Background: 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 20 years of civil war.

Geographic coordinates: 13 00 N, 105 00 E

Map reference: Southeast Asia

Area
Total: 181,035 km²
Land: 176,515 km²
Water: 4,520 km²
Comparative: one and a half times the size of Pennsylvania; slightly smaller than Oklahoma

Land boundaries
Total: 2,530 km
Border countries: (3) Laos 555 km; , Thailand 817 km; , Vietnam 1158 km

Coastline: 443 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Contiguouszone: 24 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Continental shelf: 200 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
Highest point: Phnum Aoral 1,810 m
Lowest point: Gulf of Thailand 0 m
Mean elevation: 126 m

Natural resources: oil and gas, timber, gemstones, iron ore, manganese, phosphates, hydropower potential, arable land

Land use
Agricultural land: 32.1% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land arable land: 22.7% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent crops: 0.9% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent pasture: 8.5% (2018 est.)
Forest: 56.5% (2018 est.)
Other: 11.4% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land: 3,540 km² (2012)

Major rivers
By length in km: Mekong (shared with China [s], Burma, Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam [m]) - 4,350 km

Major watersheds area km²: Pacific Ocean drainage: Mekong (805,604 km²)

Total water withdrawal
Municipal: 98 million cubic meters (2017 est.)
Industrial: 33 million cubic meters (2017 est.)
Agricultural: 2.053 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

Total renewable water resources: 476.1 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

Natural hazards: monsoonal rains (June to November); flooding; occasional droughts

Geography
Note: a land of paddies and forests dominated by the Mekong River and Tonle Sap (Southeast Asia's largest freshwater lake)

Population
Distribution: population concentrated in the southeast, particularly in and around the capital of Phnom Penh; further distribution is linked closely to the Tonle Sap and Mekong Rivers: 17,304,363 (July 2021 est.)
Growth rate: 1.34% (2021 est.)
Below poverty line: 16.5% (2016 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Cambodian(s)
Adjective: Cambodian

Ethnic groups: Khmer 95.4%, Cham 2.4%, Chinese 1.5%, other 0.7% (2019-20 est.)

Languages: Khmer (official) 95.8%, minority languages 2.9%, Chinese 0.6%, Vietnamese 0.5%, other 0.2% (2019 est.)
Major language samples:

Religions: Buddhist (official) 97.1%, Muslim 2%, Christian 0.3%, other 0.5% (2019 est.)

Demographic profile: Cambodia is a predominantly rural country with among the most ethnically and religiously homogenous populations in Southeast Asia: more than 95% of its inhabitants are Khmer and more than 95% are Buddhist.  The population’s size and age structure shrank and then rebounded during the 20^th century as a result of conflict and mass death.  During the Khmer Rouge regime between 1975 and 1979 as many as 1.5 to 2 million people are estimated to have been killed or died as a result of starvation, disease, or overwork – a loss of about 25% of the population.  At the same time, emigration was high, and the fertility rate sharply declined.  In the 1980s, after the overthrow of the Khmer Rouge, fertility nearly doubled and reached pre-Khmer Rouge levels of close to 7 children per woman, reflecting in part higher infant survival rates.  The baby boom was followed by a sustained fertility decline starting in the early 1990s, eventually decreasing from 3.8 in 2000 to 2.9 in 2010, although the rate varied by income, education, and rural versus urban location.  Despite continuing fertility reduction, Cambodia still has a youthful population that is likely to maintain population growth through population momentum. Improvements have also been made in mortality, life expectancy, and contraceptive prevalence, although reducing malnutrition among children remains stalled.  Differences in health indicators are pronounced between urban and rural areas, which experience greater poverty.

