Women and Men's in Cambodia Final Version - EN

Kingdom of Cambodia
Nation Religion King
WOMEN AND MEN

in Cambodia
FACTS AND FIGURES 2018
National Institute of Statistics, Ministry of Planning

Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Women and Men in Cambodia 3
CONTENTS
Foreword.......................................................................................... 4
Preface............................................................................................. 5
Abbreviation.................................................................................... 6
Gender Equality.............................................................................. 7
Introduction....................................................................................... 8
Population......................................................................................... 9
Health............................................................................................. 19
Education....................................................................................... 27
Labour Force................................................................................. 41
Violence Against Women........................................................... 49
Decision Making........................................................................... 58
National Institute of Statistics

4 Women and Men in Cambodia
FOREWORD
It is my great pleasure to introduce the fourth edition of the
booklet “Women and Men in Cambodia” produced by the
National Institute of Statistics (NIS) of the Ministry of Planning. The
statistics show the situation of women and men in many different
areas of life. By making the situation for women and men more
visible, the statistics can contribute to the ongoing development in
Cambodia. Gender equality is one of the most important goals in
Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) to 2030.
I want to take the opportunity to thank Statistics Sweden for their
technical assistance, SIDA and UN Women for their financial
support in the making of this booklet.
H.E Mrs. Hang Lina, Delegation of Royal Government in charge
of Director General of NIS ably coordinated the process of this
booklet, assisted by her staff and cooperated with the
participants attending the International Training Programme on
“Gender Statistics” Ms. Yit Viriya and Ms. Chum Puthivan from
the National Institute of Statistics, the Ministry of Planning,
Ms. Kem Keothyda from the Parliamentary Institute of
Cambodia, Ms. Thak Socheat from Cambodian Women’s Crisis
Center, Ms. Dun Thavy from the National Audit Authority of
Cambodia, and Mr. Sao Vong Virak from Ministry of Women’s
Affairs. We thank every one of them for actively participating
and contributing to produce this booklet.
Chhay Than
Senior Minister
Ministry of Planning
April, 2018
PREFACE
This is the fourth edition of the booklet “Women and Men in
Cambodia” produced by the Gender Statistics Working Group led
by National Institutes of Statistics (NIS) of Ministry of Planning. The
booklet provides a brief overview of the situation for women and
men in Cambodia and will be used as a useful resource on gender
statistics which can be utilized by relevant users.
The publication consists of tables and graphs with short textual
analyses and may serve as a source of information to all users
interested in the conditions for women and men and gender
equality in Cambodia. The information in this booklet has primarily
been taken from NIS and other governmental agencies’ statistical
production. The source is given in conjunction with each table/
graph. In most places, the tables and graphs provide absolute
numbers and/or proportions (%) for certain attributes for women
and/or men.
I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to the Gender
Statistics Working Group of NIS, Ministry of Women’s Affairs,
Parliamentary Institute of Cambodia, National Audit Authority of
Cambodia, and Cambodian Women’s Crisis Center who contributed
significantly in the preparation of this important fourth edition of
the Women and Men Booklet. My special thanks to Statistics
Sweden for their support and technical assistance.
Hang Lina
Delegate of the Royal Government of
Cambodia in charge of Director General
April, 2018
ABBREVIATION
CDHS Cambodian Demographic and Health Survey
CSES Cambodian Socio-Economic Survey
CIPS Cambodia Inter-censal Population Survey
DSC Demographic Survey of Cambodia
EMIS Education Management Information Systems
GPCC General Population Census in Cambodia
GDS General Demographic Survey
MoWA Ministry of Women’s Affairs
MoEYS Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport
MoCS Ministry of Civil Service
MoLVT Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training
NIS National Institute of Statistics
NSDP National Strategy Development Plan
TFR Total Fertility Rate
RGC Royal Government of Cambodia

GENDER EQUALITY
Gender equality means that women and men have equal
power to shape society and their own lives. This implies the
same opportunities, rights and obligations in all spheres of
life.
Gender equality is a situation where there is no discrimination
on the grounds of a person’s sex in the allocation of resources
or benefits, or in access to services. Gender equality may be
measured in terms of whether there is equality of opportunity,
or equality of results. The UN Convention on the Elimination of
all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) can be
understood as a statement on what the principle of gender
equality of opportunity should mean in practice for all as-
pects of life, and all sectors of the economy.
Gender equality means fair treatment of women and men. To
ensure fairness, measures must often be available to compen-
sate for historical and social disadvantages that prevent
women and men from otherwise sharing a level playing field.
Equity leads to equality. Measures that address specific dis-
parities that prevent women from having the same status as
men will allow both women and men to share equally in the
results and benefits of development. One example of such a
measure of equity is the provision of leadership training for
women, which addresses the problem of gender inequality in
the structures of governance.

INTRODUCTION
In the fifth mandate in 2013, Gender Equality and Women
Empowerment remains key top priority of the Royal
Government of Cambodia. Rectangular Strategy Phase III
(2014-2018) demonstrates precisely government’s
commitment in promoting gender equality and women’s
empowerment, considering women as the backbone of
economy and society.
Government, through the Ministry of Women’s Affairs
(MoWA), mandates to improve the status of women by
focusing on measures such as the economic empowerment for
women, better access to education for women and girls, legal
protection for women and girls, improving health for women
and girls, women in decision-making and gender
mainstreaming in government policy and program reforms.
Institutional strengthening and capacity development toward
gender equality is also one of key focus areas of MoWA’s
Five Year Strategic Plan (2014-2018).
The Royal Government of Cambodia has indicated a strong
commitment in promoting Gender Equality and Women
Empowerment in all spheres of development. To achieve this,
it requires concrete actions and collaboration from all relevant
government institutions, NGOs, Civil Societies and the private
sector to ensure inclusiveness for all and there will be no one
left behind.

