CAMBODIA
GEOGRAPHY
Total area: 181,040 km2; land area: 176,520 km2
Comparative area: slightly smaller than Oklahoma
Land boundaries: 2,572 km total; 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
Disputes: offshore islands and three sections of the
boundary with Vietnam are in dispute; maritime boundary with Vietnam
not defined; occupied by Vietnam on 25 December 1978
Climate: tropical; rainy, monsoon season (May to October); dry
season (December to March); little seasonal temperature variation
Terrain: mostly low, flat plains; mountains in southwest and north
Natural resources: timber, gemstones, some iron ore, manganese,
phosphates, hydropower potential
Land use: arable land 16%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures
3%; forest and woodland 76%; other 4%; includes irrigated 1%
Environment: a land of paddies and forests dominated by Mekong
River and Tonle Sap
Note: buffer between Thailand and Vietnam
PEOPLE
Population: 7,146,386 (July 1991), growth rate 2.2% (1991)
Birth rate: 38 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 16 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Infant mortality rate: 125 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Life expectancy at birth: 48 years male, 51 years female (1991)
Total fertility rate: 4.5 children born/woman (1991)
Nationality: noun--Cambodian(s); adjective--Cambodian
Ethnic divisions: Khmer 90%, Chinese 5%, other 5%
Religion: Theravada Buddhism 95%, other 5%
Language: Khmer (official), French
Literacy: 35% (male 48%, female 22%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1990 est.)
Labor force: 2.5-3.0 million; agriculture 80% (1988 est.)
Organized labor: Kampuchea Federation of Trade Unions (FSC); under
government control
GOVERNMENT
Long-form name: none
Type: disputed between the National Government of Cambodia (NGC)
led by Prince NORODOM SIHANOUK, and the State of Cambodia (SOC) led by
HENG SAMRIN
Capital: Phnom Penh
Administrative divisions: NGC--18 provinces (khet, singular and
plural) and 1 capital city* (rottatheanei);
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, Stoeng Treng, Svay Rieng, Takev; note--the SOC adds
a province of Banteay Meanchey and an autonomous municipality of
Kampong Saom to the NGC administrative structure
Independence: 9 November 1953 (from France)
Constitution: SOC--27 June 1981
National holidays: NGC--Independence Day, 17 April (1975);
SOC--Liberation Day, 7 January (1979)
Executive branch: NGC--president, prime minister; SOC--chairman
of the Council of State, Council of State, chairman of the Council of
Ministers, Council of Ministers
Legislative branch: NGC--none; SOC--unicameral National Assembly
Judicial branch: NGC--none; SOC--Supreme People's Court
Leaders:
Chief of State--NGC--President Prince NORODOM SIHANOUK
(since NA July 1982); SOC--Chairman of the Council of State HENG
SAMRIN (since 27 June 1981)
Head of Government--NGC--Prime Minister SON SANN (since NA July
1982);
SOC--Chairman of the Council of Ministers HUN SEN (since 14 January 1985)
Political parties and leaders: NGC--three resistance groups
including:
Democratic Kampuchea (DK, also known as the Khmer Rouge) under KHIEU
SAMPHAN;
Khmer People's National Liberation Front (KPNLF) under SON SANN;
and National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful, and
Cooperative Cambodia (FUNCINPEC) under Prince NORODOM RANNARIDH;
SOC--Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party (KPRP) led by HENG SAMRIN
Suffrage: NGC--none; SOC--universal at age 18
Elections:
NGC--none;
SOC--National Assembly--last held 1 May 1981; in February 1986 the
Assembly voted to extend its term for five years; results--KPRP is the
only party;
seats--(123 total) KPRP 123
Member of: AsDB, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA,
ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, ITU, LORCS, NAM, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU,
WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation: none
Flag:
NGC--three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (double width), and blue
with a white stylized three-towered temple representing Angkor Wat
centered on the red band;
SOC--two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and blue with a gold
stylized five-towered temple representing Angkor Wat in the center
ECONOMY
Overview: Cambodia is a desperately poor country whose economic
development has been stymied by deadly political infighting. The
economy is based on agriculture and related industries. Over the
past decade Cambodia has been slowly recovering from its near destruction
by war and political upheaval. It still remains, however, one of the
world's poorest countries, with an estimated per capita GDP of about
$130. The food situation is precarious; during the 1980s famine has
been averted only through international relief. In 1986 the production
level of rice, the staple food crop, was able to meet only 80% of
domestic needs. The biggest success of the nation's recovery program has
been in new rubber plantings and in fishing. Industry, other than rice
processing, is almost nonexistent. Foreign trade is primarily with the
USSR and Vietnam. Statistical data on the economy continues to be sparse
and unreliable. Foreign aid from the USSR and Eastern Europe almost
certainly is being slashed.
GDP: $890 million, per capita $130; real growth rate 0% (1989 est.)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues $NA; expenditures $NA, including capital
expenditures of $NA
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 50% (first half 1990)
Exports: $32 million (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--natural rubber, rice, pepper, wood;
partners--Vietnam, USSR, Eastern Europe, Japan, India
Imports: $147 million (c.i.f., 1988);
commodities--international food aid; fuels, consumer goods,
machinery;
partners--Vietnam, USSR, Eastern Europe, Japan, India
External debt: $600 million (1989)
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: 126,000 kW capacity; 150 million kWh produced,
20 kWh per capita (1990)
Industries: rice milling, fishing, wood and wood products, rubber,
cement, gem mining
Agriculture: mainly subsistence farming except for rubber
plantations; main crops--rice, rubber, corn; food shortages--rice, meat,
vegetables, dairy products, sugar, flour
Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $719
million; Western (non-US) countries (1970-88), $285 million; Communist
countries (1970-89), $1,800 million
Currency: riel (plural--riels); 1 riel (CR) = 100 sen
Exchange rates: riels (CR) per US$1--560 (November 1990), 159.00
(1988), 100.00 (1987), 30.00 (1986), 7.00 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
COMMUNICATIONS
Railroads: 612 km 1.000-meter gauge, government owned
Highways: 13,351 km total; 2,622 km bituminous; 7,105 km crushed
stone, gravel, or improved earth; 3,624 km unimproved earth; some roads
in disrepair
Inland waterways: 3,700 km navigable all year to craft drawing 0.6
meters; 282 km navigable to craft drawing 1.8 meters
Ports: Kampong Saom, Phnom Penh
Airports: 22 total, 9 usable; 6 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
4 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: service barely adequate for government
requirements and virtually nonexistent for general public; international
service limited to Vietnam and other adjacent countries; stations--1 AM,
no FM, 1 TV
DEFENSE FORCES
Branches: SOC--Cambodian People's Armed Forces (CPAF); Communist
resistance forces--National Army of Democratic Kampuchea (Khmer Rouge);
non-Communist resistance forces--Armee National Kampuchea Independent
(ANKI) which is sometimes anglicized as National Army of Independent
Cambodia (NAIC) and Khmer People's National Liberation Armed Forces
(KPNLAF)
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 1,869,880; 1,030,356 fit for
military service; 57,288 reach military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP