SBR- Content.pmd - INBO

5 - Peoples of the MekongRural and urban areas. The population of the LMB is predominately rural. Approximately 80 percent ofthe population live in rural areas and rely on natural resources for their livelihoods. The urban population islargely concentrated in the capitals of Cambodia and Lao PDR, Phnom Penh and Vientiane. In addition,there are a number of secondary urban centres, including provincial towns. These secondary centres,particularly in the Mekong corridor, are growing rapidly.The overall population density of the LMB is lowat 87 people per km 2 . It is lowest in Lao PDR,with the population relatively evenly distributedacross the country. Elsewhere, there aresignificant variations across the basin, within andbetween countries. Aside from the city of PhnomPenh, the Mekong Delta in Viet Nam is the mostdensely settled region. In Cambodia, the densityis higher in the Plains than in other national subregions,in part due to expanding developmentoutside the small, densely settled territory ofPhnom Penh Municipality.While overall densities are low, when rural densityis measured in terms of arable land, the picturechanges markedly. The low ratio of arable land to population, particularly in Lao PDR and Viet Nam,results in net rural densities in the LMB that will have increasing significance for sustainable ruraldevelopment as population grows in these countriesFigure 1. Population density in the Lower Mekong Basin, 1995-2000An estimated 25 percent of the basin’s populationlives in the Mekong DeltaNotes: The ratio of population to arable land has been calculated at the country level for Cambodia and LaoPDR; it has been estimated for the portions of Thailand and Viet Nam in the LMB, based on data forfarmland in these regions.Sources: NIS 1998; NSC/UNDP 2002; NSO 2002b; UNDP-Viet Nam 2002; EEPSEA 2002.41