Facts and Figures about Cambodia

Contents
Amounts in $ are United States dollars.

Population
Cambodia's census conducted in 2008 recorded a population of 13,395,682 (6,516,054 males and 6,879,628 females). The annual population growth rate declined from 2.49% in 1998 to 1.54% in 2008. 80.5% of Cambodians live in rural areas. The average household size is 4.7 people. Source General Population Census of Cambodia 2008 - Phnom Penh, National Institute of Statistics, Ministry of Planning, 2009.

Poverty
28.3% of Cambodians live on less than $1.25 (purchasing power parity) per day. Source UNDP Human Development Report 2011.

Economy
Cambodia's Gross Domestic Product per capita in 2009 was $1,739. Source UNDP Human Development Report 2011 Foreign direct investment approvals in Cambodia fell from $4.3 billion in 2006 to $2.7 billion in 2007 [a]. According to the World Bank, the actual inflow in 2007 was $866 million [b]. Sources [a] Sok Chenda, secretary general of the Council for the Development of Cambodia, quoted by Kyodo News, 27 February 2008. [b] Reported by Reuters, 7 January 2009. In 2009, 820,284 customers, or 6% of Cambodia's population, held $2.9 billion in deposit accounts at Cambodia's 28 commercial banks. Source: Tal Nay Im, Director General, National Bank of Cambodia, quoted in the Phnom Penh Post, 31 August 2009.

1 | Cambodia P a g e

Agriculture accounts for 31% of Cambodia's gross domestic product and 3% of its exports Source: Economic Institute of Cambodia survey, February 2006. 26.4% of Cambodian households use electricity as their main source of light; 33.7% have a toilet facility within their premises; 47.0% have access to improved water sources (including piped water, tube/pipe well , protected dug well and rain water; 83.6% use firewood as their main type of fuel for cooking Source: General Population Census of Cambodia 2008 - Phnom Penh, National Institute of Statistics, Ministry of Planning, 2009.

Health
36% of children under 5 years of age are moderately or severely under weight and 37% are under height for their age. The infant mortality rate for the five years ending in 2005 was 65 per 1,000 live births [a] and the under-5 mortality rate was 83 per 1,000 live births [a]. According to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, under-5 mortality fell from 105.4 in 2000 to 59.7 in 2010 [b]. Sources [a] Cambodia Demographic and Health Survey 2005 - Phnom Penh, National Institute of Statistics, Ministry of Planning, 2006. [b] Neonatal, postneonatal, childhood, and under-5 mortality for 187 countries, 1970-2010: a systematic analysis of progress towards Millennium Development Goal 4 published in The Lancet, 24 May 2010.

Education
The adult literacy rate for Cambodian men is 85.1%; that for women is 70.9% Source:General Population Census of Cambodia 2008 - Phnom Penh, National Institute of Statistics, Ministry of Planning, 2009. Educational levels completed by literate persons aged 25 years and over are as follows:

No educational level: 3.2%

Primary not Primary: completed: 47.2% 26.8%

Lower Secondary: 18.8%

Secondary/Diploma: 2.2%

Beyond Secondary: 1.8%

The percentage of the population in each group attending an educational institution are as follows:
<6 6 - 14 15 - 19 20 - 24 25+

2 | Cambodia P a g e

28.91% 80.19% 51.83% 14.37% 1.20%

Source: General Population Census of Cambodia 2008 - Phnom Penh, National Institute of Statistics, Ministry of Planning, 2009.

11% of children have access to early education services Source: Department of Early Childhood Education, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, 2006.

About 8,000 students graduate each year from Cambodias 47 colleges and universities Source: Roth Sokha, Director of the Higher Education Department of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, quoted in the Phnom Penh Post, 16 June 2006. The National Library of Cambodia contains about 100,000 books, of which 20,000 are books that survived the Khmer Rouge regime Source: Phnom Penh Post, 12 August 2005.

Employment
71% of Cambodia's labour force are involved in agriculture Source: Economic Institute of Cambodia survey, February 2006. About 300,000 people are added to Cambodia's labour force each year [a], but the country's economic growth generates only between 20,000 and 30,000 new jobs each year [b]. Sources [a] World Bank, quoted in the Phnom Penh Post, 16 June 2006. [b] Economic Institute of Cambodia, quoted in the Cambodia Daily, 16 June 2006.

