West Bank (2001) | 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:
44.61% (male 478,232; female 454,439) 15-64 years: 51.8% (male 552,661; female 530,230) 65 years and over: 3.59% (male 32,629; female 42,522) (2001 est.) |
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 | olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products | rice, rubber, corn, vegetables, cashews, tapioca |
Airports | 3 (2000 est.) | 17 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
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:
5,860 sq km land: 5,640 sq km water: 220 sq km note: includes West Bank, Latrun Salient, and the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and Jerusalem No Man's Land are also included only as a means of depicting the entire area occupied by Israel in 1967 |
total: 181,040 sq km
land: 176,520 sq km water: 4,520 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Delaware | slightly smaller than Oklahoma |
Background | The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington on 13 September 1993, provided for a transitional period not exceeding five years of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Under the DOP, Israel agreed to transfer certain powers and responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority, which includes the Palestinian Legislative Council elected in January 1996, as part of interim self-governing arrangements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A transfer of powers and responsibilities for the Gaza Strip and Jericho took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and in additional areas of the West Bank pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995 Interim Agreement, the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol Concerning Redeployment in Hebron, the Israel-PLO 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum, and the 4 September 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement. The DOP provides that Israel will retain responsibility during the transitional period for external security and for internal security and public order of settlements and Israeli citizens. Permanent status is to be determined through direct negotiations, which resumed in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus. An intifadah broke out in September 2000; the resulting widespread violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israel's military response, and instability in the Palestinian Authority are undermining progress toward a permanent settlement. | 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 | 35.83 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 25.53 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$1.6 billion expenditures: $1.73 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA note: includes Gaza Strip (1999 est.) |
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 | temperate, temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters | tropical; rainy, monsoon season (May to November); dry season (December to April); little seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 443 km |
Constitution | - | promulgated 21 September 1993 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: West Bank |
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 |
Currency | new Israeli shekel (ILS); Jordanian dinar (JOD) | - |
Death rate | 4.37 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 8.24 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $108 million (includes Gaza Strip) (1997 est.) | $3.636 billion (2006 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | - | 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 | - | 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 | West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation | 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 | $121 million disbursed (includes Gaza Strip) (2000) | $537.8 million pledged in grants and concession loans for 2005 by international donors (2005) |
Economy - overview | Economic output in the West Bank is governed by the Paris Economic Protocol of April 1994 between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Real per capita GDP for the West Bank and Gaza Strip (WBGS) declined by 36.1% between 1992 and 1996 owing to the combined effect of falling aggregate incomes and rapid population growth. The downturn in economic activity was largely the result of Israeli closure policies - the imposition of border closures in response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted established labor and commodity market relationships between Israel and the WBGS. The most serious social effect of this downturn was rising unemployment; unemployment in the WBGS during the 1980s was generally under 5%; by 1995 it had risen to over 20%. Since 1997 Israel's use of comprehensive closures has decreased and, in 1998, Israel implemented new policies to reduce the impact of closures and other security procedures on the movement of Palestinian goods and labor. These changes fueled an almost three-year long economic recovery in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; real GDP grew by 5% in 1998 and 6% in 1999. Recovery was upended in the last quarter of 2000 with the outbreak of Palestinian violence, which triggered tight Israeli closures of Palestinian self-rule areas and a severe disruption of trade and labor movements. | 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 | NA kWh | 82 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh; note - most electricity imported from Israel; East Jerusalem Electric Company buys and distributes electricity to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and its concession in the West Bank; the Israel Electric Company directly supplies electricity to most Jewish residents and military facilities; at the same time, some Palestinian municipalities, such as Nablus and Janin, generate their own electricity from small power plants | 134 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Dead Sea -408 m highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m |
lowest point: Gulf of Thailand 0 m
highest point: Phnum Aoral 1,810 m |
Environment - current issues | adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment | 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 | Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17% | Khmer 90%, Vietnamese 5%, Chinese 1%, other 4% |
