ARCHIVE // KH // 1990
Cambodia
1990 Edition — sovereign
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Communications
Airports
[time series]
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
Roadways
(Highways)
[time series]
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
Waterways
(Inland waterways)
[time series]
3,700 km navigable all year to craft drawing 0.6 meters; 282 km navigable to craft drawing 1.8 meters
Ports
[time series]
Kampong Saom, Phnom Penh
Railways
(Railroads)
[time series]
612 km 1.000-meter gauge, government owned
Telecommunication systems
(Telecommunications)
[time series]
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
Military and security forces
(Branches)
[time series]
PRK--People's Republic of Kampuchea Armed Forces; Communist resistance forces--National Army of Democratic Kampuchea (Khmer Rouge); non-Communist resistance forces--Sihanoukist National Army (ANS) and Khmer People's National Liberation Front (KPNLF)
Military expenditures
(Defense expenditures)
[time series]
NA
Military manpower
[time series]
males 15-49, 1,857,129; 1,025,456 fit for military service; 61,649 reach military age (18) annually
Economy
Agricultural products
(Agriculture)
[time series]
mainly subsistence farming except for rubber plantations; main crops--rice, rubber, corn; food shortages--rice, meat, vegetables, dairy products, sugar, flour
Aid
[time series]
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $719 million; Western (non-US) countries (1970-85), $270 million; Communist countries (1970-88), $950 million
Budget
[time series]
revenues $NA; expenditures $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Exchange rates
(Currency)
[time series]
riel (plural--riels); 1 riel (CR) = 100 sen
Electricity
[time series]
126,000 kW capacity; 150 million kWh produced, 21 kWh per capita (1989)
Exchange rates
[time series]
riels (CR) per US$1--218 (November 1989) 100.00 (1987), 30.00 (1986), 7.00 (1985)
Exports
[time series]
$32 million (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--natural rubber, rice, pepper, wood; partners--Vietnam, USSR, Eastern Europe, Japan, India
Debt - external
(External debt)
[time series]
$600 million (1989)
Fiscal year
[time series]
calendar year
Real GDP (purchasing power parity)
(GDP)
[time series]
$890 million, per capita $130; real growth rate 0% (1989 est.)
Imports
[time series]
$147 million (c.i.f., 1988); commodities--international food aid; fuels, consumer goods; partners--Vietnam, USSR, Eastern Europe, Japan, India
Industrial production growth rate
(Industrial production)
[time series]
growth rate NA%
Industries
[time series]
rice milling, fishing, wood and wood products, rubber, cement, gem mining
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
[time series]
NA%
Economic overview
(Overview)
[time series]
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.
Unemployment rate
[time series]
NA%
Geography
Climate
[time series]
tropical; rainy, monsoon season (May to October); dry season (December to March); little seasonal temperature variation
Coastline
[time series]
443 km
Area - comparative
(Comparative area)
[time series]
slightly smaller than Oklahoma
Contiguous zone
[time series]
24 nm;
Continental shelf
[time series]
200 nm;
Disputes - international
(Disputes)
[time series]
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
Environment - current issues
(Environment)
[time series]
a land of paddies and forests dominated by Mekong River and Tonle Sap
Extended economic zone
[time series]
200 nm;
Land boundaries
[time series]
2,572 km total; Laos 541 km, Thailand 803 km, Vietnam 1,228 km
Land use
[time series]
16% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 3% meadows and pastures; 76% forest and woodland; 4% other; includes 1% irrigated
Natural resources
[time series]
timber, gemstones, some iron ore, manganese, phosphates, hydropower potential
Note
[time series]
buffer between Thailand and Vietnam
Terrain
[time series]
mostly low, flat plains; mountains in southwest and north
Maritime claims
(Territorial sea)
[time series]
12 nm
Area
(Total area)
[time series]
181,040 km2; land area: 176,520 km2
Government
Administrative divisions
[time series]
18 provinces (khet, singular and plural) and 1 autonomous municipality* (rottatheanei, singular and plural); 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--there may be a new province of Banteay Meanchey and Siemreab-Otdar Meanchey may have been divided into two provinces named Siemreab and Otdar Meanchey
Capital
[time series]
Phnom Penh
Constitution
[time series]
27 June 1981
Diplomatic representation in the US
(Diplomatic representation)
[time series]
none CGDK--red with the yellow silhouette of a stylized three-towered temple representing Angkor Wat in the center; Non-Communists--three horizontal bands of blue, red (double width), and blue with a white stylized temple representing Angkor Wat centered on the red band; PRK--red with the yellow silhouette of a stylized five-towered temple representing Angkor Wat in the center
Executive branch
[time series]
CGDK--president, prime minister; PRK--chairman of the Council of State, Council of State, chairman of the Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers
Independence
[time series]
9 November 1953 (from France)
Judicial branch
[time series]
CGDK--none; PRK--Supreme People's Court Chief of State--CGDK--President Prince NORODOM SIHANOUK (since NA July 1982); PRK--Chairman of the Council of State HENG SAMRIN (since 27 June 1981); Head of Government--CGDK--Prime Minister SON SANN (since NA July 1982); PRK--Chairman of the Council of Ministers HUN SEN (since 14 January 1985)
Legislative branch
[time series]
CGDK--none; PRK--unicameral National Assembly
Country name
(Long-form name)
[time series]
none
International organization participation
(Member of)
[time series]
ADB, Colombo Plan, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, IRC, ITU, Mekong Committee (inactive), NAM, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO for CGDK; none for PRK
National holiday
(National holidays)
[time series]
CGDK--Independence Day, 17 April (1975); PRK--Liberation Day, 7 January (1979)
Political parties
(Political parties and leaders)
[time series]
CGDK--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 Sihanouk; PRK--Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party (KPRP) led by Heng Samrin
Suffrage
[time series]
universal at age 18 CGDK--none; PRK--National Assembly--last held 1 May 1981; in February 1986 the Assembly voted to extend its term for five years (next to be held by March 1990); results--KPRP is the only party; seats--(123 total) KPRP 123
Government type
(Type)
[time series]
disputed between the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea (CGDK) led by Prince NORODOM SIHANOUK and the People's Republic of Kampuchea (PRK) led by HENG SAMRIN
People
Birth rate
[time series]
39 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate
[time series]
16 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Ethnic groups
(Ethnic divisions)
[time series]
90% Khmer (Cambodian), 5% Chinese, 5% other minorities
Infant mortality rate
[time series]
128 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Labor force
[time series]
2.5-3.0 million; 80% agriculture (1988 est.)
Languages
(Language)
[time series]
Khmer (official), French
Life expectancy at birth
[time series]
47 years male, 50 years female (1990)
Literacy
[time series]
48%
Nationality
[time series]
noun--Cambodian(s); adjective--Cambodian
Net migration rate
[time series]
0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Organized labor
[time series]
Kampuchea Federation of Trade Unions (FSC); under government control
Population
[time series]
6,991,107 (July 1990), growth rate 2.2% (1990)
Religions
(Religion)
[time series]
95% Theravada Buddhism, 5% other
Total fertility rate
[time series]
4.5 children born/woman (1990)