POPULATION
This chapter describes the population including ratios from the
first census 1962 and age structure and the population
pyramid, population projection trends, percentage of internal
and external migration, percentage of never married
population by age and total fertility rate. Sex ratio is defined
as the number of males per 100 females in a given population.
In the first census 1962, the sex ratio of Cambodia was almost
100. It dipped to 86 in the early 1980s owing to heavy male
mortality during the Khmer Rouge period. It has been
improving gradually reaching 93 in the 1998 Census, 95 in
the 2008 census and 94 in the CIPS2013, only marginally less
than what it was in 2008.
With the estimated sex ratio of 96 from the Cambodia
Socio-Economic Survey (CSES) 2016, the population consisted
of 7.9 million women and 7.6 million men, with a surplus of
almost 300 thousand women.
Even if the figures since 1998 seems to indicate an increase,
there are still more women than men in the Cambodian
population. In most of the countries of the world sex ratio
ranges from 95 to 105.

1. Population 1962, 1980, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2008,

2013 and 2016
In thousands and sex ratio
Population
Year Sex ratio
Women Men Total
1962 2,866 2,863 5,729 99.9
1980 * * * 86.1
1994 5,156 4,714 9,870 91.4
1996 5,387 4,953 10,340 92.0
1998 5,926 5,511 11,438 93.0
2008 6,880 6,516 13,396 94.7
2013 7,555 7,122 14,677 94.3
2016 7,959 7,668 15,626 96.3
Source: G
PCC 1962, 1998, 2008, CIPS 2013, GDS, 1980,
CSES 1993-94, 1996, DSC, 1996, CSES 2016,
NIS. * Data not available
Table 2 presents the information on the percentage of the

population, distributed by urban and rural residences in
Cambodia. As observed from the results, the percentage of
the population shows many more people living in rural areas
(about 4 times) than in urban areas, for both women and men
in Cambodia in the Census 2008, CIPS 2013 and the
CSES2016.

2. Population by area 2008, 2013 and 2016

In percent
2008 2013 2016
W M W M W M
Urban 20 19 21 21 24 23
Rural 80 81 79 79 76 77
Total 100 100 100 100 100 100
Source: GPCC 2008, CIPS 2013 and CSES 2016, NIS
The age structure of the population is determined by the same
three factors which affect the growth rate of any population:
fertility, mortality and migration. To study the age structure of
the population we show the percent distribution of the
population in different age groups and sex by a population
pyramid which roughly summarizes the demographic history
of population. The percentage of males and females by
five-year age groups, starting with the youngest age group at
the bottom, and increasing with age towards the top of the
pyramid. The percentage of males is depicted to the right
and the percentage of females to the left side of the center
of the pyramid.
The population pyramid shows that the share of child
population (0–14 years) has decreased from 18 percent in
2008 to 16 in 2013 for men and has increased from 13 in
2008 to 14 in 2013 for women.

The percentage of working age population (aged 15-64

years) of Cambodia has increased from 30 percent to 31
percent for male and has increased from 32 percent to 34
percent for female, by almost 2 percent points. The proportion
of the elderly population (aged 65 years and over) in the
country as a whole has increased from 1.7 percent to 2.0
percent, for men and has increased from 2.5 percent to 3.0
percent for women.
3. Population by age, 2008 and 2013
Percentage distribution
2008 75+
70-74
65-69
Women Men 60-64
55-59
50-54
45-49
40-44
35-39
30-34
25-29
20-24
15-19
10-14
5-9
0-4
8 6 4 2 0 2 4 6 8
Percentage

2013
75+
70-74
Men 65-69
Women 60-64
55-59
50-54
45-49
40-44
35-39
30-34
25-29
20-24
15-19
10-14
5-9
0-4
8 6 4 2 0 2 4 6 8
Percentage
Source: GPCC 2008 and CIPS 2013, NIS.
The population in Cambodia will increase by about 2.6 million

during 2013-2023 according to the population projection for
Cambodia. In 2023 there will be 8.8 million females and 8.5
million males. .

4. Population projection for Cambodia

In millions
10.0
9.5
Population projection, In million
Women 8.8
9.0
8.4 8.6 8.7
8.3
8.5 8.1 8.2
7.7 7.8 7.9 8.3
8.5
8.0 7.6 8.2
7.9 8.1
7.5 7.7 7.8
7.5 Men
7.0 7.4
7.3
7.1
6.5
6.0
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Source: Population Projection for Cambodia 2008-2050, NIS.
Among the internal migrants, rural to rural migrants

predominate both in 2008 and 2013 with an increased
proportion in 2013. The proportions of rural to urban migrants
as well as that of urban to urban migrants have each declined
by 4 percentage points for women and by 2 percentage
points for men during the five years with the former constituting
nearly one quarter of all internal migrants and the latter
accounting for almost half of that in 2013.

5. Internal migration by urban and rural areas. 2008 and

2013
In percent and total numbers
Stream of 2008 2013

Migration Women Men Women Men
Rural to Rural 49 53 57 60
Rural to Urban 30 26 26 24
Urban to Rural 6 7 5 5
Urban to Urban 16 14 13 11
Total 100 100 100 100
Total numbers 1,710,000 1,742,000 2,049,000 2,085,000
Source: GPCC 2008 and CIPS 2013, NIS.
In 2015 and 2016, Thailand had the highest proportion of

external migration and it increased from 79 percent to 92
percent for women and from 73 percent to 88 percent for
men. Following this, the proportion of external migration
steeply falls in Korea and Japan and then Malaysia and
Singapore come next in order by a slight margin. Only
external migration registered by private companies are
included in this table.

