Cambodia sees rapid population growth

Cambodia’s population growth rate in the past two decades has remained roughly 40-50 per cent faster than the global average, as the UN projects that eight billion people will live on the Earth in November this year, according to Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Hun Sen made the remark in a letter celebrating the 33th World Population Day, held with the theme of “A World of eight billion people towards a resilient future to seize a chance to ensure rights for all”.

“The UN projected that the numbers of the global population will rise to eight billion in November this year, meaning the world has made incredible strides in reducing poverty and improving healthcare. Maternity and infant mortality rates are declining and people are living longer and healthier lives,” he said.

He added that according to the UN, the Earth’s population had risen at a rate of one per cent a year, while Cambodia had grown at 1.4 per cent each year from 2008 through 2019.

Citing the latest general census, the premier said the Cambodian population was 15.6 million in 2019 – an annual growth rate of 1.4 per cent when measured against the 2008 census result of 13.4 million. Earlier growth had been even higher, running at 1.5 per cent from 1998.

“The increase in the number of the Cambodian people over the last two decades was attributed to declining mortality rates and a rise in life expectancy. The census shows a remarkable decrease in maternity mortality rate, from 410 persons per 100,000 births in 2008 to 170 in 2014 and just 141 in 2019,” it said.

The live expectancies of the Cambodian people had also risen steadily. In 1998, the figures were 54 years for men and 58 for women.

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES