Today I will be talking about the current economic state of Cambodia, as well as its globalization. Cambodia has many established global relationships with many countries including the US. Currently, Cambodia is a part of eight of the nine core human rights treaties including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) (Cambodia Overview).
Cambodia is also part of several trade agreements including the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) with the United States (Cambodia- United States). TIFA supports greater trade and investments between the countries. As of 2022, Cambodia is a part of 27 bilateral investment treaties (BIT). However, they do not have a BIT with the United States (Cambodia-United States).
In terms of economic development, Cambodia is one of the fast-growing economies in the world due to its average annual growth rate of 7.7 percent between 1998 and 2019 (The World). This growth rate can be attributed to garment exports and tourism increases. Reaching lower middle-income status in 2015, Cambodia is striving for upper middle-income status by 2030. During the COVID-19 pandemic, like every country, their economy struggled. However, since 2022 Cambodias economy has begun to recover, and the economic growth is projected to be around 5.2 percent in 2023 (The World).
Although it has had a fast-growing economy, Cambodia just graduated from being considered a least developed country by the United Nations. In 1991 they were added to the list and in 2021 Cambodia met the criteria to graduate this status (Least Developed). However, they are still one of the poorest countries in Asia. And economic development in the long term is still a challenge they will have to navigate due to their high-income inequality, limited Human Resources, corruption, and poor job prospects (Cambodia Economy).
Overall Cambodia is a country with many relationships with other nations. Although there has been recent economic growth, poor income equality leads to many of Cambodias citizens to be impoverished.
“Cambodia Economy.” CountryReports, www.countryreports.org/country/Cambodia/economy.htm.
“Cambodia Overview.” OHCHR, cambodia.ohchr.org/en/rule-of-law/overview#:~:text=To%20date%2C%20Cambodia%20is%20party,Forms%20of%20Racial%20Discrimination%20(ICERD).
“Cambodia – United States Department of State.” U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of State, 26 July 2023, www.state.gov/reports/2023-investment-climate-statements/cambodia/#:~:text=In%20July%202006%2C%20Cambodia%20signed,%2C%20Cambodia%2C%20in%20January%202019.
“Least Developed Country Category: Cambodia Profile | Department of Economic and Social Affairs.” United Nations, United Nations, www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/least-developed-country-category-cambodia.html. Accessed 7 Nov. 2023.
“The World Bank In Cambodia Overview.” World Bank, www.worldbank.org/en/country/cambodia/overview#1.
