rural: 30.9% of population
total: 24.5% of population (2015 est.)

urban: 88.1% of population
rural: 30.5% of population
total: 42.4% of population
urban: 11.9% of population
rural: 69.5% of population
total: 57.6% of population (2015 est.)

Cambodian National Rescue Party or CNRP [KHEM SOKHA] (dissolved by the government in November 2017; formed from a 2012 merger of the Sam Rangsi Party or SRP and the former Human Rights Party or HRP [KHEM SOKHA also spelled KEM SOKHA])
Cambodian Nationality Party or CNP [SENG SOKHENG]
Cambodian People's Party or CPP [HUN SEN]
Khmer Economic Development Party or KEDP [HUON REACH CHAMROEUN]
National United Front for an Independent Neutral Peaceful and Cooperative Cambodia or FUNCINPEC [Prince NORODOM RANARIDDH]

Cambodia has experienced strong economic growth over the last decade; GDP grew at an average annual rate of over 8% between 2000 and 2010 and about 7% since 2011. The tourism garment construction and real estate and agriculture sectors accounted for the bulk of growth. Around 600,000 people the majority of whom are women are employed in the garment and footwear sector. An additional 500,000 Cambodians are employed in the tourism sector and a further 50,000 people in construction. Tourism has continued to grow rapidly with foreign arrivals exceeding 2 million per year since 2007 and reaching around 4.5 million visitors in 2014. Mining also is attracting some investor interest and the government has touted opportunities for mining bauxite gold iron and gems.
Cambodia remains one of the poorest countries in Asia and long-term economic development remains a daunting challenge inhibited by endemic corruption limited human resources high income inequality and poor job prospects. As of 2012 approximately 2.66 million people live on less than $1.20 per day and 37% of Cambodian children under the age of 5 suffer from chronic malnutrition. More than 50% of the population is less than 25 years old. The population lacks education and productive skills particularly in the impoverished countryside which also lacks basic infrastructure.
The World Bank in 2016 formally reclassified Cambodia as a lower middle-income country as a result of continued rapid economic growth over the past several years. Cambodia’s graduation from a low-income country will reduce its eligibility for foreign assistance and will challenge the government to seek new sources of financing. The Cambodian Government has been working with bilateral and multilateral donors including the Asian Development Bank the World Bank and IMF to address the country's many pressing needs; more than 30% of the government budget comes from donor assistance. A major economic challenge for Cambodia over the next decade will be fashioning an economic environment in which the private sector can create enough jobs to handle Cambodia's demographic imbalance.

$64.21 billion (2017 est.)
$60.04 billion (2016 est.)
$56.09 billion (2015 est.)

6.9% (2017 est.)
7% (2016 est.)
7.2% (2015 est.)

$4,000 (2017 est.)
$3,800 (2016 est.)
$3,600 (2015 est.)

13.6% of GDP (2017 est.)
14.1% of GDP (2016 est.)
13.1% of GDP (2015 est.)

0.3% (2017 est.)
0.2% (2012 est.)

37.9 (2008 est.)
41.9 (2004 est.)

28.2% of GDP (2017 est.)
29.1% of GDP (2016 est.)

3.7% (2017 est.)
3% (2016 est.)

NA% (31 December 2012)
5.25% (31 December 2007)

11.1% (31 December 2017 est.)
11.36% (31 December 2016 est.)

$1.999 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
$1.748 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

$16.82 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
$14.5 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

$13.71 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
$11.82 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

-$1.904 billion (2017 est.)
-$1.776 billion (2016 est.)

$10.45 billion (2017 est.)
$9.233 billion (2016 est.)

$14.34 billion (2017 est.)
$12.65 billion (2016 est.)

$11.29 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
$9.122 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

$11.34 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
$10.3 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

riels (KHR) per US dollar -
4,055 (2017 est.)
4,059 (2016 est.)
4,059 (2015 est.)
4,068 (2014 est.)
4,038 (2013 est.)

1.85% of GDP (2016)
2.11% of GDP (2015)
1.66% of GDP (2014)
1.58% of GDP (2013)
1.55% of GDP (2012)