e to continued political unrest and factional hostilities. The
country's immediate economic challenge is an acute financial crisis that is
undermining monetary stability and preventing disbursement of foreign
development assistance. Cambodia is still recovering from an abrupt shift in
1990 to free-market economic mechanisms and a cutoff in aid from former
Soviet bloc countries; these changes have severely impacted on public sector
revenues and performance. The country's infrastructure of roads, bridges,
and power plants has been severely degraded, now having only 40-50% of
prewar capacity. The economy remains essentially rural, with 90% of the
population living in the countryside and dependent mainly on subsistence
agriculture. Statistical data on the economy continue to be sparse and
unreliable.
National product:
GDP - exchange rate conversion - $2 billion (1991 est.)
National product real growth rate:
NA%
National product per capita:
$280 (1991 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
250-300% (1992 est.)
Unemployment rate:
NA%
Budget:
revenues $120 million; expenditures $NA, including capital expenditures of
$NA (1992 est.)
Exports:
$59 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.)
commodities:
natural rubber, rice, pepper, wood
partners:
Vietnam, USSR, Eastern Europe, Japan, India
Imports:
$170 million (c.i.f., 1990 est.)
commodities:
international food aid; fuels, consumer goods, machinery
partners:
Vietnam, USSR, Eastern Europe, Japan, India
External debt:
$717 million (1990)
Industrial production:
growth rate NA%
Electricity:
35,000 kW capacity; 70 million kWh produced, 9 kWh per capita (1990)
Industries:
rice milling, fishing, wood and wood products, rubber, cement, gem mining
Agriculture:
mainly subsistence farming except for rubber plantations; main crops - rice,
rubber, corn; food shortages - rice, meat, vegetables, dairy products,
sugar, flour
Economic aid:
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $725 million; Western (non-US
countries) (1970-89), $300 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $1.8
billion
Currency:
1 riel (CR) = 100 sen

*Cambodia, Economy

Exchange rates:
riels (CR) per US$1 - 2,800 (September 1992), 500 (December 1991), 560
(1990), 159.00 (1988), 100.00 (1987)
Fiscal year:
calendar year

*Cambodia, Communications

Railroads:
612 km 1.000-meter gauge, government owned
Highways:
13,351 km total