Religion
There are an estimated 4,392 Theravada Buddhist pagodas and 105 Mahayana Buddhist temples in Cambodia There are approximately 464,000 Muslims in Cambodia, 280 mosques and 374 small suravs (meeting places that have congregations of up to 40 persons and do not have a minbar from which Friday sermons are given). Sources: International Religious Freedom Report 2010, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, US Department of State.

3 | Cambodia P a g e

The Christian Church

In 1990, when the Christian church in Cambodia was granted permission to operate by the government, there were ten Protestant churches in the country, all in Phnom Penh. At a consultation held at the end of 2002, leaders of churches, denominations and mission agencies estimated that there were over 2,000 evangelical churches and over 100,000 evangelical Christians in Cambodia. The number of churches includes those awaiting registration by the Ministry of Religion and Cults. The International Religious Freedom Report 2010, from the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, ous and Labor, US Department of State, estimated that the Christian community constitutes approximately 2% of Cambodia's population. The report stated that Cambodia has 1,292 churches (1,224 Protestant and 68 Roman Catholic), of which about 1,000 are registered with the government. In adition, the report refers to 883 'offices of prayer' . The report explains: 'The government makes a legal distinction between churches and offices of prayer. Es Establishment of a church requires that the founders own the building and the land where the church is located. The facility must have a minimum capacity of 200 persons, and the permit application requires support of at least 100 congregants. By contrast, an office of prayer can be located on/in rented facilities/property, does not require a minimum capacity for the facility, and the permit application requires only 20 supporters.' Source International Religious Freedom Report 2010, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, 2010, US Department of State.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++==

The mosque Nur ul-Ihsaan in Phnom Penh Islam is the religion of a majority of the Cham (also called Khmer Islam) and Malay minorities in Cambodia. According to Po Dharma, there were 150,000 to 200,000 Muslims in Cambodia as late as 1975. , Persecution under the Khmer Rouge eroded their numbers, however, and by the late 1980s they probably had not regained their former strength. In 2009, the Pew Research Center estimated that 1.6% of the population, or 236,000 people were Muslims.[1] All of the Cham Muslims are Sunnis[citation needed] of the Shafi'i school.[citation needed] There is also a growing Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Cambodia.[2] Po ty Dharma divides the Muslim Cham in Cambodia into a traditionalist branch and an orthodox branch.

4 | Cambodia P a g e

Background of Early Islam

The Cham Muslims trace their ancestry to one of the father-in-laws of Prophet Muhammad,[3] who is Jahsh, the father of Zaynab bint Jahsh.[4] It was in the wake of many Sahabas who arrived in Indo-Chin in 617-18 from Abyssinia by sea route.[5]

Community Life
The Cham have their own mosques. In 1962 there were about 100 mosques in the country. At the end of the nineteenth century, the Muslims in Cambodia formed a unified community under the authority of four religious dignitariesmupti, tuk kalih, raja kalik, and tvan pake. A council of notables in Cham villages consisted of one hakem and several katip, bilal, and labi. The four high dignitaries and the hakem were exempt from personal taxes, and they were invited to take part in major national ceremonies at the royal court. When Cambodia became independent, the Islamic community was placed under the control of a fivemember council that represented the community in official functions and in contacts with other Islamic communities. Each Muslim community has a hakem who leads the community and the mosque, an imam who leads the prayers, and a bilal who calls the faithful to the daily prayers. The peninsula of Chrouy Changvar near Phnom Penh is considered the spiritual center of the Cham, and several high Muslim officials reside there. Each year some of the Cham go to study the Qur'an at Kelantan in Malaysia, and some go on to study in, or make a pilgrimage to, Mecca. According to figures from the late 1950s, about 7 percent of the Cham had completed the pilgrimage and could wear the fez or turban as a sign of their accomplishment. The traditional Cham retain many ancient Muslim or pre-Muslim traditions and rites. They consider Allah as the all-powerful God, but they also recognize other non-Islamic practices. They are closer, in many respects, to the Cham of coastal Vietnam than they are to other Muslims. The religious dignitaries of the traditional Cham (and of the Cham in Vietnam) dress completely in white, and they shave their heads and faces. These Cham believe in the power of magic and sorcery, and they attach great importance to magical practices in order to avoid sickness or slow or violent death. They believe in many supernatural powers. Although they show little interest in the pilgrimage to Mecca and in the five daily prayers, the traditional Cham do celebrate many Muslim festivals and rituals. The orthodox Cham have adopted a more conformist religion largely because of their close contacts with, and intermarriages with, the Malay community. In fact, the orthodox Cham have adopted Malay customs and family organization, and many speak the Malay language. They send pilgrims to Mecca, and they attend international Islamic conferences. Conflicts between the traditional and the orthodox Cham increased between 1954 and 1975. For example, the two groups polarized the population of one village, and each group eventually had its own mosque and separate religious organization.

