Geography

Physical geography

Cambodia covers an area of 176,520 square kilometres and stretches about 580 kilometres from east to west and 450 kilometres from north to south. The country is dominated by the fertile lowland around the north–south flowing Mekong River and Tonle Sap (Great Lake). The lowland is bordered by forested highland, whose highest point is Phnum Aoral at 1,810 metres.

Climate

Cambodia has a tropical monsoonal climate with distinct wet and dry seasons. During the wet season (May to September) spectacular electrical storms can flood large areas within minutes. Temperatures are high all year round with the annual average varying from 21 °C to 35 °C.

Environment

In 1990, forest covered almost three-quarters of Cambodia. Extensive logging means that today only 57% of the land area is forested. These areas are home to small numbers of elephants, tigers, leopards, rhinoceros, gibbons, bats and crocodiles. Butterflies, snakes and birds such as cormorants, cranes and ducks are also common. Landmines left over from the civil war in the 1970s make much of the land inaccessible.

Population

The vast majority of the over 14 million population live in the central lowlands region. Most live in farming communities, while about 23% live in urban areas. During the dry season many thousands of people move into the cities from the countryside to seek work.

People

Culture and identity

Most people are Khmer, with small Vietnamese, Chinese and Cham communities. There are also indigenous hill tribes in the remote north-east of Cambodia.

Cambodians traditionally greet each other by pressing their palms together in front of their bodies and bowing, called a sompeah. Generally, a younger or lower rank person initiates the greeting.

The traditional Khmer costume consists of a shirt or blouse and a skirt-like lower garment, sampot for women and sarong for men, and the krama, or long scarf, which is worn around the neck, over the shoulders, or wrapped turban-style around the head. Most Cambodians today, however, wear simple Western dress.

Contemporary Cambodia has a rich cultural heritage from the Khmer dynasties, which were at their peak from the 9th to 13th centuries. The vast Buddhist complex at Angkor in western Cambodia is one of the world’s greatest antiquities. Buddhist images are portrayed in carved sandstone reliefs, which decorate many buildings and handicraft items. Classical Cambodian dance mimes the legendary lives of ancient religious deities.

Health

Many in Cambodia have poor access to health services and safe water and sanitation, which has a great effect on health. Life expectancy is 62 years (63 for women and 61 for men) and the infant mortality rate stands at 43 per 1,000 live births. Communicable diseases, including acute respiratory infection and tuberculosis, affect large numbers of people. About 1% of the population live with HIV/AIDS. About 40% of Cambodian children are moderately to severely stunted because of chronic malnutrition. Injuries from landmines place increased demands on the limited health facilities.

Religion and beliefs

Theravada Buddhism is a significant influence in Cambodian life and was reinstituted in 1989 as the state religion. Small Muslim and Christian communities also exist. Astrology is widely observed.

Food and shelter

The basic foods are several varieties of rice, fish, and vegetables. Rice may be less thoroughly milled than it is in many other rice-eating countries, and consequently it contains more vitamins and roughage. Fermented fish, in the form of sauce or paste, is an important protein supplement to the diet. Hot peppers, lemon grass, mint and ginger are the main flavours. Beef, pork, poultry and eggs are eaten on special occasions, or, if the family can afford it, daily. Bananas, mangoes, papayas, rambutan, jackfruit and palm fruit are common. In the cities, many Western foods are available, including daily baked bread.

Rural Cambodian houses are rectangular buildings on stilts with walls of woven bamboo. Typically, a house contains three rooms separated by partitions of woven bamboo. City houses include single-storey brick homes and multi-storey apartment blocks.

Economy

Wealth and poverty

Poverty is widespread particularly among subsistence farmers. The gap between the rich and poor is significant, with the poorest 10% having only 3% of the income while the richest 10% have 37%.

Education and work

Almost all children attend primary school but educational standards are low. Less than half of the children attend secondary school, and big discrepancies exist in access to education between rural and urban areas. Cambodia faces an urgent need for practical and relevant technical and vocational training. The literacy rate is 78% (male 85%, female 71%). More than two-thirds of people aged over 15 are employed; the majority being in forestry, fishing and subsistence agriculture.

Industries and products

While Cambodia’s economy is largely agricultural-based, tourism is a fast-growing industry, with almost 2.5 million visitors a year. Garment manufacture, construction, rice milling, fishing, wood and wood products, rubber, cement, gem mining and textiles production are the main industries.

Trade

Timber, clothing, rubber, rice, fish, tobacco and footwear are the main exports to markets in the United States (34%), Hong Kong (25%) and Singapore (8%). Cambodia imports petroleum products, cigarettes, gold, construction materials, machinery, motor vehicles and pharmaceutical products from China (24%), Thailand (14%) and Hong Kong (11%).

Government

Cambodia is a constitutional monarchy. While the king has no executive power, he appoints the Prime Minister from the party holding the majority of seats in the National Assembly. Elections are held every five years, with the last taking place in 2008. The Cambodian People’s Party is currently in government, with Sen Hun as its Prime Minister.

While Cambodians enjoy a greater level of freedom than in the past, the government continues to face many human rights challenges. Rapid economic growth and the re-instating of land ownership rights have increased demand, meaning land disputes are common. Restrictions on the freedom of expression of journalists and members of trade unions and opposition parties are in place.

Achievements and challenges

Cambodia continues to recover after decades of war, isolation and genocide. It is one of Asia’s least developed countries and is heavily reliant on foreign assistance.

Integration into the global and regional economies has widened Cambodia’s growth prospects, but weak physical infrastructure, such as poor roads and rail networks and high electricity rates means this growth is limited.

Cross-border organised crime, including people and narcotics trafficking, presents a major problem for Cambodia and the south-east Asian region.

Cambodia has made good progress towards its Millennium Development Goals, but will struggle to meet some of its 2015 targets. Access to education (MDG 2) has improved and extreme poverty (MDG 1) has been reduced, however, child and maternal mortality (MDG 4 and 5) and gender equality are a significant challenge.

Landmine and unexploded ordnance clearance is progressing rapidly but still affects most rural farmers.

Cambodia and the United Nations have agreed to set up a tribunal to try the surviving leaders of the genocide years.

Links with Australia

Cambodians have arrived in Australia in small numbers from the 1940s, with about 13,000 arriving as refugees after the Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia in 1975. Today there are about 24,500 Cambodia-born people living in Australia – New South Wales (9,970), Victoria (9,790), South Australia (2,440) and Queensland (1,210). Approximately 2,500 Australians, most of them dual Cambodian-Australian citizens or expatriates involved in development assistance work, live in Cambodia. Approximately 85,500 Australian tourists visit Cambodia each year.

In 2010–11 two-way merchandise trade between Australia and Cambodia was worth AUD 58 million. Australia exports wheat, cereals, medicines, sugars, molasses and honey to Cambodia and imports clothing, linen and rice. As a least-developed country, Cambodian products are granted tariff-free access to Australia to help promote investment and economic growth.

Australia and Cambodia are working together closely to combat people smuggling and trafficking, child sex tourism, narcotics trafficking and terrorism.

The focus of Australia’s aid to Cambodia is on reducing rural poverty, improving health services, upgrading the country’s infrastructure and promoting access to justice. In 2011–12 Australia’s development package to Cambodia is worth AUD 77.4 million.