1969 to 1975 – The second Indo-Chinese war, combined with civil war in Cambodia between the military-led government and supporters of the Prince Sihanouk, who was deposed in 1970 by a Western-backed military coup led by General Lon Nol, costs 700,000 lives. A third of the population flees pockets of fighting.
1975 to 1979 – The Khmer Rouge control what they call The People's Republic of Democratic Kampuchea. Intellectuals are massacred, technology and infrastructure is destroyed, books are burned and there are no medical supplies. The country is turned into a massive social experiment which costs an estimated 1.5 million lives.
1979 to 1989 – Cambodia is governed by a repressive, Vietnamese-backed government, led by Hun Sen (current Prime Minister). Throughout the period, civil war has been waged across Cambodia between the government and Khmer Rouge forces.
The majority of the population lives in rural areas and survives by farming rice and rubber, plus subsidiary crops of beans, vegetables, fruit and tobacco. But with literally millions of landmines still scattered across the countryside, vast areas inaccessible for food production, years without any development of the country's agriculture and a lack of anything but the most basic equipment, Cambodia struggles to provide enough food to support its population.
70% of Phnom Penh's population comprises former farmers who have lost their land – either to landmines or to other Cambodians.
Large numbers of Cambodians – 163,000, (1.4% of the population) – work for the state; earning about $20-30 a month. Many have to take second or third jobs to make ends meet, and there are widespread problems of corruption at all levels of government.
The population is a young one; years of civil war (and the Khmer Rouge) took their toll on the country's older male population. 43% of the population is under 15 years old (Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport), and just over 1 in 4 families in Cambodia (25.7%) is headed by a woman.
The average life expectancy is 53.