Persecution
Further information: Persecution of Muslims

According to Cham sources, 132 mosques were destroyed during the Khmer Rouge era, many others were desecrated, and Muslims were not allowed to worship. Later, since the Vietnamese-installed PRK regime, Islam has been given the same freedom as Buddhism. Vickery believes that about 185,000 Cham lived in Cambodia in the mid-1980s and that the number of mosques was about the same then as it was before 1975. In early 1988, there were six mosques in the Phnom Penh area and a "good number" in the provinces, but Muslim dignitaries were thinly stretched; only 20 of the previous 113 most prominent Cham clergy in Cambodia survived the Khmer Rouge period.

5 | Cambodia P a g e

Today
Today, Muslims are able to practice their religion normally and out in the open. This commenced in the People Republic of Kampuchea era where Islam was given the same freedom as that of Buddhism, the official religion practiced by the majority of Cambodians. The Chams also enjoy democratic rights like all Khmer citizens, with the right to vote and be elected as politicians.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Majlis Khatam Al-Quran Perdana

Adik Askadavi Muhammad Abdul Ghani, Johan Tilawah Al-Quran Pada 5hb Februari 2012 yang lalu telah berlangsungnya Majlis Khatam Al-Quran Perdana untuk kanakkanak Kemboja di Masjid Nurul Naim, Phnom Penh. 500 orang kanak-kanak dari pelbagai wilayah Kemboja telah mengambil bahagian. Majlis ini dianjurkan bersempena dengan program Ziarah Ukhuwwah Fil `Amal ke Kemboja anjuran Global Peace Mission Malaysia (GPM) dengan kerjasama Future Global Network (FGN) dan Open Universiti Malaysia (OUM) serta Cambodian Muslim Intellectual Alliance (CMIA) sebuah NGO tempatan yang menjadi rakan pelaksana kepada program-program anjuran GPM di Kemboja. Di samping khatam al-Quran, diadakan juga majlis tilawah, hafazan dan syarahan agama untuk kategori lelaki dan perempuan sebagai satu usaha untuk menggilap potensi mereka yang mengambil bahagian. Setelah melihat sendiri penyertaan mereka ternyata kanak-kanak ini mempunyai bakat yang besar untuk berjaya jika diberikan peluang dan bimbingan.

6 | Cambodia P a g e

Laporan Bicara Agama - Akhabr Utusan Malaysia

Penyerahan Al-Quran & Terjemahan Bahasa Khmer kepada Pelajar

Phnom Penh, 4 Februari 2012. Future Global Network Foundation (FGN) sebagai rakan pelaksana kepada Global Peace Mission (GPM) untuk program pendidikan di Kemboja telah berjaya mengedarkan 500 naskhah A-Quran & Terjemahan dalam bahasa Khmer kepada pelajar-pelajar di Pusat Pengajian Ummul Qura sempena Ziarah Ukhuwwah Fil `Amal ke Kemboja. Masyarakat Khmer di Kemboja ketika ini merupakan bangsa majoriti (95%). Peluang untuk mereka mendalami ilmu Islam dari sumber Quran dan Sunah pula adalah kecil. Oleh itu, terjemahan al-Quran di dalam bahasa Khmer adalah diharapkan dapat membantu menyebarkan ajaran Islam. Sekiranya langkah ini tidak diambil, adalah dikhuatiri akan tertanam sikap prejudis terhadap Islam seperti yang berlaku di negara barat sekarang. Cetakan Al-Quran ini adalah hasil daripada sumbangan rakyat Malaysia yang prihatin melalui kempen Infaq Ramadhan Al-Quran dan Muqaddam untuk Kemboja yang dilancarkan oleh GPM pada Ramadhan 1432H yang lalu. Kepada para penyumbang, terima kasih daun keladi...