6. External migration registered by private companies

In percent
Stream of 2015 2016

Migration Women Men Women Men
Malaysia 4 1 0 0
Thailand 79 73 92 88
Japan 6 2 3 1
Singapore 1 - 0 -
Korea 11 24 5 11
Total 100 100 100 100
Source: A
nnual Report 2016, MLVT (migration registered by
private companies).
Family formation
Marital status is a very important factor in population
dynamics as it affects fertility and mortality as well as
migration to a lesser extent. The table presents the percent
distribution of males and females aged 15 years and over by
five age groups of never married population. Responses to
the question on marital status in CSES were grouped into
these categories: never married and ever married (currently
married, widowed, divorced and separated). A person is
considered ever married if by law or local custom and
tradition, he or she is acknowledged to be married, or living
with someone of the opposite sex as husband and wife.

It is observed that, the highest proportion in the age group

15-19, are single which is about 92 percent of women and
98 percent of men. By the age 30-34, the proportion of those
never married is reduced to about 1 percent for both sexes of
women and men between 2014 and 2016. Beyond the age
of 50 the “never married” population mostly remained single
throughout their lifetime.
7. Never married population by age, 2014 and 2016
In percentage
100
90
80
70
Percent
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
9 9 74 5+
-19 -24 -29 34 -3 44 -49 54 -59 64 -6
15 20 25 30- 35 40- 45 50- 55 60- 65 70- 7
Age Group
2016 Women 2016 Men 2014 Women 2014 Men
Source: CSES 2014 and CSES 2016, NIS.

In 2014 the total fertility rate (TFR) in Cambodia was 2.7

children per woman. On average, rural women would give
birth to approximately 2.9 children during their reproductive
years, while urban women would give birth to only 2.1
children during their reproductive years if they were to follow
current levels of fertility throughout their life. The total fertility
rate has declined over the past 15 years. The 2000 CDHS
and 2005 CDHS each estimated the number of children the
average woman would bear in her lifetime to be 4.0 and 3.4
children per women, respectively. By 2010, the TFR further
declined to 3.0 children per women.
8. Total fertility rate (15-49), 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2014
Children per women
4.5
4.0
3.5 Rural
3.0
Cambodia
2.5 Urban
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
2005 2005 2010 2014
Source: CDHS 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2014, NIS

HEALTH
This chapter presents the mains information on life expectancy,
contraception knowledge and antenatal care focus on the
assistance during deliver, maternal mortality, and the trend of
infant mortality rate. The data are related to the Four
Focusing Priority Policies of National Strategy Development
Plan 2014 to 2018, which are carried out by the Ministry of
Health in order to achieve the RGC’s priority policy in the fifth
legislature and they are also one of the core indicators
framework for monitoring and evaluation.
Life expectancy at birth has increased, especially for women
whose life expectancy has increased by more than ten years
from 1998 to 2013. The trend for women’s age projections is
also expected to reach to over 76 years in the next ten years.
Women are predicted to live longer than men.
1. Life expectancy at birth. Observed 1995, 2000, 2005,
2010 and 2015 and projection 2020 to 2023
Age
80
Women Projecton
70
Men
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025
Source: Population Projection of Cambodia 2013-2023, NIS.

Current use of contraception methods among women in

Cambodia continues to increase from the levels reported in
the first CDHS in 2000 to 2014. In the last 14 years, women
are more likely to use any modern method; the proportion has
increased from 19 percent to 39 percent. In the meantime,
traditional methods are being used, withdrawal was the most
significant individual method used among them. The rhythm
method was being used by similar proportions between years.
2. Distribution of married women age 15-49 currently
using contraception. 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2014
In percent
Method 2000 2005 2010 2014
Any Method 24 40 51 56
Any modern meth-od 19 27 35 39
Female steriliza-tion 2 2 2 3
Daily/monthly pill 7 13 16 18
IUD 1 2 3 4
Injectable 7 8 10 9
Male condom 1 3 3 2
Implant 0 0 0 2
Any traditional 5 13 16 18
method
Rhythm 3 5 4 3
Withdrawal 2 8 12 15

Not currently using 76 60 50 44

Total 100 100 100 100
Number of women in
9,100 10,100 11,600 11,900
survey
Source: CDHS, 2014.
Obstetric care by a trained provider during delivery is

recognized as critical for the reduction of maternal and
neonatal mortality. Mothers aged under 20 years were
attended by a midwife during birth by a significantly higher
percentage (74%) than mothers aged between 35 and 49
(66%). Those in the older age range were attended by a
traditional birth attendant to a greater extent than younger
mothers.
3. Birth assisted by a skilled provider, 2014
Percentage distribution
Person providing assistance during delivery
Traditional
birth
Doctor Nurse Midwife attendant Others
Mother's age at child’s birth
<20 11 4 74 11 0
20-34 16 3 70 10 0
35-49 13 3 66 18 1
Source: CDHS, 2014

Maternal mortality
There were 32 maternal deaths in the six years between
2008 and 2014. Maternal deaths accounted 9 per cent of all
death women, meaning about 1in 11 Cambodian women who
died in that period, which is the annual number of maternal
deaths per 1,000 women age15-49.
4. Maternal mortality 2008-2014, by five years age
groups
Number and percentage of all female deaths
Percentage of female
Maternal
deaths that are
Age deaths
maternal
15-19 0 0
20-24 13 4
25-29 27 11
30-34 11 5
35-39 16 8
40-44 3 2
45-49 3 2
15-49 9 32
Source: CDHS, 2014

Infant Mortality
The results of the 2014 CDHS, compared to the findings from
2000, 2005 and 2010, showed that infant mortality has
declined gradually and substantially in the past 14 years,
with 95 deaths per 1,000 live births in year 2000 to 28 per
1,000 in year 2014. In addition, this survey reported that
female infants show a lower mortality rate than male infants
during all life before age 5.
5. Infant mortality, 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2014
Deaths per 1000 live birth
Deaths per 1000 live birth
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
2000 2005 2010 2014
Source: CDHS, 2014.

