A socio-economic survey of Cambodian life has been launched by the Department of

Statistics of the Ministry of Planning which hopes to collect information on many

aspects of people's life.

The survey runs in four stages across 15 provinces and hopes to target 1,250 families

for interview. It should be completed by October next year when a final assessment

will be produced.

As part of the programme, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Asian

Development Bank (ADB) are sponsoring a training course for 55 field officers who

will collect data from 400 families in Phnom Penh.

"It's exceedingly important because they [Cambodians] need current data - household

expenditure, income distribution, employment and unemployment conditions, migration,

literacy, education levels," said R. B. M. Korale, UNDP/ADB senior statistics

advisor.

Korale said the survey would help finance and planning ministries and the National

Bank of Cambodia improve its macro-economic program.

"If you do the survey well, the data will remain useful and respond to the need

of the Cambodian people and, perhaps, a high level of prosperity for many years to

come," Korale said.