Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - Cambodian poverty rate rises to 17% due to Covid pandemic

Cambodian poverty rate rises to 17% due to Covid pandemic

Content image - Phnom Penh Post
A woman pulls her cart filled with recyclable materials in Meanchey district of Phnom Penh in April, 2020. Hong Menea

Cambodian poverty rate rises to 17% due to Covid pandemic

The Cambodian poverty rate has increased by four per cent in six years to 17 per cent in the 2019-2020 period, due in large part to the global Covid-19 crisis, a Ministry of Planning official has revealed.

Ministry secretary of state Tuon Thavoreak shared the findings at the launch of the National Population Policy 2016-2030’s special focus on people and education at Siem Reap Provincial Hall on April 19.

The Siem Reap provincial Department of Information quoted Thavoreak as saying that Cambodia’s poverty rate had dropped significantly - from 47 per cent in 2007 to 22 per cent in 2009 – and had continued to fall to 13 per cent in 2014, pushing Cambodia to become an average income country in 2015.

“However, a socio-economic investigation of data from 2019-2020 [reveals that] the poverty rate has increased to 17.8 per cent, which is largely due to the increase in poverty as a result of the global epidemic of Covid-19,” Thavoreak said.

The government has said that it has been promoting the implementation of the policy in several ways, including spreading awareness to stakeholders about the government’s vision, strategy, national policy plan and sustainable development goals.

Thavoreak was quoted as saying that the development of human capital is also an important factor and the key to expanding the economy and development in “all areas”, and that focus on investing in education, health and welfare - with a focus on youth and women - is what can help Cambodia increase its global competitiveness.

He said education is important for individuals and a resource for national development, an inalienable right, and enables the development of human capacity in ways that would eliminate economic, social, cultural, family, individual, legal and political inequalities, and contribute to poverty reduction.

He also articulated his belief that the education sector was a priority of the government, which is planning to develop human resources in response to changes in the agriculture, industrial and service sectors.

Yong Kim Eng, president of the NGO People’s Centre for Development and Peace (PDP), said the “indisputable issue” leading to the increase in Cambodia’s poverty rate was Covid-19, a major challenge that saw restrictions applied by the international community - especially Europe - on the Kingdom’s textile and agriculture sectors. He said it was a “contributing factor” for the increase in poverty.

“At the same time, we see that the inflation rate of commodities is so high that it makes it easier for people living near the poverty line to fall into poverty,” he said.

MOST VIEWED

  • Wing Bank opens new branch in front of Orkide The Royal along Street 2004

    Wing Bank celebrates first anniversary as commercial bank with launch of brand-new branch. One year since officially launching with a commercial banking licence, Wing Bank on March 14 launched a new branch in front of Orkide The Royal along Street 2004. The launch was presided over by

  • Girl from Stung Meanchey dump now college grad living in Australia

    After finishing her foundational studies at Trinity College and earning a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Melbourne in 2022, Ron Sophy, a girl who once lived at the Stung Meanchey garbage dump and scavenged for things to sell, is now working at a private

  • Ministry using ChatGPT AI to ‘ease workload’; Khmer version planned

    The Digital Government Committee is planning to make a Khmer language version of popular artificial intelligence (AI) technology ChatGPT available to the public in the near future, following extensive testing. On March 9, the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications revealed that it has been using the

  • Rare plant fetches high prices from Thai, Chinese

    Many types of plants found in Cambodia are used as traditional herbs to treat various diseases, such as giloy or guduchi (Tinospora cordifolia) or aromatic/sand ginger (Kaempferia galangal) or rough cocklebur (Xanthium Strumartium). There is also a plant called coral, which is rarely grown

  • Cambodia returns 15M Covid jabs to China

    Prime Minister Hun Sen said Cambodia will return 15 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines to China for donation to other countries. The vaccines in question were ordered but had not yet arrived in Cambodia. While presiding over the Ministry of Health’s annual meeting held on

  • Wat Phnom hornbills attract tourists, locals

    Thanks to the arrival of a friendly flock of great hornbills, Hour Rithy, a former aviculturist – or raiser of birds – in Kratie province turned Phnom Penh tuk tuk driver, has seen a partial return to his former profession. He has become something of a guide