Cambodia

Cambodia

General Information
Geography
Government
Economy
Population
Health
Communications and media
Chronology


GENERAL INFORMATION

National name Preah Réaché'anachâkr Kâmpuchéa/Kingdom of Cambodia Area 181,035 sq km/69,897 sq mi Capital Phnom Penh Language Khmer (official), French Religion Theravada Buddhist 95%, Muslim, Roman Catholic Time difference GMT +7 Major holidays 9 January, 17 April, 1, 20 May, 22 September; variable: New Year (April)


GEOGRAPHY

Major towns/cities Battambang, Kompong Cham, Siem Reap, Prey Vêng, Preah Seihânu Major ports Kompong Cham Physical features mostly flat, forested plains with mountains in southwest and north; Mekong River runs north–south; Lake Tonle Sap Airports one international airport and five domestic airports; total passengers carried: 116,000 (2003 est) Railways total length: 649 km/403 mi; total passenger journeys: 431,000 (2000) Roads total road network: 12,323 km/7,657 mi, of which 16.2% paved (2000 est); passenger cars: 29.9 per 1,000 people (2001 est)


GOVERNMENT

Head of state King Norodom Sihanouk from 1991 Head of government Hun Sen from 1998 Political system emergent democracy Political executive dual executive Administrative divisions 20 provinces and three municipalities Political parties United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful, and Cooperative Cambodia (FUNCINPEC), nationalist, monarchist; Liberal Democratic Party (BLDP), republican, anticommunist (formerly the Khmer People's National Liberation Front (KPNLF)); Cambodian People's Party (CPP), reform socialist (formerly the communist Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party (KPRP)); Cambodian National Unity Party (CNUP) (political wing of the Khmer Rouge), ultranationalist communist Death penalty abolished in 1989 Armed forces 124,300; plus paramilitary forces of 67,000 (2006 est) Conscription military service is compulsory for five years between ages 18 and 35; conscription authorized but not implemented since 1993 Defence spend (% GDP) 2 (2005 est) Education spend (% GDP) 1.8 (2003 est) Health spend (% GDP) 2.1 (2004)


ECONOMY

Currency Cambodian riel GDP (US$) 5.4 billion (2005 est) Real GDP growth (% change on previous year) 5 (2006 est) GNI (US$) 5.3 billion (2005 est) GNI per capita (PPP) (US$) 2,490 (2005 est) Consumer price inflation 5% (2006 est) Unemployment 1.8% (2001) Labour force 70.2% agriculture, 10.5% industry, 19.3% services (2002) Foreign debt (US$) 3.4 billion (2004 est) Major trading partners USA, Thailand, Vietnam, China (including Hong Kong), South Korea, Singapore, Germany, UK, Canada Resources phosphates, iron ore, gemstones, bauxite, silicon, manganese Industries rubber processing, seafood processing, rice milling, textiles and garments, pharmaceutical products, cigarettes Exports garments, timber, rubber, fishery products. Principal market: USA 58.6% (2005) Imports construction materials, petroleum products, cigarettes, motor vehicles, alcoholic beverages, consumer electronics. Principal source: Thailand 25.6% (2005) Arable land 20.4% (2006 est) Agricultural products rice, maize, sugar cane, cassava, bananas; timber and rubber (the two principal export commodities); fishing


POPULATION

Population 14,351,00 (2006 est) Population growth rate 2% (2005–10) Population density (per sq km) 79 (2006 est) Urban population (% of total) 20 (2005 est) Age distribution (% of total population) 0–14 37%, 15–59 57%, 60+ 6% (2005 est) Ethnic groups 90% Khmer, 5% Vietnamese, 1% Chinese Life expectancy 55 (men); 61 (women) (2005–10) Child mortality rate (under 5, per 1,000 live births) 141 (2004) Education (compulsory years) 6 Literacy rate 81% (men); 59% (women) (2004 est)


HEALTH

Physicians (per 10,000 people) 1.6 (2004 est) Hospital beds (per 1,000 people) 2.1 (2002 est) HIV infection (% of population aged 15–49) 1.6 (2005 est) AIDS deaths 16,000 (2005 est) Access to drinking-water source (% of total population) 58 (urban); 29 (rural) (2002)


COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA

Landline telephones (per 100 people) 0.3 (2005 est) Mobile phone subscribers (per 100 people) 7.6 (2005 est) Radios (per 1,000 people) 119 (2001 est) TV sets (per 1,000 people) 8 (2004 est) Personal computer users (per 100 people) 0.3 (2005 est) Internet users (per 100 people) 0.3 (2005 est)


