Demographics
Based on the 2004 intercensal survey, Cambodia’s population is projected to have been around 14.3 million by the end of 2007. The population density is 74 per square kilometre. The median age is just under 20 years, with the proportion aged 0-24 being twice that of those aged 25-50. The male-to-female ratio is gradually normalizing after the distortions caused by 30 years of war during the last century. Eighty-five per cent of the population lives in rural areas, but there is a significant urban drift, especially among young people.
Mainly due to a decline in early mortality, life expectancy increased in the period from 1998 to 2003 from 52 to 60 years for males and from 56 to 65 for females. The total fertility rate dropped from 4.0 births per woman in 2000 to 3.4 in 2005, achieving the Cambodian Millennium target for 2010, predominantly occurring as a result of a decline in fertility among rural women; the annual population growth rate between 1998 and 2005 declined from 2.5% to 1.9%. Forty per cent of women use contraceptives, 27.0% of them modern methods. One quarter of currently married women have an unmet need for family planning, which is especially high among women in the lowest wealth quintile and women with no education. The Cambodian Demographic Health Survey (CDHS) 2005 concluded that both education and wealth have an effect on fertility. The interval between births is relatively long, at a median of 36.8 months.
The CDHS 2005 reports a maternal mortality ratio of 472 deaths per 100 000 live births, which does not show significant change from the CDHS 2000 and is one of the highest in the Region. Infant and under-five mortality rates have both declined significantly over the past 25 years, with the most dramatic declines happening since the late 1990s: comparison between the two most recent five-year periods in the CDHS 2005 shows infant and under-five mortality declining by 39% and 35%, respectively, to 66 and 83 deaths per 1000 live births. Socioeconomic characteristics, such as living in an urban environment, the mother’s educational level and the mother’s household wealth, influence infant and child survival substantially.
Political situation
Since completion of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) mission and promulgation of the 1993 Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia, increased political stability has allowed economic growth, improvements in human development indicators and reintegration of the country into the international community. Parliamentary elections are held every five years, the next being scheduled for 2008. Poverty alleviation and governance are increasingly important items on the Government’s agenda.
In September 2004, the Government issued its "Rectangular Strategy", with reforms focusing on corruption, the judiciary, public administration and the military as core priorities for its current term. The National Strategic Development Plan 2006-2010, combining previous poverty-reduction strategy papers and socioeconomic development plans, specifies the prioritized goals, targets and actions, including the Cambodian Millennium Development Goals, and was drafted in collaboration with development partners.
Socioeconomic situation
Cambodia has successfully maintained macroeconomic stability since 1993, allowing for an average annual growth rate of 7.1% for the period from 1994 to 2004, increasing to 13.5% in 2005, and 10.4% in 2006. The year 2007 showed lower economic performance, at 8.5%, but was still higher than the initial projection of around 7%. This growth, while reducing poverty by 10%-15%, has increased inequality, as reflected in a Gini coefficient of 42.0 in 2004. Over 85% of the labour force is in the informal sector, with employment in industry (mainly the garment industry) growing substantially during the period from 1998 to 2004, stimulated by preferential trade status with the United States of America. Although this status has now ended, the change does not seem to have affected growth. Increases in tourism and construction are the other recent drivers of economic growth. Agriculture, mainly rice production, accounts for 40% of gross domestic product (GDP) and employs more than 70.0% of the workforce. Annual flooding and drought result in year-to-year fluctuations in agricultural production. Diversifying this rather narrow income base and strengthening rural development are government priorities.
Thirty years of war and serious internal conflict at the end of the last century left Cambodia severely impoverished, with a significant depletion of skilled, educated professionals. In 1990, the Human Development Index (HDI) was 0.51, but by 2005 it had increased to 0.60, moving Cambodia from the low to the medium human development category. Despite this achievement, the country still has some of the worst human development indicators in South-East Asia. In 2006, per capita GDP was US$ 419, with 35% of the total population still living below the official rural and urban poverty lines of US$ 0.46 and US$ 0.63 (1999). In some rural areas, the percentage of the population living below the poverty line rises to 79.0%.
The Constitution guarantees women and men the same legal protection. However, women are disproportionately vulnerable in economic terms. While labour force participation for both is about 60%, over 60% of working women are in unpaid family work, and women head more than 25% of households.
Vulnerabilities and hazards
Like many developing countries, Cambodia faces a range of vulnerabilities and risks, including traditional, modern and emerging health and environmental risks. These risks emanate from unsafe water and inadequate sanitation; unsafe food supplies, especially from street vendors; indoor air pollution and solid fuel use; as well as disease-vector transmission. However, the country is also subject to emerging issues, including health risks related to changes in the global environment (e.g. climate change and biodiversity loss); development, consumption and production of new products and technologies; consumption and production of more energy sources; and the increasing number and use of chemicals. There are also increasing health risks related to changes in lifestyle, urbanization and working conditions.
According to the latest WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) Report on Drinking Water and Sanitation, 65% of the total population has sustainable access to an improved water source (80% in urban and 61% in rural areas) and only 28% to improved sanitation (62% in urban and 19% in rural areas) in 2006. Other environmental health hazards include bacteriological contamination of drinking water, the most important health-related concern; arsenic in groundwater, which poses a health threat in seven provinces, exposing around 2.24 million people; indoor and urban air pollution, which is a serious health threat due to almost 98 % of the population using biomass fuels for cooking or heating; use of banned pesticides and fertilizers, which has the potential to contaminate food and water; and finally, the serious environmental health impacts from solid and hazardous wastes, including health care waste.