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With a population of an estimated 13.7 million (2006), Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in the world and is heavily dependant on aid. As the Mekong River provides fertile, irrigated fields for rice production, 70 per cent of the workforce engages in subsistence farming. Most of Cambodia’s foreign exchange is provided by its clothing exports.
Illegal logging remains a problem, robbing the country of millions of dollars. Topsoil erosion and flooding have also caused the worsening of its environmental situation. The spread of HIV/Aids also poses another threat, but public health campaigns have helped to alleviate the situation.
The country grabbed headlines when communist Khmer Rouge under their leader Pol Pot seized power in 1975. Over the next three years, 1.7 million Cambodians died from exhaustion, starvation while others were executed. While, this tormenting period is over, several border disputes and maritime boundaries continue to exist among its neighbouring countries, Thailand and Vietnam.
Despite recent progress and a recorded increase in the per capita income, Cambodia continues to suffer from the effects of decades of civil war, internal conflict and corruption.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) Institute said in a recent report that within ASEAN, the nations of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam need to build infrastructure like transportation and telecommunication facilities. They also in need of legal, judicial and governance systems and a skilled work force, the ADB's research arm said.
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