British Indian Ocean Territory (2002) | Cambodia (2007) | |
Administrative divisions | - | 20 provinces (khaitt, singular and plural) and 4 municipalities* (krong, singular and plural)
provinces: Banteay Mean Cheay, Batdambang, Kampong Cham, Kampong Chhnang, Kampong Spoe, Kampong Thum, Kampot, Kandal, Kaoh Kong, Krachen, Mondol Kiri, Otdar Mean Cheay, Pouthisat, Preah Vihear, Prey Veng, Rotanah Kiri, Siem Reab, Stoeng Treng, Svay Rieng, Takev municipalities: Keb, Pailin, Phnum Penh (Phnom Penh), Preah Seihanu (Sihanoukville) |
Age structure | - | 0-14 years: 34% (male 2,405,561/female 2,355,404)
15-64 years: 62.4% (male 4,234,701/female 4,500,994) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 189,090/female 310,154) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | rice, rubber, corn, vegetables, cashews, tapioca |
Airports | 1 (2001) | 17 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 6
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 11
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
Area | total: 60 sq km
land: 60 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago |
total: 181,040 sq km
land: 176,520 sq km water: 4,520 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Oklahoma |
Background | Established as a territory of the UK in 1965, a number of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) islands were transferred to the Seychelles when it attained independence in 1976. Subsequently, BIOT has consisted only of the six main island groups comprising the Chagos Archipelago. The largest and most southerly of the islands, Diego Garcia, contains a joint UK-US naval support facility. All of the remaining islands are uninhabited. Former agricultural workers, earlier residents in the islands, were relocated primarily to Mauritius but also to the Seychelles, between 1967 and 1973. In 2000, a British High Court ruling invalidated the local immigration order which had excluded them from the archipelago, but upheld the special military status of Diego Garcia. | Most Cambodians consider themselves to be Khmers, descendants of the Angkor Empire that extended over much of Southeast Asia and reached its zenith between the 10th and 13th centuries. Attacks by the Thai and Cham (from present-day Vietnam) weakened the empire ushering in a long period of decline. The king placed the country under French protection in 1863. Cambodia became part of French Indochina in 1887. Following Japanese occupation in World War II, Cambodia gained full independence from France in 1953. In April 1975, after a five-year struggle, Communist Khmer Rouge forces captured Phnom Penh and evacuated all cities and towns. At least 1.5 million Cambodians died from execution, forced hardships, or starvation during the Khmer Rouge regime under POL POT. A December 1978 Vietnamese invasion drove the Khmer Rouge into the countryside, began a 10-year Vietnamese occupation, and touched off almost 13 years of civil war. The 1991 Paris Peace Accords mandated democratic elections and a ceasefire, which was not fully respected by the Khmer Rouge. UN-sponsored elections in 1993 helped restore some semblance of normalcy under a coalition government. Factional fighting in 1997 ended the first coalition government, but a second round of national elections in 1998 led to the formation of another coalition government and renewed political stability. The remaining elements of the Khmer Rouge surrendered in early 1999. Some of the remaining Khmer Rouge leaders are awaiting trial by a UN-sponsored tribunal for crimes against humanity. Elections in July 2003 were relatively peaceful, but it took one year of negotiations between contending political parties before a coalition government was formed. |
Birth rate | - | 25.53 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $836.2 million
expenditures: $978.7 million (2006 est.) |
Capital | - | name: Phnom Penh
geographic coordinates: 11 33 N, 104 55 E time difference: UTC+7 (12 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds | tropical; rainy, monsoon season (May to November); dry season (December to April); little seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 698 km | 443 km |
Constitution | - | promulgated 21 September 1993 |
Country name | conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory
conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT |
conventional long form: Kingdom of Cambodia
conventional short form: Cambodia local long form: Preahreacheanachakr Kampuchea (phonetic pronunciation) local short form: Kampuchea former: Khmer Republic, Democratic Kampuchea, People's Republic of Kampuchea, State of Cambodia |
Death rate | - | 8.24 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $3.636 billion (2006 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK; administered by a commissioner, resident in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador Joseph A. MUSSOMELI
embassy: #1, Street 96, Sangkat Wat Phnom, Khan Daun Penh, Phnom Penh mailing address: Box P, APO AP 96546 telephone: [855] (23) 728-000 FAX: [855] (23) 728-600 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador EK SEREYWATH