CHRONOLOGY

1st century AD Part of the kingdom of Hindu-Buddhist Funan (Fou Nan), centred on Mekong delta region. 6th century Conquered by the Chenla kingdom. 9th century Establishment by Jayavarman II of extensive and sophisticated Khmer Empire, supported by an advanced irrigation system and architectural achievements. 14th century Theravada Buddhism replaced Hinduism. 15th century Came under the control of Siam (Thailand), which made Phnom Penh the capital and, later, Champa (Vietnam). 1863 Became a French protectorate. 1887 Became part of French Indo-China Union, which included Laos and Vietnam. 1941 Prince Norodom Sihanouk was elected king. 1941–45 Occupied by Japan during World War II. 1946 Recaptured by France; parliamentary constitution adopted. 1949 Guerrilla war for independence secured semi-autonomy within the French Union. 1953 Independence was achieved from France as the Kingdom of Cambodia. 1955 Norodom Sihanouk abdicated as king and became prime minister, representing the Popular Socialist Community mass movement. His father, Norodom Suramarit, became king. 1960 On the death of his father, Norodom Sihanouk became head of state. later 1960s There was mounting guerrilla insurgency, led by the communist Khmer Rouge, and civil war in neighbouring Vietnam. 1970 Sihanouk was overthrown by US-backed Lt-Gen Lon Nol in a right-wing coup; the new name of Khmer Republic was adopted; Sihanouk, exiled in China, formed his own guerrilla movement. 1975 Lon Nol overthrown by the Khmer Rouge, backed by North Vietnam and China; Sihanouk became head of state. 1976 Khmer Republic renamed Democratic Kampuchea. 1976–78 Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, introduced extreme Maoist communist programme, forcing urban groups into rural areas and resulting in over 2.5 million deaths from famine, disease, and maltreatment; Sihanouk was removed from power. 1978–79 Vietnam invaded and installed a government headed by Heng Samrin, an anti-Pol Pot communist. 1979 Democratic Kampuchea renamed People's Republic of Kampuchea. 1980–82 Faced by guerrilla resistance from Pol Pot's Chinese-backed Khmer Rouge and Sihanouk's Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and US-backed nationalists, more than 300,000 Cambodians fled to refugee camps in Thailand and thousands of soldiers were killed. 1985 Reformist Hun Sen appointed prime minister and more moderate economic and cultural policies pursued. 1987–89 Vietnamese troops withdrawn. 1989 Country renamed State of Cambodia and Buddhism re-established as state religion. 1991 Ceasefire achieved; United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) began administering country with all-party Supreme National Council. Sihanouk returned as head of state. 1992 Political prisoners released, refugees resettled, and freedom of speech restored; Khmer Rouge refused to disarm. 1993 Royalist Funcinpec party won general elections (boycotted by Khmer Rouge, who continued fighting); new constitution adopted. Sihanouk reinstated as constitutional monarch; son Prince Norodom Ranariddh, Funcinpec leader, appointed prime minister, with CPP leader Hun Sen as deputy. 1994 Antigovernment coup foiled. Seven thousand Khmer Rouge guerrillas surrendered in response to amnesty. 1995 Prince Norodom Sirivudh, Funcinpec leader and half-brother of King Sihanouk, exiled for allegedly plotting to assassinate Hun Sen and topple government. 1996 Heightened tensions between Hun Sen's CPP and royalist Funcinpec. 1997 Pol Pot sentenced to life imprisonment. Funcinpec troops routed CPP, led by Hun Sen. Prime Minister Prince Norodom Ranariddh deposed and replaced by Ung Huot. Fighting between supporters of Hun Sen and Ranariddh. 1998 Ranariddh found guilty of arms smuggling and colluding with Khmer Rouge; pardoned by king. Pol Pot died and thousands of Khmer Rouge guerrillas defected. CPP won elections; political unrest followed. New CPP–Funcinpec coalition formed, with Hun Sen as prime minister and Prince Norodom Ranariddh as president. Cambodia reoccupied its UN seat. 2001 Senate approved creation of international tribunal to prosecute former leaders of Khmer Rouge. 2003 Thai embassy in Phnom Penh set on fire by rioters and Thai-owned businesses attacked after claims by Thai actress that Cambodia's Angkor Wat ancient temple complex belonged to the Thai people. Ruling CPP won general elections but failed to win enough seats to govern alone. 2004 Prime Minister Hun Sen re-elected after ruling CPP struck deal with Funcinpec party. Entry into World Trade Organization (WTO) ratified by parliament. King Sihanouk abdicated; succeeded by son Norodom Sihamoni. 2005 Tribunal to try former Khmer Rouge leaders approved by UN after years of discussions regarding funding. 2006 Prison terms for defamation (used to jail government critics) abolished by parliament. Ta Mok (a Khmer Rouge leader), died aged 80. Funcinpec party dropped Prince Norodom Ranariddh as its leader. 2007 Prince Norodom Ranariddh, in self-imposed exile in France, was sentenced in absentia to 18 months in prison for selling Funcinpec's headquarters (allegedly for $3.6 million); he denied the charge.


© RM 2009. Helicon Publishing is division of RM.