Exchange rates | new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.0810 (December 2000), 4.0773 (2000), 4.1397 (1999), 3.8001 (1998), 3.4494 (1997), 3.1917 (1996); Jordanian dinars per US dollar - fixed rate of 0.7090 (from 1996) | 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: 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 | $682 million (includes Gaza Strip) (f.o.b., 1998 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone | clothing, timber, rubber, rice, fish, tobacco, footwear |
Exports - partners | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip | US 53.3%, Hong Kong 15.2%, Germany 6.6%, UK 4.3% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year (since 1 January 1992) | calendar year |
Flag description | - | 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 | purchasing power parity - $3.1 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
9% industry: 28% services: 63% note: includes Gaza Strip (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 35.1%
industry: 26.2% services: 38.6% (2006 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,500 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | -7.5% (2000 est.) | 10.5% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 32 00 N, 35 15 E | 13 00 N, 105 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 231 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the West Bank and 29 in East Jerusalem (August 1999 est.) | a land of paddies and forests dominated by the Mekong River and Tonle Sap |
Heliports | - | 1 (2007) |
Highways | total:
4,500 km paved: 2,700 km unpaved: 1,800 km (1997 est.) note: Israelis have developed many highways to service Jewish settlements |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
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 | $2.5 billion (includes Gaza Strip) (c.i.f., 1998 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | food, consumer goods, construction materials | petroleum products, cigarettes, gold, construction materials, machinery, motor vehicles, pharmaceutical products |
Imports - partners | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip | 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 | NA% | 22% (2002 est.) |
Industries | generally small family businesses that produce cement, textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale, modern industries in the settlements and industrial centers | tourism, garments, rice milling, fishing, wood and wood products, rubber, cement, gem mining, textiles |
Infant mortality rate | 21.78 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 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) | 3% (includes Gaza Strip) (2000 est.) | 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) | 8 (1999) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 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 | NA | 7 million (2003 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 66%, industry 21%, agriculture 13% (1996) | agriculture: 75%
industry: NA% services: NA% (2004 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
404 km border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km |
total: 2,572 km
border countries: Laos 541 km, Thailand 803 km, Vietnam 1,228 km |
Land use | arable land:
27% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 32% forests and woodland: 1% other: 40% |
arable land: 20.44%
permanent crops: 0.59% other: 78.97% (2005) |
Languages | Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood) | Khmer (official) 95%, French, English |
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; 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:
72.28 years male: 70.58 years female: 74.07 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 61.29 years
male: 59.27 years female: 63.4 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 73.6% male: 84.7% female: 64.1% (2004 est.) |
Location | Middle East, west of Jordan | Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, between Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos |
Map references | Middle East | Southeast Asia |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | 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 branches | NA | Royal Cambodian Armed Forces: Royal Cambodian Army, Royal Khmer Navy, Royal Cambodian Air Force (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 3% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | - | Independence Day, 9 November (1953) |
Nationality | noun:
NA adjective: NA |
noun: Cambodian(s)
adjective: Cambodian |
Natural hazards | droughts | monsoonal rains (June to November); flooding; occasional droughts |
Natural resources | arable land | oil and gas, timber, gemstones, some iron ore, manganese, phosphates, hydropower potential |
Net migration rate | 3.29 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 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 | 2,090,713 (July 2001 est.)
note: in addition, there are some 176,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and about 173,000 in East Jerusalem (August 1999 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 | NA% | 35% (2004) |
Population growth rate | 3.48% (2001 est.) | 1.729% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0
note: the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation broadcasts from an AM station in Ramallah on 675 kHz; numerous local, private stations are reported to be in operation (2000) |
AM 2, FM 17, shortwave NA (2003) |
Radios | NA; note - most Palestinian households have radios (1999) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 602 km
narrow gauge: 602 km 1.000-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8% | Theravada Buddhist 95%, other 5% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
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:
NA domestic: NA international: NA note: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for communication services in the West Bank |
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 | 95,729 (total for West Bank and Gaza Strip) (1997) | 32,800 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 1.14 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 9 (including 2 TV relay stations with French and Vietnamese broadcasts); excludes 18 regional relay stations (2006) |
Terrain | mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east | mostly low, flat plains; mountains in southwest and north |
Total fertility rate | 4.9 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.12 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 40% (includes Gaza Strip) (yearend 2000) | 2.5% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | none | 2,400 km (mainly on Mekong River) (2005) |