Cambodia Overview

Photo credit

Peter Martin

3:34pm Tuesday 16 March

Growth in Cambodia accelerated in the late 1980s with the government's gradual move towards free market economic policies. The current Government is providing more political stability and economic growth and Cambodia is rebuilding many of the economic, social and physical foundations needed to ensure future growth and development. Foreign direct investment has increased steadily in recent years, particularly in the industry and tourism sectors.

The bilateral relationship between New Zealand and Cambodia is limited, but constructive. Bilateral trade is steady with exports to Cambodia totalling NZ$3,033,000 and imports from Cambodia sitting at NZ$1,385,000 (June 2008). New Zealand also has a development assistance programme in Cambodia, which began as a stand alone programme in 1994.

The Mekong River provides fertile and irrigated fields for rice population and subsistence farming employs the majority of the workforce.

Map of Cambodia and surrounding region with ASEAN neighbours marked

Key demographics

Official Name	Kingdom of Cambodia
Total Area	181,040 sq km
Population	14,241,640 million
Capital City	Phnom Penh
Religion	Buddhist (Theravada) majority
Language	Khmer (national language) Other: Vietnamese, Cham, Chinese dialects, Hill Tribe dialects
Currency	Riel

Key statistics

GDP	US$8.69 billion (IMF estimate 2007)
GDP per capita	US$1,800 (PPP estimate 2006)
Total exports	US$4.4 billion
Total imports	US$5.3 billion
Total NZ exports to Cambodia	NZ$3 million (2007-8)
Total NZ imports from Cambodia	NZ$1.4 million (2007-8)

Sources of data: IMF (GDP data), World Bank (export/imports) and Statistics New Zealand (NZ exports/imports).