Healthier and Larger Population: Life’s Good Here!

The growth in Cambodia’s population by some 5 million over almost a quarter of a century is due to not only a decline in mortality rates but also an increase in life expectancy and growth momentum, showing that the country has improved its quality of life.

“This is a great achievement that comes from the joint efforts of the Royal Government and development partners, as well as the private sector and civil society, to improve and develop the public health sector,” says Prime Minister Hun Sen in his message titled “Unleashing the power of gender equality: Uplifting the voices of women and girls to unlock our world’s infinite possibilities.”

The national population went from 11.4 million in 1998 to 16.8 million in 2022. Indeed, maternal mortality rates have gone from 810 per 100,000 live births in 2008 to 154 per 100,00 live births in 2021-2022, and the under-five mortality rate, from 124 per 1,000 live births in 2000 to 16 per 1,000 live births in 2021-2022. As for life expectancy, it increased from 54 years for men and 58 years for women in 1998 to 74.3 and 76.8 years for men and women respectively in 2019. Cambodia’s National Population Policy 2016-2030 shows that citizens have the fundamental right to choose the number of children to have and the contraceptive methods to use, plus women and children have access to information, education, and services to decide.