Geography
Area: 181,040 sq. km. (69,900 sq. mi.); about the size of Missouri.
Cities: Capital--Phnom Penh (pop. 1.2 million), Battambang,
Siem Reap, Kompong Cham, Kompong Speu, Kompong Thom.
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 (2003 est.): 13,124,764.
Avg. annual growth rate (2003 est.) 2.5%.
Health: Infant mortality rate--95/1,000. Life expectancy--53
years male; 59 years female.
Ethnic groups: Cambodian 90%; Chinese and Vietnamese 5% each; small
numbers of hill tribes, Chams, and Laotian.
Christian singles note - 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--none. Enrollment--primary
school, 93%; grades 7 to 9, 20%; grades 10 to 12, 7%; and
post-secondary, 1.2%. Completion rates--primary school, 6.6%;
secondary school, 2.4%; university, 0.8%. Literacy (total
population over 15 that can read and write, 2003 est.)--69.9% (male
80.5%; female 60.3%).
Government
Type: Constitutional monarchy.
Independence: November 9, 1953.
Constitution: September 24, 1993; amended March 6, 1999.
Branches: Executive--king (head of state), appointed prime
minister, seven deputy prime ministers, 15 senior ministers, 28
ministers, 135 secretaries of state, and 146 undersecretaries of
state. Legislative--National Assembly, consisting of 123
elected members; Senate, consisting of 61 members. Judicial--Supreme
Court and lower courts.
Administrative subdivisions: 20 provinces and 4 municipalities.
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 National
Assembly President Prince Norodom Ranariddh. Opposition parties–The
Sam Rainsy Party (SRP), led by Sam Rainsy; several minor parties.
Economy
GDP (2003 est.): $4.0 billion.
Per capita GDP (2003 est.): $282.
Annual growth rate (2003 est.): 5.0%.
Inflation (2003 est.): 1.3%.
Natural resources: Timber, gemstones, some iron ore, manganese and
phosphate, hydroelectric potential from the Mekong River.
Agriculture (33.4% of GDP, 2002 est.): 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 (26.3% of GDP, 2002 est.): 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 (34.2% of GDP, 2002 est.): Tourism, telecommunications,
transportation, and construction.
Central government budget (2003): Revenues--$430 million; expenditures--$644
million; foreign financing--$207 million.
Trade: Exports ($1.683 billion, 2003)--garments, shoes,
cigarettes, natural rubber, rice, pepper, wood, fish. Major
partners--United States, Germany, U.K., Singapore, Japan, Vietnam.
Imports ($1.73 billion, 2003)--fuels, cigarettes, vehicles,
consumer goods, machinery. Major partners--Thailand, Singapore,
China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Taiwan, United States.
Economic aid received: Pledges of $635 million in grants and
concessional loans (2002), with disbursement rate of 79%. Major
donors--Asian Development Bank (ADB), UN Development Program (UNDP),
World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Australia, Canada, Denmark,
the EU, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Sweden, Thailand, U.K., U.S.
According to the Cambodian government, actual aid disbursed was $500
million in 2003 with another $207 million in budgetary support in
2003.
Principal foreign commercial investors: Malaysia, Taiwan, U.S., China,
Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Thailand.
Exchange rate (2003): 3,973 riel per U.S.$1.
GEOGRAPHY
Cambodia is located on mainland Southeast Asia between Thailand to the
west and north and Vietnam to the east. It shares a land border with
Laos in the northeast. Cambodia has a sea coast on the Gulf of
Thailand. The Dangrek Mountain range in the north and Cardamom
Mountains in the southwest form natural boundaries. Principal physical
features include the Tonle Sap lake and the Mekong and Bassac Rivers.
Cambodia remains one of the most heavily forested countries in the
region, although deforestation continues at an alarming rate.
PEOPLE AND CULTURE
Ninety percent of Cambodia's population is ethnically
Cambodian. Other ethnic groups include Chinese, Vietnamese, hill
tribes, Chams, and Laotian. CHRISTIAN SINGLES NOTE-Theravada Buddhism
is the religion of 95% of the population; Islam, animism, and
Christianity also are practiced. Khmer is the official language and is
spoken by more than 95% of the population. Some French is still spoken
in urban areas, and English is increasingly popular as a second
language.