chancery: 4530 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011 telephone: [1] (202) 726-7742 FAX: [1] (202) 726-8381 |
Disputes - international | Mauritius and Seychelles claim the Chagos Archipelago and its former inhabitants, who reside chiefly in Mauritius, but in 2001 were granted UK citizenship and the right to repatriation since eviction in 1965; repatriation is complicated by the US military lease of Diego Garcia, the largest island in the chain | Southeast Asian states must maintain border surveillance to check the spread of avian flu; Cambodia and Thailand dispute sections of boundary with missing boundary markers and claims of Thai encroachments into Cambodian territory; maritime boundary with Vietnam is hampered by unresolved dispute over sovereignty of offshore islands; Cambodia accuses Thailand of obstructing access to Preah Vihear temple ruins awarded to Cambodia by ICJ decision in 1962 |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $537.8 million pledged in grants and concession loans for 2005 by international donors (2005) |
Economy - overview | All economic activity is concentrated on the largest island of Diego Garcia, where joint UK-US defense facilities are located. Construction projects and various services needed to support the military installations are done by military and contract employees from the UK, Mauritius, the Philippines, and the US. There are no industrial or agricultural activities on the islands. When the Ilois return, they plan to reestablish sugarcane production and fishing. | In 1999, the first full year of peace in 30 years, the government made progress on economic reforms. The US and Cambodia signed a Bilateral Textile Agreement, which gave Cambodia a guaranteed quota of US textile imports and established a bonus for improving working conditions and enforcing Cambodian labor laws and international labor standards in the industry. From 2001 to 2004, the economy grew at an average rate of 6.4%, driven largely by an expansion in the garment sector and tourism. With the January 2005 expiration of a WTO Agreement on Textiles and Clothing, Cambodia-based textile producers were forced to compete directly with lower-priced producing countries such as China and India. Better-than-expected garment sector performance led to more than 13% growth in 2006. Faced with the possibility that its vibrant garment industry, with more than 200,000 jobs, could be in serious danger, the Cambodian government has committed itself to a policy of continued support for high labor standards in an attempt to maintain favor with buyers. The tourism industry continues to grow rapidly, with foreign visitors surpassing 1 million per year beginning in 2005. In 2005, exploitable oil and natural gas deposits were found beneath Cambodia's territorial waters, representing a new revenue stream for the government once commercial extraction begins in the coming years. Mining also is attracting significant investor interest, particularly in the northeastern parts of the country. The long-term development of the economy remains a daunting challenge. The Cambodian government is working with bilateral and multilateral donors, including the World Bank and IMF, to address the country's many pressing needs. The major economic challenge for Cambodia over the next decade will be fashioning an economic environment in which the private sector can create enough jobs to handle Cambodia's demographic imbalance. More than 50% of the population is less than 21 years old. The population lacks education and productive skills, particularly in the poverty-ridden countryside, which suffers from an almost total lack of basic infrastructure. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 206.6 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | - | 82 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military | 134 million kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m |
lowest point: Gulf of Thailand 0 m
highest point: Phnum Aoral 1,810 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | illegal logging activities throughout the country and strip mining for gems in the western region along the border with Thailand have resulted in habitat loss and declining biodiversity (in particular, destruction of mangrove swamps threatens natural fisheries); soil erosion; in rural areas, most of the population does not have access to potable water; declining fish stocks because of illegal fishing and overfishing |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | - | Khmer 90%, Vietnamese 5%, Chinese 1%, other 4% |
Exchange rates | - | riels per US dollar - 4,103 (2006), 4,092.5 (2005), 4,016.25 (2004), 3,973.33 (2003), 3,912.08 (2002) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
head of government: Commissioner Alan HUCKLE (since 2001); Administrator Louise SAVILL (since NA); note - both reside in the UK cabinet: NA elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; commissioner and administrator appointed by the monarch |
chief of state: King Norodom SIHAMONI (since 29 October 2004)
