French Guiana (2004) | Cambodia (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | none (overseas department of France) | 20 provinces (khaitt, singular and plural) and 4 municipalities (krong, singular and plural)
provinces: Banteay Mean Chey, Batdambang, Kampong Cham, Kampong Chhnang, Kampong Spoe, Kampong Thum, Kampot, Kandal, Koh Kong, Kracheh, Mondol Kiri, Otdar Mean Chey, Pouthisat, Preah Vihear, Prey Veng, Rotanakir, Siem Reab, Stoeng Treng, Svay Rieng, Takao municipalities: Keb, Pailin, Phnom Penh, Preah Sihanouk (formerly Kompong Som) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 29.6% (male 28,959; female 27,657)
15-64 years: 64.5% (male 66,388; female 57,020) 65 years and over: 5.9% (male 5,736; female 5,549) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 38.3% (male 2,583,606; female 2,534,460)
15-64 years: 58.6% (male 3,742,178; female 4,095,303) 65 years and over: 3.1% (male 149,466; female 258,408) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, rice, manioc (tapioca), sugar, cocoa, vegetables, bananas; cattle, pigs, poultry | rice, rubber, corn, vegetables, cashews, tapioca |
Airports | 11 (2003 est.) | 20 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 6
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 5 (2004 est.) |
total: 14
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 91,000 sq km
land: 89,150 sq km water: 1,850 sq km |
total: 181,040 sq km
land: 176,520 sq km water: 4,520 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Indiana | slightly smaller than Oklahoma |
Background | First settled by the French in 1604, French Guiana was the site of notorious penal settlements until 1951. The European Space Agency launches its communication satellites from Kourou. | Most Cambodians consider themselves to be Khmers, whose Angkor Empire extended over much of Southeast Asia and reached its zenith between the 10th and 13th centuries. Subsequently, attacks by the Thai and Cham (from present-day Vietnam) weakened the empire ushering in a long period of decline. In 1863, the king of Cambodia placed the country under French protection; it became part of French Indochina in 1887. Following Japanese occupation in World War II, Cambodia became independent within the French Union in 1949 and fully independent in 1953. After a five-year struggle, Communist Khmer Rouge forces captured Phnom Penh in April 1975 and ordered the evacuation of all cities and towns; at least 1.5 million Cambodians died from execution, enforced hardships, or starvation during the Khmer Rouge regime under POL POT. A December 1978 Vietnamese invasion drove the Khmer Rouge into the countryside, led to 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 and the final elements of the Khmer Rouge surrendered in early 1999. 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 July 2003 elections were relatively peaceful, but it took one year of negotiations between contending political parties before a coalition government was formed. Nation-wide local elections are scheduled for 2007 and national elections for 2008. |
Birth rate | 21 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 27.13 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $225 million
expenditures: $390 million, including capital expenditures of $105 million (1996) |
revenues: $476.5 million
expenditures: $734.8 million, including capital expenditures of $291 million of which 75% was financed by external assistance (2003 est.) |
Capital | Cayenne | Phnom Penh |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variation | tropical; rainy, monsoon season (May to November); dry season (December to April); little seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 378 km | 443 km |
Constitution | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) | promulgated 21 September 1993 |
Country name | conventional long form: Department of Guiana
conventional short form: French Guiana local long form: none local short form: Guyane |
conventional long form: Kingdom of Cambodia
conventional short form: Cambodia local long form: Preahreacheanacha Kampuchea (phonetic pronunciation) local short form: Kampuchea former: Kingdom of Cambodia, Khmer Republic, Democratic Kampuchea, People's Republic of Kampuchea, State of Cambodia |
Currency | euro (EUR) | riel (KHR) |
Death rate | 4.82 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 9.1 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.2 billion (1988) | $2.4 billion (2002 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas department of France | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas department of France) | chief of mission: Ambassador Charles Aaron RAY
embassy: 27 EO Street 240, Phnom Penh mailing address: Box P, APO AP 96546 telephone: [855] (23) 216-436/438 FAX: [855] (23) 216-437/811 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas department of France) | 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 | Suriname claims area between Riviere Litani and Riviere Marouini (both headwaters of the Lawa) | land boundary disputes persist among Cambodian claims that Thailand and Vietnam moved or destroyed boundary markers; maritime boundary with Vietnam is hampered by dispute over offshore islands; Cambodia periodically accuses Thailand of obstructing access to Preah Vihear temple ruins awarded to Cambodia by ICJ decision in 1962; 2003 anti-Thai riots in Phnom Penh resulted in the destruction of the Thai Embassy, damage to 17 Thai-owned businesses, and disputes over full payment of compensation |
Economic aid - recipient | NA (1995) | $548 million pledged in grants and concessional loans for 2001 by international donors (actual disbursement in 2002 was about $500 million) |
Economy - overview | The economy is tied closely to the larger French economy through subsidies and imports. Besides the French space center at Kourou (which accounts for 25% of GDP), fishing and forestry are the most important economic activities. Forest and woodland cover 90% of the country. The large reserves of tropical hardwoods, not fully exploited, support an expanding sawmill industry that provides sawn logs for export. Cultivation of crops is limited to the coastal area, where the population is largely concentrated; rice and manioc are the major crops. French Guiana is heavily dependent on imports of food and energy. Unemployment is a serious problem, particularly among younger workers. | Cambodia's economy slowed dramatically in 1997-1998 due to the regional economic crisis, civil violence, and political infighting. Foreign investment and tourism fell off. In 1999, the first full year of peace in 30 years, progress was made on economic reforms. Growth resumed and has remained about 5.0% during 2000-2003. Tourism was Cambodia's fastest growing industry, with arrivals up 34% in 2000 and up another 40% in 2001 before the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks in the US. Cambodia expects 1 million foreign tourists in 2004. Economic growth has been largely driven by expansion in the clothing sector and tourism. Clothing exports were fostered by the U.S.-Cambodian Bilateral Textile Agreement signed in 1999. Even given Cambodia's recent growth, the long-term development of the economy after decades of war remains a daunting challenge. The population lacks education and productive skills, particularly in the poverty-ridden countryside, which suffers from an almost total lack of basic infrastructure. Fear of renewed political instability and a dysfunctional legal system coupled with government corruption discourage foreign investment. The Cambodian government continues to work with bilateral and multilateral donors 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. About 60% of the population is 20 years or younger; most of these citizens will seek to enter the workforce over the course of the next 10 years. |
Electricity - consumption | 423.2 million kWh (2001) | 110.6 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 455 million kWh (2001) | 119 million kWh (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Bellevue de l'Inini 851 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
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | black or mulatto 66%, white 12%, East Indian, Chinese, Amerindian 12%, other 10% | Khmer 90%, Vietnamese 5%, Chinese 1%, other 4% |
Exchange rates | Euros per US dollar - 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999) | riels per US dollar - 3,973.33 (2003), 3,912.08 (2002), 3,916.33 (2001), 3,840.75 (2000), 3,807.83 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Ange MANCINI (since 31 July 2002)
head of government: President of the General Council Joseph HO-TEN-YOU (since 26 March 2001); President of the Regional Council Antoine KARAM (since 22 March 1992) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; presidents of the General and Regional Councils are appointed by the members of those councils |
chief of state: King Norodom SIHAMONI (since 29 October 2004)
head of government: Prime Minister HUN SEN (since 14 January 1985) and Deputy Prime Ministers SAR KHENG (since 3 February 1992), Norodom SIRIVUDH, SOK AN, LU LAY SRENG, TEA BANH, HOR NAMHONG, NHEK BUNCHHAY (since 16 July 2004) 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 (2001) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | shrimp, timber, gold, rum, rosewood essence, clothing | Clothing, timber, rubber, rice, fish, tobacco, footwear |
Exports - partners | France 62%, Switzerland 7%, US 2% (2001) | US 58.4%, Germany 10.3%, UK 7.2% (2003) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | the flag of France is used | 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 a building in its design |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $1.551 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $25.02 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA (2001 est.) |
agriculture: 35%
industry: 30% services: 35% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,300 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,900 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | 5% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 4 00 N, 53 00 W | 13 00 N, 105 00 E |
Geography - note | mostly an unsettled wilderness; the only non-independent portion of the South American continent | a land of paddies and forests dominated by the Mekong River and Tonle Sap |
Heliports | - | 2 (2003 est.) |
Highways | total: 722 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (1996) |
total: 12,323 km
paved: 1,996 km unpaved: 10,327 km (2000 est) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: 2.9%
highest 10%: 33.8% (1997) |
Illicit drugs | small amount of marijuana grown for local consumption; minor transshipment point to Europe | narcotics-related corruption reportedly involving some in the government, military, and police; possible small-scale opium, heroin, and amphetamine production; large producer of cannabis for the international market; vulnerable to money laundering due to its cash-based economy and porous borders |
Imports | NA (2001) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | food (grains, processed meat), machinery and transport equipment, fuels and chemicals | petroleum products, cigarettes, gold, construction materials, machinery, motor vehicles, pharmaceutical products |
Imports - partners | France 63%, US, Trinidad and Tobago, Italy (2002 est.) | Thailand 26.4%, Hong Kong 14.4%, Singapore 11.8%, China 11.3%, Vietnam 8.3%, Taiwan 8%, South Korea 4.1% (2003) |
Independence | none (overseas department of France) | 9 November 1953 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | 22% (2002 est.) |
Industries | construction, shrimp processing, forestry products, rum, gold mining | tourism, garments, rice milling, fishing, wood and wood products, rubber, cement, gem mining, textiles |
Infant mortality rate | total: 12.46 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 13.3 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.58 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
total: 73.67 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 82.51 deaths/1,000 live births female: 64.44 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.5% (2002 est.) | 1.7% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | UPU, WCL, WFTU | ACCT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW (signatory), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 20 sq km (1998 est.) | 2,700 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel (highest local court based in Martinique with jurisdiction over Martinique, Guadeloupe, and French Guiana) | 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 | 58,800 (1997) | 7 million (2003 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 18.2%, industry 21.2%, services, government, and commerce 60.6% (1980) | agriculture 75% (2003 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 1,183 km
border countries: Brazil 673 km, Suriname 510 km |
total: 2,572 km
border countries: Laos 541 km, Thailand 803 km, Vietnam 1,228 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.14%
permanent crops: 0.05% other: 99.81% (90% forest, 10% other) (2001) |
arable land: 20.96%
permanent crops: 0.61% other: 78.43% (2001) |
Languages | French | Khmer (official) 95%, French, English |
Legal system | French legal system | 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 in recent years |
Legislative branch | unicameral General Council or Conseil General (19 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council or Conseil Regional (31 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held NA March 2000 (next to be held NA 2006); Regional Council - last held 15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PSG 5, various left-wing parties 5, independents 7, other 2; Regional Council - percent of vote by party - PS 28.28%, various left parties 22.56%, RPR 15.91%, independents 8.6%, Walwari Committee 6%; seats by party - PS 11, various left parties 9, RPR 6, independents 3, Walwari Committee 2 note: one seat was elected to the French Senate on 27 September 1998 (next to be held NA September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; 2 seats were elected to the French National Assembly on 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP/RPR 1, Walwari Committee 1 |
bicameral consists of the National Assembly (123 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and the Senate (61 seats; two members appointed by the monarch, two elected by the National Assembly, and 57 elected by "functional constituencies"; members serve five-year terms)
elections: National Assembly - last held 27 July 2003 (next to be held in July 2008); Senate - last held 2 March 1999 (scheduled to be held in 2004 but delayed) 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 - NA; seats by party - CPP 31, FUNCINPEC 21, SRP 7, other 2 (July 2003) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 76.89 years
male: 73.57 years female: 80.38 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 58.41 years
male: 55.71 years female: 61.23 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 83% male: 84% female: 82% (1982 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 69.4% male: 80.8% female: 59.3% (2002) |
Location | Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Brazil and Suriname | Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, between Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos |
Map references | South America | Southeast Asia |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | total: 467 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,913,910 GRT/2,713,967 DWT
by type: bulk 42, cargo 360, chemical tanker 6, combination bulk 3, container 13, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 4, multi-functional large load carrier 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 16, refrigerated cargo 13, roll on/roll off 5, short-sea/passenger 2 foreign-owned: Algeria 2, Angola 1, Aruba 1, Bahamas 1, Belize 10, British Virgin Islands 7, Bulgaria 1, Canada 4, China 35, Cyprus 14, Egypt 8, Finland 1, France 1, Georgia 1, Germany 1, Gibraltar 1, Greece 9, Honduras 8, Hong Kong 12, Indonesia 2, Iran 1, Italy 2, Japan 1, Jordan 1, North Korea 2, South Korea 31, Lebanon 2, Liberia 7, Malaysia 1, Malta 2, Marshall Islands 11, Netherlands 2, Nigeria 2, Norway 1, Panama 8, Romania 1, Russia 81, Saint Kitts and Nevis 2, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 5, Samoa 2, Singapore 7, Spain 1, Syria 19, Taiwan 1, Turkey 11 registered in other countries: 19 (2004 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | - |
Military branches | no regular military forces; Gendarmerie | Royal Cambodian Armed Forces: Army, Navy, Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | NA | $112 million (FY01 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 3% (FY01 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 52,294 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49: 3,402,703 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 33,914 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,899,710 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 170,072 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | Independence Day, 9 November (1953) |
Nationality | noun: French Guianese (singular and plural)
adjective: French Guianese |
noun: Cambodian(s)
adjective: Cambodian |
Natural hazards | high frequency of heavy showers and severe thunderstorms; flooding | monsoonal rains (June to November); flooding; occasional droughts |
Natural resources | bauxite, timber, gold (widely scattered), petroleum, kaolin, fish, niobium, tantalum, clay | oil and gas, timber, gemstones, some iron ore, manganese, phosphates, hydropower potential |
Net migration rate | 6.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Guyanese Democratic Action or ADG [Andre LECANTE]; Guyanese Socialist Party or PSG [Marie-Claude VERDAN]; Guyana Democratic Forces or FDG [Georges OTHILY]; Popular National Guyanese Party or PNPG [Jose DORCY]; Socialist Party or PS [Paul DEBRIETTE]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP [Muriel ICARE]; Walwari Committee (aligned with the PRG in France) [Christine TAUBIRA-DELANON] | Cambodian Pracheachon Party (Cambodian People's Party) or CPP [CHEA SIM]; National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful, and Cooperative Cambodia or FUNCINPEC [Prince NORODOM Ranariddh]; Sam Rangsi Party or SRP [SAM RANGSI] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 191,309 (July 2004 est.) | 13,363,421
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 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | 36% (1997 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.25% (2004 est.) | 1.8% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Cayenne, Degrad des Cannes, Saint-Laurent du Maroni | Kampong Som (Sihanoukville), Kampot, Krong Kaoh Kong, Phnom Penh, Sre Ambol, Keo Phoh Port (privately owned) (2003) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 14 (including 6 repeaters), shortwave 6 (including 5 repeaters) (1998) | AM 2, FM 17, (2003) |
Railways | - | total: 602 km
narrow gauge: 602 km 1.000-m gauge (2003) |
Religions | Roman Catholic | Theravada Buddhist 95%, other 5% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.16 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.03 male(s)/female total population: 1.12 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.58 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: fair open-wire and microwave radio relay system international: country code - 594; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: adequate landline and/or cellular service in Phnom Penh and other provincial cities; mobile phone coverage is rapidly expanding in rural areas
domestic: NA 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) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 51,000 (2001) | 35,400 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 138,200 (2002) | 380,000 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (plus eight low-power repeaters) (1997) | 7 (2003) |
Terrain | low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small mountains | mostly low, flat plains; mountains in southwest and north |
Total fertility rate | 3.05 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 3.51 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 22% (2001) | 2.5% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | 3,760 km
note: 460 km navigable by small oceangoing vessels and coastal and river steamers, 3,300 km by native craft (2004) |
2,400 km (mainly on Mekong River) (2004) |