7 | Cambodia P a g e

Untuk makluman, FGN dengan kerjasama Global Peace Mission(GPM) dan Cambodian Muslim Intellectual Alliance (CMIA) telah berjaya mengedarkan 10,000 naskhah Muqaddam kepada kanak-kanak di Kemboja pada Ramadhan yang lalu sumbangan rakyat Malaysia yang prihatin. (lihat laporan sebelum ini)

Prayer Schedule March / 2012 Date 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Day Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Fajr 4:52 4:52 4:51 4:50 4:50 4:49 4:48 Sunrise 6:02 6:01 6:01 6:00 6:00 5:59 5:58 Dhuhr 12:02 12:01 12:01 12:01 12:01 12:00 12:00 Asr 3:22 3:22 3:21 3:21 3:21 3:20 3:20 Maghrib 6:00 6:00 6:01 6:01 6:01 6:01 6:01 Isha 7:07 7:07 7:07 7:07 7:07 7:07 7:07

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
8 | Cambodia P a g e

We attended Friday prayers at this mosque in Siem Reap which is located at the Muslim village not far from the town centre. It was enlightening and eye opening to see how despite being a minority group in this town, the locals are very passionate about their religious practices and customs. There are over 80 Muslim families living at the Muslim village here in Siem Reap, all of whom are ethnic Champas. The Champa people are descendents of the kingdom of Champa who form the majority of the Muslim population in Cambodia, Vietnam as well as Thailand. Champas are ethnically closely related to Malays which probably explains the similarities between some of their words to Malay words. According to our guide Yusof, Kampong Cham not far from Phnom Penh has the highest number of Muslims in Cambodia.

A mosque just outside of Phnom Penh Ever since the 1950s till today, young Champas from Cambodia have been going to Kelantan and to Southern Thailand to learn more about Islam and the Quran.
9 | Cambodia P a g e

The religious school in Siem Reap

There were an estimated 200,000 Muslims in Cambodia in 1975 who formed a unified community under the authority of various religious dignitaries headed by 113 prominent Muslim clergy. However during the Khmer Rouge era, 132 mosques were destroyed all over the country and only 20 out of the 113 clergy lived past those violent years.

A more modern looking brand new mosque at the Muslim village outside of Phnom Penh

10 | Cambodia P a g e

The only estimate I could find on the number of Muslims in Cambodia was from the year 1985. It stated the number of Muslims in Cambodia then at 185,000 people with around 100 mosques in the country, 6 of which were in the capital Phnom Penh.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Cambodia: Siem Reap Dalam Dekapan Ukhuwah
REP | 18 February 2012 | 15:34 Dibaca: 72 Komentar: 3 Nihil

11 | Cambodia P a g e

Bersama Imam Masjid An-Nimah, Siem Reap Cambodia Ketika saya menuliskan posting ini saya sedang duduk dipelataran Sok San Angkor Garden yang hijau dibelai semilir angin yang sejuk di daerah Siem Reap dekat dengan Old Market yang terkenal karena menjadi salah satu tempat yang sering dikunjungi para wisatawan mancanegara. Sebelumnya kami menginap di Angkor Saphire Hotel yang jaraknya lebih jauh dari penginapan saat ini. Setidaknya kami harus berjalan sekitar 20 menit untuk mencapai Old Market. Selain itu kami memutuskan pindah ke penginapan saat ini karena penginapan ini lokasinya yang cukup dekat dari Masjid An-Nimah, yang kata salah satu jamaahnya merupakan salah satu yang tertua di negara Cambodia ini. Saya dan teman-teman backpacker lain (Adi Heryadi, Ops Siagara, Midun, dan Ibnu) punya kesan tersendiri saat berkunjug ke Masjid An-Nimah ini. Selama perjalanan menuju masjid ini sudah terlihat kawasan ini memang kawasan berpenduduk muslim. Ya, semacam lokalisasi bagi penduduk yang beragama Islam di Siem Reap yang mayoritas beragama Budha.