Furthermore, the infant mortality rate by socioeconomic

characteristics in urban areas was consistently lower than
rural areas. In addition, mortality declined markedly as the
mother’s education increases. Mothers with a lower level of
education or no schooling faced a higher mortality rate, 63
compared to 26 deaths per 1,000 live births for those with
secondary education.
6. Infant mortality by socioeconomic characteristics,
2014
Deaths per 1000 live births
Residence
Urban 13
Rural 42
Education
None 63
Primary 37
Secondary or higher 26
Deaths per 1,000 live births
Source: CDHS, 2014

Health
Women tend to be unhealthier than men either all domains,
Phnom Penh, urban and rural areas. A higher percentage of
women than men in the domain areas became ill, had an injury
or a health problem, especially women living in rural areas.
7. Illness/injury in the last 30 days, 2015.
In percent
20
15
10
0
Cambodia Phnom Penh Other urban Other rural
Women Men
Source: CESE, 2015.

In Cambodia, mostly 100 percent of women and men age 15

to 49 in both urban and rural areas have heard of HIV/AIDS.
8. Women and men age 15-49 who have heard of AIDS
by region, 2014
Percentage and number in survey
Women Men
Region Has Has
Number of Number of
heard of heard of
respondents respondents
AIDS AIDS
Urban 100 3,251 99 869
Rural 98 14,327 98 4,321
Source: CSES, 2014.

EDUCATION
This chapter provides the literacy by age group, enrolment
rate (net and gross enrolment rate) by educational level,
dropout rate and reason for drop out school, educational
expenses and percentage by undergraduate/graduates.
Literacy
The adult literacy rate is the share of the population aged 15
years and above who can both read and write a simple
message in any language. The literacy rate in Cambodia was
highest among women and men in the age group 15-24 years
in both 2014 and 2016, followed by the age group 25-34
years. Generally, the literacy rate among men was higher
than among women in all ages except for the ages 6-14 and
15-24 where the literacy rate was higher among women in
both years. The literacy rate from 6 years and older among
women and men was higher in 2016 than 2014.

1. Literacy by age group, 2014 and 2016

In percent
100.0
90.0
80.0
70.0
60.0
Percent
50.0
40.0
30.0
20.0
10.0
0.0
20142016 20142016 20142016 20142016 2014201620142016 20142016
6-14 15-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+
Women Men
Source: C
SES, 2014 and 2016, NIS.
The graph shows that the literacy rate among men and among
women in urban areas was higher than men and women in
rural areas in all years. The adult literacy rate of the
population aged 15 and over is lower among women than
men in all areas.

2. Literacy (15 years and above) by geographic area,

2014, 2015 and 2016
In percent
100
80
60
Percent
40
20
0
Women Men Women Men Women Men
2014 2015 2016
Urban Rural
Source: CSES 2014, 2015 and 2016, NIS.
Enrolment rate
Enrolment rate or net enrolment rate (NER) is defined as a
percentage of the number of pupils or students in the
theoretical age group for a given level of education enrolled
in that level, expressed as a percentage to the total population
in that age group. According to the Education Management
Information System (EMIS) the percentage started from 84
among girls, and 90 for boys, increasing slightly from 2001-

2002 to 97 in 2012-2013 but the percentage decreased a

little for both girls and boys in 2013-2014 and decreased
slightly in 2015-2016. The enrolment rate was 95 percent for
boys and 93 percent for girls attending primary education in
2015-2016. Generally, the enrolment rate of boys was
higher than girls in all years except for 2012 to 2016 where
the enrolment rate was only marginally different.
3. Enrolment rate in primary education
In percent
2015-2016
2013-2014
2011-2012
2009-2010
Year
2007-2008
2005-2006
2003-2004
2001-2002
75 80 85 90 95 100
Percent
Girl Boy
Source: Education Statistics & Indicators of MoEYS.
Gross enrolment rate (GER) is defined as a percentage of the

number of pupils or students enrolled in a given level of
education, regardless of age, related to the number of
population in the theoretical age group for the same level of

education. The table shows that GER at lower secondary

education was 55 percent, an increase of 2 percent and 3
percent for girls from 2014 to 2017 in Cambodia and in rural
areas, but decreasing from 3 percent and 2 percent in urban
areas. The corresponding GER for boys has changed only
slightly in the last 3 years (2014-2017).
4. Gross enrolment rate in lower education, 2014 to
2017
In percent
2014-2015 2015-2016 2016-2017

Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys
Cambodia 55 52 57 51 60 52
Urban 59 58 56 55 57 54
Rural 55 50 57 50 60 52
In table 2.2 we find that people in urban areas had the

highest gross enrolment rate in upper secondary school in
2016-2017, for adults aged 15-17 years, which constitutes
about 39 percent for women and 38 percent for men. Lower
rates are found in rural areas where the gross enrolment
among women is about 23 percent and among men about 20
percent. Between the years 2014-2015 and 2016-2017, the
gross enrolment rates in upper secondary school increased

slightly for women but did not change for men in urban and
rural areas.
5. Gross enrolment rate in upper education, 2014 to
2017
In percent
2014-2015 2015-2016 2016-2017

W M W M W M
Cambo-dia 25 24 25 24 27 24
Urban 40 38 39 38 39 38
Rural 20 20 21 19 23 20
Source: E ducation Statistics & Indicators of MoEYS.
Dropouts from school

Table 6 shows the percentage of the population aged 6 to 17
years who have dropped out from school by educational
levels and sex. As indicated, the percentages of the population
who have dropped out of school have decreased in all years.
More men than women have dropped out of school in all
areas for all years.

