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Between 9th and the 13th century, Cambodia, then known as the Khmer Empire, was one of the most powerful and wealthiest kingdoms in the region. And the temple of Angkor Wat of the early 12th century is perhaps the most renowned image of the ancient Buddhist/Hindu world. But the Cambodia of today is only well known for being continually plagued by poverty and historical grievances, and which is currently ranked 120 out of 190 countries according to nominal GDP. 4 This means that it is one of the poorest countries in the world , with 35% of its population mired in poverty .
Poverty in Cambodia is most widespread in the rural areas where, sadly, almost two-fifths have less than $0.44 USD a day . Cambodia is one of the hardest place to live in.
The unfortunate combination of poor health, low education levels and limited resources continues to hold many Cambodians in the shadow of prolonged poverty .
Up to this day, 36% of Cambodian children below 5 years of age are underweight , 35% of Cambodians do not have access to an improved water source and 18.5% of them will not live to see their 40th birthday .