12 | Cambodia P a g e

Kesan pertama kami adalah : lingkungannya gersang dan tak terurus. Hmm..ini penilaian objektif. Sangat jauh berbeda dengan pusat kota Siem Reap yang begitu bersih dan ter-maintenance dengan baik. Sangat kontras. Namun terobati Ketika pertama kali saya, Adi, dan Ops mencari masjid ini dan akhirnya kami menemukannya, kami bersua salam sapa dengan Imam Masjidnya. Sungguh ramah dan seakan kami ini adalah saudaranya. Dia tak sungkan2 mempersilakan kami masuk, menunjukan kami dimana tempat wudhu, toilet, dan meminjamkan kami sarung untuk kemudian shalat dzhuhur berjamaah bersama. Sungguh senang rasanya. Rasa ini sama ketika saya bertemu saudara muslim di Hiroshima dan Kyuhsu saat berkunjung ke Jepang agustus 2011 lalu serta di Malaysia dan Singapura desember 2010 lalu. Hmm..sepenilaian saya jika kita mengunjungi wilayah/negara yang dimana Islam menjadi minoritas maka ketika kita bertemu dengan muslim seakan tak ada lagi pemisah diantara kita. Ukhuwah Islamiyah menjadi pemersatu kita semua. Bahkan kita bisa mendapatkan keuntungan melalui hubungan batin ini. :) Seakan kebetulan, walau tak ada yang kebetulan di dunia ini, saya memang sedang membaca buku Dalam Dekapan Ukhuwah karya Salim A. Fillah, dan membawanya sebagai teman perjalanan :) .. Saya menemukan sinkronisasi antara apa yang saya baca dengan kenyataan dilapangan :) maka benarlah apa yang Allah sebutkan dalam Al-Quran surat Al-Hujurat ayat 10 yang berbunyi : Sesungguhnya orang-orang mukmin itu bersaudara
13 | Cambodia P a g e

Dan semakin menghujam hati ketika kita membaca hal ini dan merasakannya dalam kenyataan,

Dan Allah yang mempersatukan hati para hamba yang beriman. Jikalau kau menafkahkan perbendaharaan bumi seluruhnya untuk mengikat hati mereka, takkan bisa kau himpunkan hati mereka. Tetapi Allah-lah yang telah menyatu-padukan mereka (Al-Anfal : 63) Disinilah cinta sesungguhnya terhimpun, bukan karena satu darah, lebih dari itu..melebihi ikatan orang tua dan anak. Hubungan Iman melebihi segalanya. Suatu quote yang indah diungkapkan Salim A. Fillah dalam bukunya : Dalam dekapan ukhuwah, kita mengambil cinta dari langit. Lalu menebarkannya di bumi. Sungguh di surga, menara-menara cahaya menjulang untuk hati yang saling mencinta. Mari membangunnya disini, dalam dekapan ukhuwah Tahukah ketika kita ingin mengunjungi Angkor Wat yang merupakan icon negara Cambodia sekaligus merupakan salah satu World Heritage yang diakui oleh UN, kita setidaknya harus menggunakan tuk-tuk untuk mengelilingi kawasan yang berhektarhektar itu? Dan untuk menyewa tuk-tuk seharian kita harus mengeluarkan biaya $15 dollar. Dan untuk lima orang kami harus menyewa 2 tuk-tuk walau kami pikir 1 tuktuk pun cukup. Namun karena kami berkenalan dengan Imam Masjid, kami panjang lebar berbincang mengenai Islam di Cambodia, dan pada akhirnya kami tahu kalau beliau punya anak yang ternyata seorang supir tuk-tuk! Yeah! Akhirnya kami hanya perlu mengeluarkan $15 saja untuk 1 tuk-tuk seharian penuh. Di lingkungan sekitar masjid inilah kami akhirnya menemukan makanan halal. Ada dua restoran makanan halal yang kami tahu. Yang pertama namanya Cambodian Moslem Restaurant dan satu lagi restoran samping masjid. Alhamdulillah makanan nya enaaaak! Sebelumnya kami kesulitan menemukan makanan halal di Vietnam (walau akhirnya dapat ;)) dan Cambodia, kebanyakan makanannya mengandung pork aka babi, huftkalo kami akhirnya tak dapat makan maka senjata terakhirnya adalah makan bawaan dari Indonesia, mie instan, bubur instan, pokoke yang isntaninstan :)

14 | Cambodia P a g e

Oya, alhamdulillah kami berlima bisa merasakan indahnya shalat jumat berjamaah di Masjid An-Nimah ini. Saudara-saudara seiman dari berbagai penjuru Siem Reap berdatangan untuk melepas rindunya pada Sang Khalik :) dan disinilah terlihat ukhuwah diantara mereka, nampak seindah persaudaraan kaum anshor dengan kaum muhajirin..

bada shalat jumat @ Masjid An-Nimah :) Ya Allah, satukan kami dalam dekapan ukhuwah yang indah ini..karena kami saling mencinta karena-Mu ya Rabbal alamiin.. :)

15 | Cambodia P a g e