Age structure
0-14 years: 30.18% (male 2,582,427/female 2,525,619)
15-24 years: 17.28% (male 1,452,784/female 1,472,769)
25-54 years: 41.51% (male 3,442,051/female 3,584,592)
55-64 years: 6.44% (male 476,561/female 612,706)
65 years and over: 4.59% (male 287,021/female 490,454) (2020 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 55.7
Youth dependency ratio: 48.2
Elderly dependency ratio: 7.6
Potential support ratio: 13.2 (2020 est.)

Median age
Total: 26.4 years
Male: 25.6 years
Female: 27.2 years (2020 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.34% (2021 est.)

Birth rate: 20.84 births/1000 population (2021 est.)

Death rate: 7.15 deaths/1000 population (2021 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.29 migrant(s)/1000 population (2021 est.)

Population distribution: population concentrated in the southeast, particularly in and around the capital of Phnom Penh; further distribution is linked closely to the Tonle Sap and Mekong Rivers

Urbanization
Urban population: 24.7% of total population (2021)
Rate of urbanization: 3.06% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 2.144 million PHNOM PENH (capital) (2021)

Environment
Current issues: illegal logging activities throughout the country and strip mining for gems in the western region along the border with Thailand have resulted in habitat loss and declining biodiversity (in particular, destruction of mangrove swamps threatens natural fisheries); soil erosion; in rural areas, most of the population does not have access to potable water; declining fish stocks because of illegal fishing and overfishing; coastal ecosystems choked by sediment washed loose from deforested areas inland
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling
International agreements signed but not ratified: Law of the Sea

Air pollutants
Particulate matter emissions: 23.98 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions: 9.92 megatons (2016 est.)
Methane emissions: 14.88 megatons (2020 est.)

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.78 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.59 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2020 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth: 22.4 years (2014 est.)
Note: median age at first birth among women 25-49

Maternal mortality ratio: 160 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 45.62 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 52.46 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 38.47 deaths/1000 live births (2021 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 66.27 years
Male: 63.7 years
Female: 68.95 years (2021 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.36 children born/woman (2021 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 56.3% (2014)

Drinking water source
Improved urban: 98.4% of population
Improved rural: 77.8% of population
Improved total: 80.3% of population
Unimproved urban: 1.6% of population
Unimproved rural: 22.2% of population
Unimproved total: 19.7% of population (2017 est.)

Current health expenditure: 6% (2018)

Physicians density: 0.19 physicians/1000 population (2014)

Hospital bed density: 1.9 beds/1000 population (2016)

Sanitation facility access
Improved urban: 100% of population
Improved rural: 55.5% of population
Improved total: 65.7% of population
Unimproved urban: 0% of population
Unimproved rural: 44.5% of population
Unimproved total: 34.3% of population (2017 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.5% (2020 est.)
People living with hivaids: 75,000 (2020 est.)
Deaths: 1,200 (2020 est.)

Major infectious diseases
Degree of risk: very high (2020)
Food or water borne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
Vector borne diseases: dengue fever, Japanese encephalitis, and malaria

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 3.9% (2016)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 24.1% (2014)

Education expenditures: 2.2% of GDP (2018)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 80.5%
Male: 86.5%
Female: 75% (2015)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 11 years
Male: 11 years
Female: 10 years

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15-24 total: 2.5%
Rate ages 15-24 male: 2.7%
Rate ages 15-24 female: 2.3% (2019 est.)

Country name
Conventional long form: Kingdom of Cambodia
Conventional short form: Cambodia
Local long form: Preahreacheanachakr Kampuchea (phonetic transliteration)
Local short form: Kampuchea
Former: Khmer Republic, Democratic Kampuchea, People's Republic of Kampuchea, State of Cambodia
Etymology: the English name Cambodia is an anglicization of the French Cambodge, which is the French transliteration of the native name Kampuchea

Government type: parliamentary constitutional monarchy

Capital
Name: Phnom Penh
Geographic coordinates: 11 33 N, 104 55 E
Time difference: UTC+7 (12 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Etymology: Phnom Penh translates as 'Penh's Hill' in Khmer; the city takes its name from the present Wat Phnom (Hill Temple), the tallest religious structure in the city, whose establishment, according to legend, was inspired in the 14th century by a pious nun, Daun PENH