6. Dropout rate by educational level. 2013-2016

In percent
2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016
Academic year
Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys
Cambodia
Upper 25 30 22 25 18 21
Secondary
Lower 20 22 18 20 16 19
Secondary
Primary Level 7 9 5 7 4 6
Urban
Upper 20 25 19 21 14 17
Secondary
Lower 13 15 13 15 12 16
Secondary
Rural
Upper 28 32 24 28 20 23
Secondary
Lower 22 24 20 22 16 19
Secondary

The question on reasons for dropout is only asked to persons

below 18 years who are not attending school. Of this group
in 2016 about 43 percent of girls and 35 percent of boys in
urban area and about 54 percent of girls and 45 percent of
boys in rural area answered that, they are not able to attend
school, because they must work to contribute to household
income. Overall, the reason of having to work to contribute to
household income is lower in 2016 than in 2014 for girls and
boys in all areas.
7. Reason for drop out school. 2014 and 2016
In percent
2014 2016
Reason for drop out
Girls Boys Girls Boys
Cambodia 100 100 100 100
Don’t want to go to school 15 22 8 20
Did not do well in school 12 20 11 7
No suitable school available/ 4 3 6 1
school is too far
Must contribute to household 47 37 52 43
income
Must help with household 11 7 7 11
chores
Too poor 9 10 15 16
Other 2 1 2 3

Urban 100 100 100 100

school is too far
income
chores
Too poor 15 10 25 33
Other 2 3 8 4
Rural 100 100 100 100
school is too far
income
chores
Too poor 8 10 12 12
Other 2 1 0 3
Source: CSES 2014 and 2016, NIS.

Educational expenses
The educational expenses incurred during the last school year
for each household member attending the formal school
system, taking private lessons after school or following non-
formal classes were recorded separately. The total expenses
include the following seven categories: school fees, tuition,
text books, other school supplies, allowances for children
studying away from home, transport cost and gift to teachers,
building funds etc.
There are large differences in annual expenses between
urban and rural areas among girls and boys over this period.
As the composition of education is different in urban and rural
in Cambodia, it follows that the average expenses differ.
Urban areas have a higher share in levels above primary
school and more private schools. The average annual expense
for boys in the field of education was higher than the expenses
for girls in 2015 but the average annual expense for boys
was lower than for girls in 2016.
In rural areas, the average total cost has increased from 638
thousand riels for women and 677 thousand riels for women
in 2015 to 773 thousand riels for women and 737 thousand
riels for men in 2016 but in urban areas the average total
cost has decreased from 1,623 thousand riels to 1,440
thousand riels for men only.

8. Average annual educational expenses by area

In Thousand Riels
In Thousand 2015 2016

Riels Area Women Men Women Men
Cambodia 852 903 947 901
Urban 1,504 1,623 1,539 1,440
Rural 638 677 773 737
There were large differences in educational expenses by

education levels.
In primary school, which had the highest share of students, the
cost was about 451 thousand riels for women and 428
thousand riels for men on average in 2015 and about 477
thousand riels for women and 458 thousand riels for men on
average in 2016. At the higher levels, there are more school
fees and tuition expenses which could explain the large
differences in cost between different levels in both years.

9. Average annual educational expenses by educational

level
In Thousand Riels
2015 2016
Educational level
W M W M
Pre-primary 547 580 771 587
Primary 451 428 477 458
Lower secondary 847 903 924 896
Upper secondary 1,507 1,534 1,686 1,716
Technical/vocational 2,564 2,340 2,265 2,593
undergraduate/ 4,209 4,211 4,150 3,945
graduate
Teaching staff
As indicated in table 10, in the academic year 2015/2016,
about 53 percent of all teachers are teaching in primary
level, in which 60 percent for women and 46 percent for men.
More men than women are in upper secondary level and
lower secondary level of education but more women than men
are in primary level.

10. Teaching Staff by academic year, 2015/2016

Percent distribution and total numbers of teachers
Academic year Women Men Total
Upper secondary level 9 19 14
Lower secondary level 31 35 33
Primary level 60 46 53
Total 100 100 100
Total number of teachers 42,700 44,900 87,600
Higher education
The table shows the percentage of undergraduate/ graduate
students who attended and were attending school by level of
education and sex. There was large difference in the level of
education among women and men. The percentage was quite
high among those pursuing bachelor degree with about 63
percent of women and 69 percent of men and it was also high
for those graduating with bachelor degree, decreasing by 1
percent for women and increasing by 1 percent for men
between 2014-2015 and 2015-2016.
The pattern was the same for both women and men and the
gender difference was small over the period 2014-2016. In
2015-2016, among the students, the share of women and
men in all levels are virtually the same, except among those
pursuing a master degree. Among those graduating with a

bachelor degree and those graduating with associate

degree levels, the share of students has increased from about
one percent, and among those pursuing master degrees and
graduating with master degrees, it has not changed in the last
year.
11. Students who attended and attending school by level

of education
Percent distribution and total numbers of students
2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016

W M W M W M
Pursuing 6 5 10 5 9 9
Associate
Degree
Pursuing 73 70 66 69 65 63
Bachelor Degree
Pursuing Master 3 6 3 7 3 7
Degree
Pursuing PhD 0 0 0 0 0 0
Graduated with 2 2 3 3 4 4
Associate
Degree
Bachelor Degree
Master Degree

Graduated with 0 0 - 0 0 0
PhD
Total 100 100 100 100 100 100
Total number of
126,700 305,100 127,100 266,000 122,600 276,800
students
LABOR FORCE
This chapter presents the main information on labour force
participation rate, percentage of labour force aged by
areas, percentage of working children, percentage of
working children currently attending school, employment
status, employed population aged and women share of wage.
The data form part of the Priority Policy Action Plan of
Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training, as stated in the
National Strategy Development 2014 to 2018.
In term of labour force definition in CSES survey, it was
identified as working age population from 15-64 and those
employed at least an hour last per month. The labour forced
participants among both women and men compared between
years 2012 and 2015 are the same situation with a higher
percentage of men in Phnom Penh, urban and rural areas.

