SBR- Content.pmd - INBO

6 - Macroeconomic trends in the Lower Mekong Basin1.2 CambodiaCambodia is a very poor country with percapita GDP at just $240 in 1993 constantprices, 3 equivalent to some $1440 in purchasingpower parity. 4 * Even with annual GDP growthrates at around 5 percent per year, as seen in2000 and 2001, 5 due to a rapidly increasingpopulation (2.3 percent per year) poverty isdecreasing at a very slow rate. 6 It is estimatedthat 36 percent of Cambodians live below thepoverty line. 7Figure 1.Sector share of employment andGDP, CambodiaAs stated previously, most Cambodians’livelihoods come from farming, fishing andforaging in wetlands and forests. Nearly 80percent of the labour force is engaged inagriculture, but this sector only generatesabout 30 percent of the country’s GDP, 8 asshown in Figure 1. The four percent of thelabour force who work in industry generatemore than almost 30 percent of the GDP.Note: Employment information reflects available data formost recent years 1997-2000. Agriculture includes forestyand fisheries.Source for employment: ESCAP. 2002.Sources for GDP: ADB. 2002. Asian DevelopmentOutlook 2002. ADB. 2001. Country Strategy Programs.IMF. 2002. Selected Issues and Statistical Appendix.In Cambodia tourism has become anincreasingly important source of incomeThe service sector generates the largest portion of GNP,namely 40 percent, and employs some 18 percent ofthe labour force. The service sector includes a varietyof businesses, from small street vendors and restaurantsto supermarkets and large-scale hotels. Tourism hasbecome an increasingly important income earner forCambodia. 9Industry has taken the lead in annual growth figuresover the last five years. In 2000, the annual increase inindustrial production was almost 29 percent. In the sameperiod, the growth in agriculture was in general low,and even negative in 2000, because Cambodia was hitby severe flooding. 10 The average rice yield of 1.4tonnes per hectare is amongst the lowest in Asia.Cambodia’s inland fish catch, on the other hand, seemsto be the most productive in the region, with anestimated 400,000 tonnes caught annually.As agricultural productivity is much lower thanproductivity in the industrial sector, and as industries are mainly situated in urban areas, incomestend to be higher in the cities. According to World Bank figures published in 2002, 11 per capita*Purchasing power parity (PPP) takes account of price differences in different countries, allowing a moreaccurate comparison of income levels.87