Cambodia is the third poorest Nation in Southeast Asia (in front of Laos and Myanmar but way behind Thailand & Vietnam). The benefits of the phenomenal economic growth of recent years has largely been limited to the urban elite, and the vast majority of the Cambodia population (who live and work in rural areas) have seen little if any increase in incomes. Inequality has risen dramatically, and average earnings are more than five-times higher in urban areas than they are in rural ones.

Healthcare and Education provision is also limited in Cambodia. One in eight children will die before they reach their fifth birthday, and a third will be either underweight and / or suffer from stunted growth. People in rural areas are also more likely to lack access to basic resources. Less than 16% of rural Cambodians have access to improved sanitation facilities, and 31% have access to safe water supplies.

For more information on development in Cambodia, visit any of the following websites:

• Ausaid Cambodia
• DFID Cambodia
• USAid Cambodia
• World Trade Organisation Cambodia
• World Health organization Cambodia
• United Nations in Cambodia
• World Bank Cambodia
• IMF Cambodia

Other good sources of information on development and current affars are:

• Cambodia Information Centre
• Phnom Penh Post: Newspaper
• Cambodia Daily: Newspaper.
• The Library of Congress: Cambodia
• UK FCO
• Cambodia Calling