Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
over into politics as the Facebook generation helped deliver a shock result that saw the
Cambodian Peoples' Party majority slashed in half.
THE POPULATION OF CAMBODIA
Cambodia's second postwar population census was carried out in 2008 and put the country's popula-
tion at about 13.5 million. The current population is estimated at nearly 15 million and, with a rapid
growth rate of about 2% per year, it's predicted to reach 20 million by 2025.
Phnom Penh is the largest city, with a population of 1.5 million. Other major population centres in-
clude the boom towns of Siem Reap, Sihanoukville, Battambang and Poipet. The most populous
province is Kompong Cham, where more than 10% of Cambodians live.
The much-discussed imbalance of men to women due to years of conflict is not as serious as it was
in 1980, but it's still significant: there are about 95 males to every 100 females, up from 86.1 to 100 in
1980. There is, however, a marked imbalance in age groups: more than 40% of the population is under
the age of 16.
Cambodia is set for major demographic shifts in the next couple of decades. Currently,
just 20% of the population lives in urban areas, which contrasts starkly with the country's
more developed neighbours, such as Malaysia and Thailand. Increasing numbers of young
people are likely to migrate to the cities in search of opportunity, forever changing the
face of contemporary Cambodian society. However, for now at least, Cambodian society
remains much more traditional than that of Thailand and Vietnam, and visitors need to
keep this in mind.
