Political and administrative systems:

Country: 24 provinces, 183 districts, 1609 communes, 13406 villages

Capital:    Phnom Penh

Head of state:     King Norodom Sihanouk

Head of government:   Prime Minister Hun Sen

Legislative body: After the election of July 1998, ten out of 120 members of the National Assembly are women.

Highlight: Cambodia gained independence from France in 1953 and Prince Sihanouk became head of state, but was ousted in a coup in 1970. In April 1975, the Khmer Rouge captured Phnom Penh, establishing a radical agrarian society under which more than 1 million people died of executions, starvation, disease and overwork.  In 1979, the Vietnamese Army ousted the Khmer Rouge establishing a new Cambodian government against which a coalition of the Khmer Rouge and non-communist resistance groups waged a guerrilla war for the next decade. In 1991, the warring Cambodian factions signed a United Nations sponsored peace agreement. UN-organized elections took place in 1993, following which a coalition government was formed. A power struggle between the ruling parties (FUNCINPEC & CPP), reached a crisis in July 97. No party gained a sufficient majority to govern alone in the July 1998 elections and a coalition government was formed in November 1998. Cambodia joined ASEAN in April 1999.
 

Major determinants underscoring the situation of children and women:

·  With the demise of the Khmer Rouge in 1998 and the formation of a new, stable coalition government, security improved, providing opportunities for peace, development, tourism and foreign investment. Half of the national budget is still ear-marked for security and defense and military personnel far outnumber civil servants.

·  The legal system is still under development and existing laws are often not implemented. In an environment of impunity, law enforcement agents are involved in illegal practices and corruption at the highest levels, including legal courts, undermines the state of law.

·  Destroyed by decades of war, civil strife, political instability and economic depletion, the infrastructure, human capital and social services are slowly being rebuilt. Low, sub-survival salaries for health and education personnel undermine professional commitment.

·  38% of households live below the poverty line.  The categories of poor are urban migrants, returnees and families headed by young females.  Illness continues to push large numbers deeper into debt and destitution because of the high cost of health care.

· Cambodians who are poor, illiterate, lack schooling and live in remote areas, are the most likely to have higher malnutrition and mortality rates, suffer more from diarrhea, benefit less of health care (vaccination, antenatal care, trained birth attendance) or education

·  Breastfeeding, morbidity, malnutrition and healthcare are the same for both sexes, but mortality is higher for boys. School enrolment is almost equal in the lower grades, but fewer girls complete four grades of primary school. At secondary level, the percentage of girls drops sharply and is very low at university level

·  The HIV/AIDS epidemic started relatively late, but accelerated rapidly, making Cambodia currently one of the worst affected countries in the region. The health system is not able to cope with the increased HIV/AIDS caseload, and the impact on many households in human and financial terms is devastating.

·  Convention on the Rights of the Child is ratified in 1992, the report was submitted in 1997 and report reviewed in 2000. The Concluding Observations were disseminated in 2001

Statistical data

Demography (SOWC 2001 unless otherwise indicated)

Population (millions) ⁵

13.099

2001

Population under 5 (‘000)

2.019

2001

Population under 18 (‘000)

6.650

1999

% Population growth rate

2.6

1990-99

Land area (‘000 sq.km) (IBRD)

181

1999

Density per sq.km  (IBRD)

72

2001

% urbanized ⁵

16

2001

Total fertility rate (per woman) ⁶

4

2000

Life expectancy (male/female)  (UNDP2000)

51/55

1998

Crude birth rate⁵

34

2001

Crude death rate ⁵

10

2001

Number of births ('000)         

445

2001

Number of under-5 deaths ('000)

55

2001

Socio-economic environment (IBRD2000/01 otherwise indicated)

GNP per capita (US $)

260

1999

GDP per capita (US $)⁴

297

1997

PPP per capita (US $)

1286

1999

Human development index (UNDP 2000)

0.512

1998

Health expend. (% of gov’t expenditure) ³

9     

2000

Education expend. (% of gov’t expend.) ³

13.9

2000

Social services expend. (% of total exp.)

…

……

Military expend. (% of govern. exp.) ³

37

2000

Radio sets per 1000 population. ⁶

78

2000

TV sets per 1000 population. ⁶

60

2000

% female participation in labor force ²

52

1998

% child labor force (% of age 10-14 yrs) ²

24

1998

Official dev. assistance (% of GNP)

11.9

1998

Debt service (% of exports) (SOWC 2001)

1    

1998

UNICEF & WSC goals (SOWC 2001 unless otherwise indicated)

Infant mortality rate  ⁶

95

2000

Under five mortality rate  ⁶

125

2000

Maternal mortality rate  ⁶      

437

2000

HIV/AIDS (acc. reported cases)

39,539/ 8,712

2000

Immunization coverage (MoH)

% BCG

81

2000

% DPT3

59

2000

% OPV3

62

2000

% Measles

65

2000

% TT2

40

2000

Neonatal tetanus

295

(cases)

…

(deaths)

2000

Measles

12,327

(cases)

...

(deaths)

2000

Polio

0

(cases)

0

(deaths)

1997

% Receiving adequate Vit A ⁶

30

2000

% Total goitre rate (8-12 yrs) (MoH)

12

1997

% ORT use (pre1993def.)

21

1995-00

BFHI designated (1995 target = 11)

0  

1998

% exclusive breastfed 0-3 mos. ⁶

15

2000

% Underweight (mod.&severe/severe) ⁶

45/13

2000

% Net enrol. prim. School (total) (MoEYS)

84

00-01

boy/girl

87/81

00-01

% Reaching grade-5 at prim. Level (EFA)

45

1997-98

boy/girl

48/43

1997-98

% Females(15+) illiterate ⁶

32

2000

% Access to safe water  ⁶

37

2000

urban/rural  ⁶

67/32

2000

% Access to sanitary disposal  ⁶

21

2000

urban/rural  ⁶

60/14

2000

National Health Survey, NIPH, 1998

Regional Economic Integration for Sustainable Development in Cambodia, CDRI, 1998

Royal Government of Cambodia, 2000