1. Labour force participation rate by areas, age 15-64,

2012 and 2015
Proportion (%) of all in each group
2012 2015
Residence Women Men Women Men
Cambodia 80 89 77 89
Phnom Penh 72 82 71 86
Other Urban 75 85 72 84
Other Rural 82 91 79 90
Total number 3,788,800 3,928,900 4,324,200 4,035,300
Source: CSES, 2014, NIS.
Moreover, according to the international definition, the total
unemployment rate is very low and the employment rate of
women are lower than men, with men more likely to be selected
for paid employed.
2. LLabour force aged (15-64 years) by areas
In percent
Labour
force Phnom Other Other Total
and Sex Cambodia Penh urban rural number
Employment rate
Women 77 71 72 79 4,322,700
Men 89 86 84 90 4,029,700
Unemployment rate
Women 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 1,500
Men 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.0 5,700

Furthermore, child labour is one of the main forms of violence

against children in Cambodia. The Royal Government of
Cambodia has set a strong resolve in the action plan to
prevent and respond to violence against children 2017-
2021; to join the global movement to end violence against
children, as articulated in the SDG and the 2015 ASEAN
regional plan of action on the elimination of violence against
children.
There is a slight decrease of working children, both girls and
boys, between the years 2014 and 2015. The situation of
working children, both female and male from age 5-17 are
slightly less than 18 percent and there is no significant
difference between boys and girls.
3. Working children aged 5-17 years, 2015
In percent
25
20
15
Girls
10 Boys
0
2014 2015
Source: CSES, 2014 & 2015, NIS.

However, working children also attending school was higher,

29 percent, with less girls than boys. The boys were 1.5
percent unit higher than the girls.
4. Working children aged 5-17 years currently attending
school, 2015
In percent
40
35
30
25
20 Girls
Boys
15
10
5
0
2014 2015
Source: CSES, 2014 & 2015, NIS.
Regarding the employed status of women and men in different

areas, there was a higher percentage of men as paid
employees. Hence, women were more likely to be running
their own business or self-employed and the rest serving the
family.

5. Employment status, main occupation age 15-64 by

and areas, 2015
In percent.
Phnom Other Other
Employment Cambodia
Penh urban rural
Status
W M W M W M W M
Paid employees 43 54 63 76 42 58 40 49
Own account 53 42 31 21 55 40 56 47
worker/
self-employed
Unpaid family 4 4 6 2 3 2 4 4
workers
Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
Source: CESE 2015, NIS
In Cambodia, a higher percentage of women work in serving

service and sales, 41 percent in Phnom Penh and 43 percent
in other urban areas, which is twice as many compared to
men. In agriculture, forestry and fishery for women and men in
Phnom Penh and urban areas were different than in other
rural areas women and men, 54 percent and 41 percent
respectively.

6. Employed population aged 15-64 years by main

occupation, and geographical domain, 2015
In percent
Cambodia Phnom Other Other

Main Penh urban rural
Occupation
W M W M W M W M
Armed force 0 2 1 4 0 2 0 1
Managers 1 1 2 4 1 1 0 1
Professionals 3 3 7 7 6 5 2 2
Technicians and 1 2 1 4 2 2 1 1
associate
professional
Clerical support 3 5 10 15 6 8 1 2
Workers
Service and 21 11 41 23 43 20 14 8
sales workers
Skilled 36 32 1 0 12 11 45 41
agricultural,
forestry and
fishery, workers

Craft and 23 24 31 25 18 23 23 24
related workers
Plant and 1 7 0 14 2 16 0 5
machine
operator and
assemblers
Elementary 12 14 6 5 10 13 14 15
occupations
Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

The table below shows women’s share of wages in three

sectors, agriculture (primary), industry (secondary) and
services (tertiary). Women have around 49-56 of the share
of wages in the primary sector for Cambodia, in other urban
and other rural areas. In the secondary sector they are also
having around 38-53 percent share for Cambodia, Phnom
Penh, other urban and others rural but in the tertiary sector
women in rural areas have a smaller share than Phnom Penh
and urban.

7. Women share of wage. Employment population aged

15-64 years by geographic domain, and industrial
sector, 2015
In percent
Women
Phnom Other Other
share of Cambodia
Penh urban rural
wage
Agriculture 49 * 56 49
Industry 46 53 38 46
Services 36 37 40 34
Total 43 43 40 43
Total number 2,353,100 289,500 241,000 1,822,600
Source: CESE, 2015, NIS. * Data not available

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

Violence against women is not only a women’s issue. Domestic
and sexual violence, discrimination, human trafficking, and
harmful practices such as early marriage, and gender-based
violence are examples of violence against women that can
occur within and outside the home. According to the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs), goal 5 includes two specific
indicators for measuring the impact of initiatives designed to
reduce the prevalence of violence against women of which
intimate partner violence is the main component.
The first indicator is the “Proportion of ever-partnered women
and girls aged 15 years old and older subjected to physical,
sexual or psychological violence by a current or former
intimate partner, in the last 12 months, by form of violence
and by age group”. In Cambodia, in most cases, intimate
partners (usually husbands) are the perpetrators of violence
against women, and types of intimate partner violence can
include physical, sexual or emotional violence.
The second indicator is the “Proportion of women and girls
aged 15 years and older subjected to sexual violence by
persons other than an intimate partner, in the last 12 months
by age group and place of occurrence”.
This chapter describes the significant findings on violence
against women from the Key Gender Statistics 2015 from the
Ministry of Women’s Affairs and the Commune Database
2014, 2015, 2016. Additional information within this chapter
on the relationship between intimate partner violence

experiences and health are drawn from the 2015 Cambodia

Data Sheet on Intimate Partner Violence.
Violence against women: Any act of gender-based violence
that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or
psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats
of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty,
whether occurring in public or private life.
Intimate partner violence: Any act of violence caused by a
current or former husband/wife or boyfriend/ girlfriend,
including cohabitating sexual or non-sexual partners in couple
relationships.
The percentage of families having domestic violence has
fallen from year to year, and has fallen by almost half
between 2010 and 2016 from 1 percent to 0.6 percent.