Administrative divisions: 24 provinces (khett, singular and plural) and 1 municipality (krong, singular and plural)

Independence: 9 November 1953 (from France)

National holiday: Independence Day, 9 November (1953)

Constitution
History: previous 1947; latest promulgated 21 September 1993
Amendments: proposed by the monarch, by the prime minister, or by the president of the National Assembly if supported by one fourth of the Assembly membership; passage requires two-thirds majority of the Assembly membership; constitutional articles on the multiparty democratic form of government and the monarchy cannot be amended; amended 1999, 2008, 2014, 2018

Legal system: civil law system (influenced by the UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia) customary law, Communist legal theory, and common law

International law organization participation: accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descentonly: at least one parent must be a citizen of Cambodia
Dual citizenship recognized: yes
Residency requirement for naturalization: 7 years

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: King Norodom SIHAMONI (since 29 October 2004)
Head of government: Prime Minister HUN SEN (since 14 January 1985)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers named by the prime minister and appointed by the monarch
Elections and appointments: monarch chosen by the 9-member Royal Council of the Throne from among all eligible males of royal descent; following legislative elections, a member of the majority party or majority coalition named prime minister by the Chairman of the National Assembly and appointed by the monarch

Legislative branch
Description: bicameral Parliament of Cambodia consists of:
Senate (62 seats; 58 indirectly elected by parliamentarians and commune councils, 2 indirectly elected by the National Assembly, and 2 appointed by the monarch; members serve 6-year terms)
National Assembly (125 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve 5-year terms)
Elections:  Senate - last held on 25 February 2018 (next to be held in 2024); National Assembly - last held on 29 July 2018 (next to be held in 2023)

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Supreme Council (organized into 5- and 9-judge panels and includes a court chief and deputy chief); Constitutional Court (consists of 9 members); note - in 1997, the Cambodian Government requested UN assistance in establishing trials to prosecute former Khmer Rouge senior leaders for crimes against humanity committed during the 1975-1979 Khmer Rouge regime; the Extraordinary Chambers of the Courts of Cambodia (also called the Khmer Rouge Tribunal) was established in 2006 and began hearings for the first case in 2009; court proceedings remain ongoing in 2019
Judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court and Constitutional Council judge candidates recommended by the Supreme Council of Magistracy, a 17-member body chaired by the monarch and includes other high-level judicial officers; judges of both courts appointed by the monarch; Supreme Court judges appointed for life; Constitutional Council judges appointed for 9-year terms with one-third of the court renewed every 3 years
Subordinate courts: Appellate Court; provincial and municipal courts; Military Court

Political parties and leaders: Cambodian People's Party or CPP [HUN SEN]
National United Front for Independent, Neutral, Peaceful, and Cooperative Cambodia or FUNCINPEC [Prince NORODOM CHAKRAVUTH]
League for Democracy Party or LDP [KHEM Veasna]
Khmer Will Party [KONG MONIKA]
Khmer National Unity Party or KNUP [NHEK BUN CHHAY]
Cambodia National Rescue Party or CNRP [KHEM SOKHA] (dissolved by the Cambodian Supreme Court 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])
  (Dec 2021)

International organization participation: ADB, ARF, ASEAN, CICA, EAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MINUSMA, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNISFA, UNMISS, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador CHUM SOUNRY (since 17 September 2018)
In the us chancery: 4,530 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20,011
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 726-7,742
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 726-8,381
In the us email address and website:
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador W. Patrick MURPHY (since 23 October 2019)
From the us embassy: #1, Street 96, Sangkat Wat Phnom, Khan Daun Penh, Phnom Penh
From the us mailing address: 4,540 Phnom Penh Place, Washington DC  20,521-4,540
From the us telephone: [855] (23) 728-000
From the us FAX: [855] (23) 728-700
From the us email address and website:

Flag description: three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (double width), and blue with a white, three-towered temple, representing Angkor Wat, outlined in black in the center of the red band; red and blue are traditional Cambodian colors
Note: only national flag to prominently incorporate an actual identifiable building into its design (a few other national flags - those of Afghanistan, San Marino, Portugal, and Spain - show small generic buildings as part of their coats of arms on the flag)

National symbols: Angkor Wat temple, kouprey (wild ox); national colors: red, blue

National anthem
Name: 'Nokoreach' (Royal Kingdom)
Lyrics and music: CHUON NAT/F. PERRUCHOT and J. JEKYLL
Note: adopted 1941, restored 1993; the anthem, based on a Cambodian folk tune, was restored after the defeat of the Communist regime

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Note: data are in 2017 dollars

Real gdp growth rate: 6.9% (2017 est.)

7% (2016 est.)

7% (2015 est.)

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2017 dollars

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 76% (2017 est.)
Government consumption: 5.4% (2017 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 21.8% (2017 est.)
Investment in inventories: 1.2% (2017 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 68.6% (2017 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -73% (2017 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 25.3% (2017 est.)
Industry: 32.8% (2017 est.)
Services: 41.9% (2017 est.)

Agriculture products: cassava, rice, maize, vegetables, sugar cane, soybeans, rubber, oil palm fruit, bananas, pork

Industries: tourism, garments, construction, rice milling, fishing, wood and wood products, rubber, cement, gem mining, textiles

Industrial production growth rate: 10.6% (2017 est.)

Labor force: 8.913 million (2017 est.)
By occupation agriculture: 48.7%
By occupation industry: 19.9%
By occupation services: 31.5% (2013 est.)

Unemployment rate: 0.3% (2017 est.)
Note: high underemployment, according to official statistics

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15-24 total: 2.5%
Rate ages 15-24 male: 2.7%
Rate ages 15-24 female: 2.3% (2019 est.)

Population below poverty line: 16.5% (2016 est.)

Gini index
Coefficient distribution of family income: 37.9 (2008 est.)

41.9 (2004 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 2%
Highest 10: 28% (2013 est.)

Budget
Revenues: $3.947 billion (2017 est.)
Expenditures: $4.354 billion (2017 est.)
Surplus or deficit: $-1.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Taxes and other revenues: 17.9% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Public debt: 30.4% of GDP (2017 est.)

29.1% of GDP (2016 est.)

Revenue
From forest resources forest revenues: 0.84% of GDP (2018 est.)
From coal coal revenues: 0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 2.9% (2017 est.)

3% (2016 est.)

Current account balance: -$1.871 billion (2017 est.)

-$1.731 billion (2016 est.)

Exports: $19.4 billion note: data are in current year dollars (2020 est.)

$21.07 billion note: data are in current year dollars (2019 est.)

$18.41 billion note: data are in current year dollars (2018 est.)
Partners: United States 21%, Singapore 8%, Thailand 8%, Germany 7%, Japan 6%, China 5%, Canada 5%, United Kingdom 5% (2019)
Commodities: clothing, precious metal scraps, trunks/cases, gold, leather footwear (2019)

Imports: $23.12 billion note: data are in current year dollars (2020 est.)

$25.52 billion note: data are in current year dollars (2019 est.)

$21.86 billion note: data are in current year dollars (2018 est.)
Partners: China 27%, Thailand 25%, Vietnam 15%, Singapore 8% (2019)
Commodities: refined petroleum, clothing, gold, cars, flavored water (2019)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $12.2 billion (31 December 2017 est.)

$9.122 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

Debt external: $11.87 billion (31 December 2017 est.)

