The Government of Cambodia launched its first national population policy recently. The launching ceremony was held in early February at Phnom Penh in the presence of Prime Minister Hun Sen and an assembly of government officials, diplomatic corps and representatives from national and international organizations.
According to a report released by the Government of Cambodia, the goal of the policy is to induce changes in population trends in order to bring the size, composition and distribution of the population in line with the needs of sustainable development for poverty alleviation and improvement of the quality of life of Cambodian citizens.
At the core of the policy is the right for all couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing and timing of their children.
Cambodia, with a population of more than 13 million, remains one of the poorest countries in South-East Asia. However, Cambodia has one of the highest population growth rates among ASEAN countries at 2.49 per cent. This rate is likely to translate into an increase of the size of population by 50 per cent over the next 20 years.
“The National Population Policy is a prerequisite tool for designing development programme through ensuring accurate data on population”, the Minister of the Council of Ministers declared in his opening address.
(Source: Xinhua News Agency, 4 February)