1. Trend of families having domestic violence from

2010-2016
In percent
1.2
0.8
0.4
0.0
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Source: Commune Data Base, 2014, 2015, 2016.
Compared to 2005, domestic violence has reduced for some

actions such as cursing, which has fallen from 44 percent to 31
percent from 2005 to 2009. Actions such as pushing, shaking
or throwing something has decreased from 18 percent in
2005 to almost 11 percent in 2014, and threatening with a
knife has decreased from 5 percent to almost 4 percent
between 2005 to 2014.

2. Actions of Domestic Violence That Women Suffer

between 2005, 2009 and 2014
In percent
Action 2005 2009 2014
Yelling 75 75 *
Cursing 44 31 *
Pushing/shaking/Throwing 18 6 11
something
Knocking on the head 12 4 *
Tying up/hitting 4 1 *
Threatening with a knife 5 1 4
Burning or Choking 1 * 1
Throwing Acid 1 * *
Slapping * * 12
Twisting her arm or * * 6
Kicking or dragging or beating * * 5
Source: Cambodia Key Gender Statistics, 2015, MoWA
*Data not available
The public acceptability of domestic violences have reduced,

and the statistics show that all actions of domestic violences
have fallen, which means people recognise that domestic
violence in the form of cursing, pushing/shaking/throwing
something, knocking on head, and threatening with a knife,
gun or another weapon should not happen.

3. PPublic Acceptability of Domestic Violence between

2005 and 2009
In percent
Action 2005 2009
Cursing 93 77
Pushing/shaking/or throwing something 74 46
Knocking on the head 69 36
Tying up/hitting 40 18
Threatening with a knife gun or another 37 13
weapon
Burning or choking 24 10
Throwing acid 10 9
Source: Cambodia Key Gender Statistics, 2015, MoWA.
Almost half of women and one fourth of men aged 15-49

agree with at least one specific reason which justifies a man
beating his wife, but one positive trend is the percentage of
women who agree with one specific reason for wife beating
is decreased from 55 percent to 46 percent between 2005
and 2010.

4. Women and Men (15-49 years) agree for specified

reason for wife beating, 2015
In percent
Items Women Men
Agree with at least one specified 46 22
reason
Asks him to use a condom 8 3
Burns the food 13 4
Refuses to have sex with him 14 5
Goes out without telling him 23 10
Argues with him 30 10
Neglects the children 39 17
Source: Cambodia Key Gender Statistics, MoWA, 2015.
Compared to 2000, the percentage of ever-partnered

women experiencing intimate partner violence in the last 12
months by type of violence seems not to have decreased. In
all type of violence the statistics show that the emotional
violence has increased from 16 percent to 17 percent and
sexual violence has increased from 3 percent to 4 percent
between 2000 and 2014. One positive trend is that the
percentage of physical violence is down from 15 percent in
2000 to 9 percent in 2014.

5. Ever-partnered women experiencing intimate partner

violence in the last 12 months, by violence types and
year between 2000, 2005, and 2014
In percent
20
15
10
0
2000 2005 2014
Emotional violence Physical violence Sexual violence
Source: Cambodia Data Sheet on Intimate Partner Violence,

2016, MoWA.
The percentage of Cambodian women reporting experience

of physical, sexual, emotional, and/or economic violence in
her lifetime is high compared to other type of intimate
partner violence.

6. Women reporting experience of different types of

intimate partner violence in her lifetime, by type of
violence, 2016
In percent
Lifetime physical, sexual, emotional,

and/or economic
Lifetime physical, sexual and/or
emotional
Lifetime emotional
Lifetime physical and/or sexual
Lifetime physical
Lifetime economic
Lifetime sexual
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Source: C
ambodia Data Sheet on Intimate Partner Violence,
2016, MoWA.
The percentage of women from the lowest income families

who have experience physical, sexual or emotional, intimate
partner violence is higher than that of women in middle and
high income families. However, if we compare with the lowest
and middle income families, these statistics indicate a very
negative trend is that even women who from highest income
family have experienced with physical, sexual or emotional
intimate partner violence.

7. Women reporting experience of physical, sexual,

emotional, and/or economic violence in her lifetime
by wealth quintile, 2016
In percent
Lowest
Middle
Highest
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Source: Cambodia Data Sheet on Intimate Partner Violence,

2016, MoWA.

DECISION MAKING
This chapter presents the main information on women
representatives at all levels including senate, national
assembly and senior positions in government, both national
and sub-national levels. The data indicates the result of
implementation on the Neary Rattanak IV Five Year Strategic
Plan for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment, which
focuses on the strategic frame on cross-cutting issues: Women
Public Decision-making and Politics, and Gender Responsive
Government Policies and Reform Programs.
At the top level, women held 15 percent of senate posts in
1999, which has remained the same in 2006 and 2012. The
proportion of women who were elected as members of the
national assembly was about 20 percent in 2003, which was
also roughly the same in the 2008 and 2013 elections.

