Asia

Area:
total area: 181,040 sq km
land area: 176,520 sq km
comparative area: slightly smaller than Oklahoma

Land boundaries:
total: 2,572 km
border countries: Laos 541 km, Thailand 803 km, Vietnam 1,228 km

Coastline: 443 km

Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: offshore islands and sections of the
boundary with Vietnam are in dispute; maritime boundary with Vietnam
not defined; parts of border with Thailand in dispute; maritime
boundary with Thailand not clearly defined

Climate: tropical; rainy, monsoon season (May to November); dry
season (December to April); little seasonal temperature variation

Terrain: mostly low, flat plains; mountains in southwest and north
lowest point: Gulf of Thailand 0 m
highest point: Phnum Aoral 1,810 m

Natural resources: timber, gemstones, some iron ore, manganese,
phosphates, hydropower potential

Land use:
arable land: 16%
permanent crops: 1%
meadows and pastures: 3%
forest and woodland: 76%
other: 4%

Irrigated land: 920 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
current issues: logging activities throughout the country and strip
mining for gems in the western region along the border with Thailand
are resulting in habitat loss and declining biodiversity (in
particular, destruction of mangrove swamps threatens natural
fisheries); deforestation; soil erosion; in rural areas, a majority
of the population does not have access to potable water
natural hazards: monsoonal rains (June to November); flooding;
occasional droughts
international agreements: party to - Marine Life Conservation, Ship
Pollution; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping,
Tropical Timber 94

Geographic note: a land of paddies and forests dominated by the
Mekong River and Tonle Sap

People
------

Population: 10,861,218 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 45% (male 2,505,998; female 2,432,620)
15-64 years: 51% (male 2,579,986; female 3,007,838)
65 years and over: 4% (male 143,759; female 191,017) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.77% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 43.5 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 15.78 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 populat