The ancient kingdom of Cambodia emerged from French colonial rule in 1953, only to be plunged into violent civil conflict. Under the extremist Khmer Rouge, headed by the infamous Pol Pot, the country endured one of the world's most brutal totalitarian regimes. Since the withdrawal of Vietnamese troops in 1989 the country has gradually returned to relative stability. The dominating geographic feature is the Tônlé Sap, or Great Lake, which drains into the Mekong River. Over three-quarters of Cambodia is forested, with mangroves lining the coast.

Cambodian society underwent one of the 20th century's most horrific experiments in social transformation between 1975 and 1979 under Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge regime. One in eight of the population died from warfare, starvation, overwork, or execution. Half a million more fled to Thailand. The Pol Pot regime's extreme radical beliefs led to the scrapping of money, possessions, and hierarchy. "Bourgeois" learning was despised, whereas peasants, soldiers of the revolution, and some industrial workers were officially given higher status. Boys and girls of 13 and 14 were taken from their homes, indoctrinated in the tenets of revolution, and allowed to kill those held guilty of bourgeois crimes. Violence at all levels was sanctioned in the name of revolution. The legacies of the regime are both the emigration of surviving professionals, and one of the world's highest rates of orphans and widows.

Religious and ethnic tensions are minimal, although there is a traditional hostility in Khmer culture toward ethnic Vietnamese.

Strengths

Currently very few, as economy still recovering from long-running conflicts. Considerable future potential. Growth in tourism. Relatively unbureaucratic mentality. Self-sufficiency in rice achieved by 1999. Gems, especially sapphires. Possible offshore oil wealth. Export-oriented garment industry.

Weaknesses

Tiny tax base makes economic reform hard to implement. Dependence on overseas aid; corruption at most levels of government limits its effectiveness. Disputes over land ownership rights.

Profile

The economy was devastated during the Pol Pot years. The Vietnamese attempted some reconstruction based on central planning, then switched to encouraging the private sector. Investment in the 1990s was heavily aid-dependent. The Asian financial crisis and internal turmoil affected funding after 1997.

Cambodia is a constitutional monarchy.

Profile

In 1975, a US-installed government was overthrown by the Maoist Khmer Rouge under Pol Pot. That extremist and murderous regime was ousted in 1979 thanks to a Vietnamese invasion. The Khmer Rouge then joined a Western-backed anti-Vietnamese exile coalition with the supporters of the then Prince Sihanouk and the Khmer People's National Liberation Front (KPNLF), gaining UN recognition against the Vietnam-backed regime in Phnom Penh. In 1989 Vietnam withdrew its forces, paving the way for UN-supervised elections in 1993. The royalist Funcinpec emerged as the main winners and King Sihanouk formed a coalition government of national reconciliation, but the Khmer Rouge remained outside this coalition and resumed armed resistance until its surrender in 1998. The strife-torn coalition meanwhile had degenerated into open hostility in 1997, when Hun Sen of the communist CPP ousted his co-prime minister Prince Ranariddh. A year later the CPP failed to win elections outright, forcing it to seek a new coalition agreement with Funcinpec.

Main Political Issues

Settling accounts with Khmer Rouge

The Khmer Rouge, which had resumed its armed struggle in 1993, surrendered in 1998. Mass defections and the death of Pol Pot earlier that year had weakened the group. The legislature in 2001 approved plans for a tribunal to try the surviving leaders for crimes against humanity.

Royalist–CPP rivalry

Power struggles between the Funcinpec and the CPP came to a head with CPP leader Hun Sen's mid-1997 coup. However, inconclusive elections in July 1998 led the two parties to re-form their uneasy coalition in November. Against expectations, that compromise proved a durable one.

Few are currently exploited, apart from tropical rainforest timber, particularly teak and rosewood, much of which is felled illegally.

The Cambodian health system was effectively destroyed in the Pol Pot period; only 50 doctors survived, and Cambodia's health indicators were among the worst in the world.

Conditions have since improved, but AIDS is widespread, affecting even children in rural areas. Infant mortality remains high, and malaria and cholera are endemic. In 2000, UNICEF helped mount an immunization campaign against tetanus, a major cause of neonatal mortality.

The government aims to put in place a nine-year period of education. Currently primary education is compulsory, and lasts for six years between the ages of six and 12. Only 5000 of Cambodia's 20,000 teachers survived the Pol Pot period; the Vietnamese-installed government trained or retrained about 40,000.

New industries such as textiles, in which female garment workers may earn $40 a month in vast workshops, help to attract migrants to the towns, although they risk unemployment and homelessness. Cambodians in rural areas face more severe poverty, exacerbated by land shortage.

A former French protectorate, Cambodia gained independence in 1953 as a constitutional monarchy with Norodom Sihanouk as king.

• 1955 Sihanouk abdicates to pursue political career; takes title "prince."
• 1970 Right-wing coup led by Prime Minister Lon Nol deposes Sihanouk. Exiled Sihanouk forms Royal Government of National Union of Cambodia (GRUNC), backed by communist Khmer Rouge. Lon Nol proclaims Khmer Republic.
• 1975 GRUNC troops capture Phnom Penh. Prince Sihanouk head of state, Khmer Rouge assumes power. Huge numbers die under radical extremist regime.
• 1976 Country renamed Democratic Kampuchea. Elections. Sihanouk resigns; GRUNC dissolved. Khieu Samphan head of state; Pol Pot prime minister.
• 1978 December, Vietnam invades, supported by Cambodian communists opposed to Pol Pot.
• 1979 Vietnamese capture Phnom Penh. Khmer Rouge ousted by Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party (KPRP), led by Pen Sovan. Khmer Rouge starts guerrilla war. Pol Pot held responsible for genocide and sentenced to death in absentia.
• 1982 Government-in-exile including Khmer Rouge and Khmer People's National Liberation Front, headed by Prince Sihanouk, is recognized by UN.
• 1989 Withdrawal of Vietnamese troops.
• 1990 UN Security Council approves plan for UN-monitored cease-fire and elections.
• 1991 Signing of Paris peace accords. Sihanouk reinstated as head of state of Cambodia.
• 1993 UN-supervised elections won by royalist Funcinpec. Sihanouk takes title of "king."
• 1994 Khmer Rouge refuses to join peace process.
• 1995 Former finance minister Sam Rainsy forms opposition party.
• 1996 Leading Khmer Rouge member Ieng Sary defects.
• 1997 Joint prime minister Hun Sen mounts coup against royalist co-premier Prince Ranariddh.
• 1998 April, death of Pol Pot; June, Khmer Rouge surrender; July, parliamentary elections; November, Hun Sen heads coalition government including Funcinpec.
• 1999 Cambodia admitted to ASEAN.
• 2001 Law approved on trials of Khmer Rouge leaders for atrocities committed by regime.