1. Members of senate and national assembly, 2003-

2013
Inpercent
2012
Senate
2006
1999
2013
National Assembly
2008
2003
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Women Men
Source: Key Gender Statistics in Cambodia, 2015, MoWA.
Women held 7 percent of minister positions in 2008, slightly

increasing to 11 percent in 2013 and 2016 while women in
secretary of state positions increased from 8 percent in 2008
to 20 percent in 2013 and 19 percent in 2016. The number
of women in undersecretary of state positions slightly
increased from 16 percent in 2008 to 18 percent in 2013
and 19 percent in 2016.

2. Representatives of Senior Positions in Government

2008, 2013 and 2016
In percent
2016
Minister
2013
2008
2016
Secretary
of State
2013
2008
2016
Secretary
of State
Under
2013
2008
2016
Total
2013
2008
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Women Men
Source: Key Gender Statistics in Cambodia, 2015, MoWA &

Briefing Paper on Major Achievements of the Royal
Government of Cambodia, 2012-2016.

The managerial positions at national level include Director

General, Deputy Director General, Director of Department,
Chief of Bureau or Equivalence Position and Vice Chief of
Bureau or Equivalence Position. The number of women in
managerial positions at national level was about 20 percent
in 2013 and it slightly increases to 21 percent in 2015 and
slightly decreases to 18 percent in 2017.
3. Representatives in managerial positions at national
and sub-national level, 2013, 2015, 2017
In percent
2017
2015
2013
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Women Men
Source: Key Gender Statistics in Cambodia, 2018, MoWA &

Progress Report, 2016, MoCS.

In the judiciary, the number of women representatives has

slightly increased in 2017. Women prosecutors accounted for
12 percent; women court clerks for 22 percent; and women
judges for 14 percent.
4. Representatives in the Judiciary, 2013-2017
In percent
2017
2016
Prosecutor
2015
2014
2013
2017
2016
Court Clerk
2015
2014
2013
2017
2016
Judge
2015
2014
2013
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Women Men

Women held 37 percent of civil servants in 2013 and it

slightly increases to 41 percent in 2017.
5. Representatives in the Civil Servants, 2013-2017
In percent
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Women Men
In 2017, there is one woman in a provincial governor position.

Of 150 provincial deputy governors, 26 of provincial deputy
governors are women, which is equal to 17 percent. Only 4
percent of women have held the district governor position,
which accounted for 7 women of 197 while 26 percent of
district deputy governors are women, which was 185 women.

6. Representation at Province and District level, 2017

In percent
Provincial Governor
Provincial Deputy Governor
District Governor
District Deputy Governor
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Women Men
The percentage of female members of commune councils has

increased from 9 percent in 2002 to 15 percent in 2007 and
about 17 percent in 2012 and 2017. Female commune chiefs
represented for only 3 percent in 2002, 4 percent in 2007, 6
percent in 2012 and 8 percent in 2017. The percentage of

first deputy chiefs as women have increased from 4 percent in

2002 to 9 percent in 2007, 12 percent in 2012 and 14
percent in 2017. Women have represented for 5 percent
(2002), 8 percent (2007), 9 percent (2012) and 7 percent
(2017) in second deputy chief position.
7. Members in Commune Councils, 2002, 2007, 2012
and 2017
In percent
2017
Members of
Commune
2012
2007
2002
2017
Commune Chief
2012
2007
2002
2017
First Deputy
2012
Chief
2007
2002
2017
Second Deputy
2012
Chief
2007
2002
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Women Men
Source: Women in Decision Making and Politics, 2017, MoWA.

Female representatives as members of capital/provincial

councils have slightly increased from 10 percent in 2009 to
13 percent in 2014 while their representation as members of
municipal, district and Khan councils has remained the same in
2009 (13 percent) and 2014 (14 percent).
8. Members in Provincial-Municipal; District-Khan
Councils, 2009 and 2014
In percent
Capital/Provincial
2014
Members of
Councils
2009
and Khan Councils
Municipal, District
2014
Members of
2009
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Women Men

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Kingdom of Cambodia

Nation Religion King

WOMEN AND MEN

National Institute of Statistics, Ministry of Planning

Violence Against Women........................................................... 49

National Institute of Statistics

National Institute of Statistics

National Institute of Statistics

National Institute of Statistics

National Institute of Statistics

1. Population 1962, 1980, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2008,

Table 2 presents the information on the percentage of the

National Institute of Statistics

2. Population by area 2008, 2013 and 2016

National Institute of Statistics

The percentage of working age population (aged 15-64

National Institute of Statistics

Source: GPCC 2008 and CIPS 2013, NIS.

The population in Cambodia will increase by about 2.6 million

National Institute of Statistics

4. Population projection for Cambodia

Source: Population Projection for Cambodia 2008-2050, NIS.

Among the internal migrants, rural to rural migrants

National Institute of Statistics

5. Internal migration by urban and rural areas. 2008 and

Stream of 2008 2013

In 2015 and 2016, Thailand had the highest proportion of

National Institute of Statistics

6. External migration registered by private companies

Stream of 2015 2016

National Institute of Statistics

It is observed that, the highest proportion in the age group

Source: CSES 2014 and CSES 2016, NIS.

National Institute of Statistics

In 2014 the total fertility rate (TFR) in Cambodia was 2.7

Source: CDHS 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2014, NIS

National Institute of Statistics

Source: Population Projection of Cambodia 2013-2023, NIS.

National Institute of Statistics

Current use of contraception methods among women in

National Institute of Statistics

Not currently using 76 60 50 44

Obstetric care by a trained provider during delivery is

National Institute of Statistics

National Institute of Statistics

Deaths per 1000 live birth

Source: CDHS, 2014.

National Institute of Statistics

Furthermore, the infant mortality rate by socioeconomic

Source: CDHS, 2014

National Institute of Statistics

Source: CESE, 2015.

National Institute of Statistics

In Cambodia, mostly 100 percent of women and men age 15

National Institute of Statistics

National Institute of Statistics

1. Literacy by age group, 2014 and 2016

National Institute of Statistics