Cambodian Slums

The south-east Asian country Cambodia, after many years of civil war, is known for its poverty and under-development. Although around 80% of the total population live in the rural area, there are more than 1.5 million (more than 10% of the total) inhabitants were living in the capital city Phnom Penh by 2012. The population growth in Phnom Penh was boosting dramatically from 189,000 to 1.5 million within 34 years (1978-2012), and will be some predicted figure of 3 million by the end of 2016.

As a consequence of the rapid city expansion, more and more slums appear along the skirt of the city, and presents miserable living conditions with lack of essential infrastructure, such as sanitation, waste removal, clean water and electricity.

According to the 2014 Cambodia national demographic and health survey, “one in every 36 Cambodian children die before their first birthday, and one in every 29 do not survive to their fifth birthday”. It is not surprising to find this causal relationship considering 35% of Cambodian households (dry season) are still obtaining their drinking water from non-improved sources (e.g. surface water, tank water etc.)

We generally understand the source of slums is the poverty, however according to the data from the World Bank, the poverty rate in Cambodia was constantly drop from 47.8% in 2007 down to 13.5% in 2014, with 90% of the poor live in the countryside. If the poverty is no longer the most significant problem, why more and more slums emerge after so much efforts and economy growth?

In my opinion, the main reason of the Cambodian slums now-a-day is the imbalanced growth of regional economy. The economic boost in the urban area attracts large population to the capital city, and in turn generate more demands on resources and infrastructure that the city cannot afford. The quicker the city develops, the more incoming migrants from the rural areas for new opportunities.

The local resources are limited and unsustainable for fulfilling the demands from fast growing population. In order to solve the slum issue in the long term, focusing on localised solutions, such as building more infrastructure, is not sufficient. The best direction, IMO, is to design and implement more sustainable policies that distribute investments more towards the rural areas. Only when the country boys have similar opportunities as the city people, the slum issue can eventually be solved and eliminated.

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/post-property/phnom-penhs-burgeoning-population-could-tip-almost-3-million

http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/cambodia/overview

National Institute of Statistics (NIS), Directorate General for Health, and ICF International, 2015. Cambodia Demographic and Health Survey 2014. Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and Rockville, Maryland, USA: National Institute of Statistics, Directorate General for Health, and ICF International.