head of government: Prime Minister HUN SEN (since 14 January 1985); Deputy Prime Ministers SAR KHENG (since 3 February 1992); SOK AN, LU LAY SRENG, TEA BANH, HOR NAMHONG, NHEK BUNCHHAY (since 16 July 2004); KEV PUT REAKSMEI (since 24 October 2006), BIN CHHIN (since 5 September 2007) cabinet: Council of Ministers in theory appointed by the monarch; in practice named by the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is chosen by a Royal Throne Council; following legislative elections, a member of the majority party or majority coalition is named prime minister by the Chairman of the National Assembly and appointed by the king |
Exports | - | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | - | clothing, timber, rubber, rice, fish, tobacco, footwear |
Exports - partners | - | US 53.3%, Hong Kong 15.2%, Germany 6.6%, UK 4.3% (2006) |
Fiscal year | - | calendar year |
Flag description | white with six blue wavy horizontal stripes; the flag of the UK is in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the striped section bears a palm tree and yellow crown centered on the outer half of the flag | three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (double width), and blue with a white three-towered temple representing Angkor Wat outlined in black in the center of the red band; only national flag to incorporate an actual building in its design |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture: 35.1%
industry: 26.2% services: 38.6% (2006 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 10.5% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 6 00 S, 71 30 E | 13 00 N, 105 00 E |
Geography - note | archipelago of 2,300 islands; Diego Garcia, largest and southernmost island, occupies strategic location in central Indian Ocean; island is site of joint US-UK military facility | a land of paddies and forests dominated by the Mekong River and Tonle Sap |
Heliports | - | 1 (2007) |
Highways | total: NA km
paved: short stretch of paved road of NA km between port and airfield on Diego Garcia unpaved: NA km |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: 2.9%
highest 10%: 34.8% (2004) |
Illicit drugs | - | narcotics-related corruption reportedly involving some in the government, military, and police; limited methamphetamine production; vulnerable to money laundering due to its cash-based economy and porous borders |
Imports | - | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | - | petroleum products, cigarettes, gold, construction materials, machinery, motor vehicles, pharmaceutical products |
Imports - partners | - | Hong Kong 18.1%, China 17.5%, Thailand 13.9%, Taiwan 12.7%, Vietnam 9%, Singapore 5.3%, South Korea 4.9%, Japan 4.3% (2006) |
Independence | - | 9 November 1953 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 22% (2002 est.) |
Industries | - | tourism, garments, rice milling, fishing, wood and wood products, rubber, cement, gem mining, textiles |
Infant mortality rate | - | total: 58.45 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 65.74 deaths/1,000 live births female: 50.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 4.7% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | - | ACCT, APT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, EAS, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 0 sq km (1998 est.) | 2,700 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Council of the Magistracy (provided for in the constitution and formed in December 1997); Supreme Court (and lower courts) exercises judicial authority |
Labor force | - | 7 million (2003 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture: 75%
industry: NA% services: NA% (2004 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 2,572 km
border countries: Laos 541 km, Thailand 803 km, Vietnam 1,228 km |
Land use | arable land: NEGL
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 20.44%
permanent crops: 0.59% other: 78.97% (2005) |
Languages | - | Khmer (official) 95%, French, English |
Legal system | the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply | primarily a civil law mixture of French-influenced codes from the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) period, royal decrees, and acts of the legislature, with influences of customary law and remnants of communist legal theory; increasing influence of common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations |
Legislative branch | - | bicameral, consists of the National Assembly (123 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and the Senate (61 seats; 2 members appointed by the monarch, 2 elected by the National Assembly, and 57 elected by parliamentarians and commune councils; members serve five-year terms)
elections: National Assembly - last held 27 July 2003 (next to be held in July 2008); Senate - last held 22 January 2006 (next to be held in January 2011) election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - CPP 47%, SRP 22%, FUNCINPEC 21%, other 10%; seats by party - CPP 73, FUNCINPEC 26, SRP 24; Senate - percent of vote by party - CPP 69%, FUNCINPEC 21%, SRP 10%; seats by party - CPP 45, FUNCINPEC 10, SRP 2 (January 2006) |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population: 61.29 years
