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Cambodia: Country
Report
Images Courtesy of: CIA World Fact Book
Cambodia: A Struggle for Freedom
Following Japanese occupation in World War II, Cambodia gained
full independence from France in 1953. However f reedom was short lived
and in April of 1975, after a five -year struggle, Communist Khmer Rouge
forces captured Phnom Penh ( the Capitol and largest cit y in Cambodia).
They immediatel y 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. This number is equal to the
population of current day Phnom Penh. 13 years of civil war ended when
in December of 1978 Vietnamese invasion drove the Khmer Rouge into the
countryside, beginning a 10 -year Vietnamese occupation. Conflict started
back however for another decade. The United Nations finall y intervened
in 1991 with the Paris Peace Accords, which was not full y respected by
the Khmer Rouge. UN-sponsored elections in 1993 helped restore some
semblance of normalcy under a coalition government however conflict
still persisted. Due to f actional fighting and the fact the country was still
in crisis, Cambodia’s elections ended up in Coalition governments in 1993
and 1997. Major success came in 1999 when the Khmer Rouge officiall y
surrendered. 1 Over the past 13 years since 1999 the country has been
fighting for growth and development.
1 CIA World Fact Book https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cb.html 14 June 2012
Economic Indicators
The Cambodian econom y has grown rapidly over the past decade.
However it is important to note that the econom y was among the worlds
worst when growth began thus making their current world rank relativel y
low. From 2004 to 2008, the econom y grew about 10% per year, driven
largel y by an expansion in the garment sector, construction, agriculture,
and tourism. The Cambodian government is working with bilateral and
multilateral donors, includi ng the World Bank and IMF, to address the
country's many pressing needs. 2
 Population: Cambodia has an estimated population of 14,805,358
people. Ninet y percent of Cambodia’s population is of Khmer origin
and speak the Khmer language.
The 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. More than 50% of the population is less than 25 years
old. The population lac ks education and productive skills,
particularl y in the povert y-ridden countryside, which suffers from
an almost total lack of basic infrastructure. 3
 GDP: With an annual GDP of $32.95 billion, Cambodia is ranked
106 t h in the world. However their GDP real g rowth rate is 6.7%,
which ranks them 30 t h in this category. 4
 Currency/ GDP: The Riel (KHR) is the Cambodian currency. The
UN peacekeeping operation of 1993 injected a large quantit y of
U.S. dollars into the local econom y. As a result, the dollar has
become the country’s common currency. 5
2 CIA World Fact Book https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cb.html 14 June 2012
3 CIA World Fact Book https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cb.html 14 June 2012
4 CIA World Fact Book https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cb.html 14 June 2012
5 International Economies http://intl.econ.cuhk.edu.hk/exchange_rate_regime/index.php?cid=13 10 June 2012
G r a p h c o u r t e s y o f : E u r o Mo n e yC o u n t r yR i s k . c o m 6
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GDP (pc): Little of this money has trickled down to the citizens as
GDP per capita is merel y $2,300, ranking the country 185 t h out of
226. 7
Income Inequalit y: Income inequalit y is unfortunatel y on the rise.
The Gini coefficient (which measures inequalit y - 0 being perfect
equalit y and 1 being absolute inequalit y) has moved upwards from
0.35 in 1994 to 0.40 in 2004 and 0.43 in 2007. As a recent trend,
inequalit y has increased not onl y between rural and urban areas, but
also within rural areas. Rural inequalit y rose from 0.27 in 1994 to
0.36 in 2007. 8
Sectors of Econom y: Agriculture is still the primary economic
sector of Cambodia accounting fo r 30% of the GDP and over 57% of
the labor force. Cambodia primaril y produces rice, rubber, corn,
vegetables, cashews, cassava (manioc), silk. However the service
industry is quickl y on the rise and account s for 40% of the GDP and
occupies nearl y 27% of the labor force. Industry accounts for t he
rest of the labor force and GDP. 9
Unemployment Rate: Another promising indicator of growth is
Cambodia’s low unemployment rate of just 3.5%. 10
6 Euro Money Country Risk http://www.euromoneycountryrisk.com/wiki/cambodia 11 June 2012
7 CIA World Fact Book https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cb.html 14 June 2012
8 United Nations http://www.un.org.kh/undp/what-we-do/poverty-reduction/poverty-reduction 8 June 2012
9 CIA World Fact Book https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cb.html 14 June 2012
10 CIA World Fact Book https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cb.html 14 June 2012
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Exports: The garment industry currentl y employs more than 300,000
people - onl y 5% of the work force - and contributes more than 70%
of Cambodia's exports. Rubber exports increased about 50% in 2011
due to continued demand for raw rubber, particularl y from China,
Malaysia, and Vietnam. Cambodian exports, and construction is
declining due to a shortage of credit. Th e long-term development of
the econom y remains a daunting challenge. 11
Economic aid received/ Donors: $989 million in grants or concessional loans
were disbursed in 2009. Major donors--Asian Development Bank (ADB), UN
Development Program (UNDP), World Bank, International Monetary Fund,
Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, the EU, France, Germany, Italy, Japan,
Sweden, Thailand, the U.K., and the U.S.12
Political Considerations
Cambodia is a multipart y democracy under a constitutional monarchy. The
Cambodian P eople’s Part y is the major ruling part y in Cambodia.
