Natural hazards: monsoonal rains (June to November); flooding; occasional droughts
Environment - current issues: illegal logging activities throughout the country and strip mining for gems in the western region along the border with Thailand have resulted in habitat loss and declining biodiversity (in particular, destruction of mangrove swamps threatens natural fisheries); soil erosion; in rural areas, a majority of the population does not have access to potable water; toxic waste delivery from Taiwan sparked unrest in Kampong Saom (Sihanoukville) in December 1998
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Marine Life Conservation, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping
Geography - note: a land of paddies and forests dominated by the
Mekong River and Tonle Sap
@Cambodia:People
Population: 12,212,306 note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2000 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 42% (male 2,610,009; female 2,505,932) 15-64 years: 55% (male 3,132,198; female 3,542,655) 65 years and over: 3% (male 173,179; female 248,333) (2000 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.27% (2000 est.)
Birth rate: 33.48 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Death rate: 10.79 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)