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Profile of Cambodia

Population: 13,607,069
Languages: The official language is Khmer. Other languages are French and English
Capital: Phnom Penh

Brief History
In 1863, the king of Cambodia placed the country under French protection and later became part of French Indochina. Following Japanese occupation in World War II, Cambodia became independent within the French Union in 1949 and fully independent in 1953. In 1975, after a five-year struggle, Communist Khmer Rouge forces captured Phnom Penh. They 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.

Today
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 stability. In 1999 the final elements of the Khmer Rouge surrendered. 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.

The population lacks education and productive skills, particularly in the poverty-ridden countryside, which suffers from an almost total lack of basic infrastructure. Fully 75% of the population remains engaged in subsistence farming.