male: 59.27 years female: 63.4 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 73.6% male: 84.7% female: 64.1% (2004 est.) |
Location | Southern Asia, archipelago in the Indian Ocean, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia | Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, between Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos |
Map references | Political Map of the World | Southeast Asia |
Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 3 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | total: 586 ships (1000 GRT or over) 1,889,909 GRT/2,682,881 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 40, cargo 487, chemical tanker 10, container 9, livestock carrier 3, passenger/cargo 5, petroleum tanker 11, refrigerated cargo 18, roll on/roll off 1, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 1 foreign-owned: 463 (Canada 6, China 166, Cyprus 9, Egypt 14, Estonia 1, Gabon 1, Greece 5, Hong Kong 11, Indonesia 1, Japan 3, South Korea 29, Latvia 2, Lebanon 7, Nigeria 2, Romania 1, Russia 112, Singapore 2, Syria 32, Taiwan 1, Turkey 20, Ukraine 27, UAE 2, US 6, Yemen 3) (2007) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016 | - |
Military branches | - | Royal Cambodian Armed Forces: Royal Cambodian Army, Royal Khmer Navy, Royal Cambodian Air Force (2005) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 3% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | - | Independence Day, 9 November (1953) |
Nationality | - | noun: Cambodian(s)
adjective: Cambodian |
Natural hazards | NA | monsoonal rains (June to November); flooding; occasional droughts |
Natural resources | coconuts, fish, sugarcane | oil and gas, timber, gemstones, some iron ore, manganese, phosphates, hydropower potential |
Net migration rate | - | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | - | Cambodian People's Party or CPP [CHEA SIM]; National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful, and Cooperative Cambodia or FUNCINPEC [KEV PUT REAKSMEI]; Norodom Ranariddh Party or NRP [Norodom RANARIDDH]; Sam Rangsi Party or SRP [SAM RANGSI] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | NA |
Population | no indigenous inhabitants
note: approximately 1,200 former agricultural workers resident in the Chagos Archipelago, often referred to as Chagossians or Ilois, were relocated to Mauritius and the Seychelles around the time of the construction of UK-US military facilities; in 2001, there were approximately 1,500 UK and US military personnel and 2,000 civilian contractors living on the island of Diego Garcia (July 2002 est.) |
13,995,904
note: estimates for this country take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | 35% (2004) |
Population growth rate | - | 1.729% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Diego Garcia | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 2, FM 17, shortwave NA (2003) |
Radios | NA | - |
Railways | - | total: 602 km
narrow gauge: 602 km 1.000-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | - | Theravada Buddhist 95%, other 5% |
Sex ratio | - | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.021 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.941 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.61 male(s)/female total population: 0.953 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | - | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: separate facilities for military and public needs are available
domestic: all commercial telephone services are available, including connection to the Internet international: international telephone service is carried by satellite (2000) |
general assessment: mobile-phone systems are widely used in urban areas to bypass deficiencies in the fixed-line network; fixed-line connections stand at well less than 1 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular usage, aided by increasing competition among service providers, is increasing and stands at about 8 per 100 persons
domestic: adequate landline and/or cellular service in Phnom Penh and other provincial cities; mobile-phone coverage is rapidly expanding in rural areas international: country code - 855; adequate but expensive landline and cellular service available to all countries from Phnom Penh and major provincial cities; satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) (2007) |
Telephones - main lines in use | NA | 32,800 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 1.14 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 9 (including 2 TV relay stations with French and Vietnamese broadcasts); excludes 18 regional relay stations (2006) |
Terrain | flat and low (most areas do not exceed four meters in elevation) | mostly low, flat plains; mountains in southwest and north |
Total fertility rate | - | 3.12 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | 2.5% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | none | 2,400 km (mainly on Mekong River) (2005) |