$10.3 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Access electrification total population: 75% (2019)
Access electrification urban areas: 100% (2019)
Access electrification rural areas: 67% (2019)
Production: 5.21 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Consumption: 5.857 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Exports: 0 kWh (2016 est.)
Imports: 1.583 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Installed generating capacity: 1.697 million kW (2016 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels: 35% of total installed capacity (2016 est.)
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 63% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources: 2% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil imports: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves: 0 bbl (1 January 2018 est.)

Refined petroleum
Products production: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products consumption: 45,000 bbl/day (2016 est.)
Products exports: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products imports: 43,030 bbl/day (2015 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2017 est.)
Consumption: 0 m³ (2017 est.)
Exports: 0 m³ (2017 est.)
Imports: 0 m³ (2017 est.)
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2014 est.)

Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 56,445 (2019)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: less than 1 (2019 est.)
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 21,418,681 (2019)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 129.9 (2020 est.)

Broadcast media: mixture of state-owned, joint public-private, and privately owned broadcast media; 27 TV broadcast stations with most operating on multiple channels, including 1 state-operated station broadcasting from multiple locations, 11 stations either jointly operated or privately owned with some broadcasting from several locations; multi-channel cable and satellite systems are available (2019); 84 radio broadcast stations - 1 state-owned broadcaster with multiple stations and a large mixture of public and private broadcasters; one international broadcaster is available (2019) as well as one Chinese joint venture television station with the Ministry of Interior; several television and radio operators broadcast online only (often via Facebook) (2019)

Internet
Country code: .kh
Users total: 8.86 million (2021 est.)
Users percent of population: 78.8% (2020 est.)

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 713,845 (2020)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 1.12 (2019 est.)

Military expenditures: 2.5% of GDP (2020 est.)

2.3% of GDP (2019 est.)

2.2% of GDP (2018)

2.1% of GDP (2017)

2% of GDP (2016)

Military and security forces: Royal Cambodian Armed Forces: High Command Headquarters, Royal Cambodian Army, Royal Khmer Navy, Royal Cambodian Air Force, Royal Gendarmerie; the National Committee for Maritime Security (performs Coast Guard functions and has representation from military and civilian agencies) (2021)

note - the Cambodian National Police is under the Ministry of Interior

Military service age and obligation: 18 is the legal minimum age for compulsory and voluntary military service (2021)

National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 6 (2020)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 25
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 1,411,059 (2018)
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 680,000 mt-km (2018)

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: XU

Airports
Total: 16 (2013)
With paved runways total: 6
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 3
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 2
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1 (2019)
With unpaved runways total: 10
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 2
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 7
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 1 (2013)

Heliports: 1 (2013)

Railways
Total: 642 km (2014)
Narrowgauge: 642 km 1.000-m gauge (2014)
Note: under restoration

Roadways
Total: 47,263 km (2013)
Paved: 12,239 km (2013)
Unpaved: 35,024 km (2013)

Waterways: 3,700 km (mainly on Mekong River) (2012)

Merchant marine
Total: 245
By type: container ship 2, general cargo 162, oil tanker 18, other 63 (2021)

Ports and terminals
Major seaport: Sihanoukville (Kampong Saom)
River ports: Phnom Penh (Mekong)

Disputes international: Cambodia is concerned about Laos' extensive upstream dam construction; Cambodia and Thailand dispute sections of boundary; in 2011 Thailand and Cambodia resorted to arms in the dispute over the location of the boundary on the precipice surmounted by Preah Vihear Temple ruins, awarded to Cambodia by an International Court of Justice decision in 1962 and part of a UN World Heritage site; Cambodia accuses Vietnam of a wide variety of illicit cross-border activities; progress on a joint development area with Vietnam is hampered by an unresolved dispute over sovereignty of offshore islands

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Stateless persons: 57,444 (2020)

Illicit drugs: manufacture of methamphetamine expanding due to  transnational crime syndicates moving from China to evade the law; drugs destined for Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea and the rest of East and South-East Asia