Demography

The Cambodia Inter-Censal Population Survey (CIPS) showed an estimated population in Cambodia on March 3 2004of 12.824 million people. Approximately 51.7 percent of the total population was female and 48.3 percent was male, that is, a sex radio of 93.5 percent in 2004.

The population characteristics of Cambodia, while being similar to those of some of the comparable developing countries, reflect distinctively the consequences of war and political instability in the recent past. The effects of high mortality and large scale out migration from the country during the Khmer Rouge period (1975-79) are revealed by very low sex ratios in the age groups 40-44 onwards.

Estimates for Cambodia indicate significant reductions in both under-five and infant mortality rates. A possible reason for this fall in infant and child mortality is fertility decline itself, which has also been significant and large to most of the population. However further declines will be possible only through efficient disease control programs, the development of an efficient and accessible health infrastructure and by improving the living standards of large proportions of the population.