Terrain: mostly low, flat plains; mountains in southwest and north
Natural resources: timber, gemstones, some iron ore, manganese, phosphates, hydropower potential
Land use: arable land: 16% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 3% forest and woodland: 76% other: 4%
Irrigated land: 920 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues: logging activities throughout the country and strip
mining for gems in the western region along the border with Thailand
are resulting in habitat loss and declining biodiversity (in
particular, destruction of mangrove swamps threatens natural
fisheries); deforestation; soil erosion; in rural areas, a majority of
the population does not have access to potable water
natural hazards: monsoonal rains (June to November); flooding;
occasional droughts
international agreements: party to - Marine Life Conservation, Ship
Pollution; signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Endangered
Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping
Note: a land of paddies and forests dominated by the Mekong River and
Tonle Sap
@Cambodia:People
Population: 10,561,373 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 46% (female 2,367,414; male 2,438,104)
15-64 years: 51% (female 2,932,788; male 2,494,203)
65 years and over: 3% (female 185,337; male 143,527) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.83% (1995 est.)