 Executive Branch: Chief of State is King Norodom S IHAMONI
(since 29 October 2004). Head of government is Prime Minister
HUN SEN (since 14 January 1985). Elections for the king are
chosen by a Royal Thro ne Council from among all eligible males of
royal decent. 13
 Legislative Branch: The legislature is a bicameral system. The
Senate (61 seats; 2 members appointed by the monarch, 2 elected by
the National Assembly, and 57 elected by parliamentarians and
commune councils; members serve five -year terms) and the
National Assembl y (123 seats; members elected by popular vote to
serve five-year terms). 14
 Judiciary: Supreme Court system established in 1997 in the
constitution. 15 The system is o ften criticized by intern ational
organizations like the UN Humans Rights Council who have been
quoted as saying “the nation still has too many shortcomings in its
justice system”. 16
11 CIA World Fact Book https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cb.html 14 June 2012
12 U.S Department of State http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2732.htm 7 June 2012
13 CIA World Fact Book https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cb.html 14 June 2012
14 U.S Department of State http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2732.htm 7 June 2012
15 CIA World Fact Book https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cb.html 14 June 2012
16 United Nations http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=35052&Cr=cambodia&Cr1 6 June 2012
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Level of Freedom: On a scale of 0 -7 with 0 being the weakest and 7
the strongest, Cambodia’s freedom rankings range between 2 -4
(Accountabilit y and Public Voice: 3.28, Civil Liberties: 3.33, Rule
of Law: 2.22, Anticorruption and Transparency: 2.46). 17 Freedom
House, like the UN, sees Rule of Law and the Judiciary S ystem to
be a serious problem.
Crisis & UN Involvement
In response to the Khmer Rouge and the atrocities under Pol Pot the UN
intervened in 1991 with Paris Peace Accords. Immediatel y following the
peace agreements , the UN Securit y Council enacted UNTAC under
resolution 745 in 1992. At the mis sion’s height, there were 15,547 -armed
troops, 893-military observers, 3,500 -civilian police, with over 100 UN
officer deaths, and over $1 .6 billion (U.S dollars) spent. The two main
goals of UNTAC were to hold free and fair elections leading to a new
constitution, and to “kick-start” the rehabilitation of the country. 18
The UN simultaneousl y ran UNTAC with a program of humanitarian
assistance to the Cambodian People. Funded by UN member states,
humanitarian aid consisted of three major locations – the operations in
Cambodia, at the border, and within Thailand. UNHCR (UN High Refugee
Agency), a subsidiary organ of the Economic and Social Council
(ECOSOC) provided much assistance for refugees crossing the border.
UNBRO (UN Border Relief Operations) was set up in 1982 to help control
borders. 19
A major step towards normalization
occurred with the elections of May
1993. Twent y parties took part in
the elections. UNTAC oversaw the
electoral campaign and registration
of voters, as well as the elections
themselves and over 90% of the
population casted their ballots to
elect a Constituent Assembl y. In
September, the Constitution was
17 Freedom House http://www.freedomhouse.org/country/cambodia 9 June 2012
18 United Nations http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/missions/past/untacbackgr1.html 9 June 2012
19 United Nations http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/missions/past/untacbackgr1.html 9 June 2012
Image Courtesy of: Cacombodia.org25
proclaimed and a new government, led by two prime ministers, was
inaugurated. After the withdrawal of UNTAC, the UN remained in the
country to support development. 20
Current Day Cambodia
Cambodia still lacks democracy. Although there are now elections and
violence is on the decline, there are still many problem areas when it
comes to the ruling Cambodian People’s Part y. The CCP contr ols the
lower and uppers chambers of parliament and it is clear that political
suppression persists. Instead of using physical violence, the ruling CCP
has employed the subordinate judiciary to suppress the media from
criticizing the government, to prevent civil societ y organizations from
protecting the poor and articulating alternation discourses, and opposition
parties from voicing their opinions. Once again we find the judiciary
branch to be a major problem in the Cambodian government. 21
However there are many promising aspects to present day Cambodia
especiall y in regards to their econom y. The tourism industry is the
country’s second great est source of hard currency after the textile
industry. 22 Tourism has increased steadil y each year in the relativel y
stable period since 1993 UNTAC elections. In 1993 there were 118 ,183
international tourists, and in 2009 there were 2,161,577. 23
The qualit y of health care in Cambodia is also on the rise. As of 2010, the
life expectancy was 60 years for males and 65 yea rs for females, a major
improvement since 1999 when the average life expectancy was 49.8 and
48.8 respectivel y. 24
Acknowledgements:
Research and Data Development Provided by: John Speedling, Research Assistant, under the
Supervision and Coordination of: Dr. Gerard Janco, President of Eurasia Center.
20 United Nations http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/missions/past/untacbackgr1.html 9 June 2012
21 Kheang Un http://ips.sagepub.com.libdatabase.newpaltz.edu/content/32/5/546.full.pdf+html 9 June 2012
22 U.S Department of State http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2732.htm 7 June 2012
23 Cambodia Tourism http://www.cambodia-tourism.org/download/Cambodia_Touris_Statistics_2010.pdf 8 June 2012
24 Embassy of Cambodia http://www.embassyofcambodia.org.nz/cambodia.htm 13 June 2012
25 Cambodia Election Baseline Survey http://www.cascambodia.org/baselinesurvey.htm 13 June 2012