Editing Economy of Cambodia (section)

==Recent economic history==
{{main|Economic history of Cambodia}}
Following its independence from France in 1953, the Cambodian state has undergone five periods of political, social, and economic transformation:
# [[Cambodia (1953–1970)|First Kingdom of Cambodia]] (1953–1970)
# [[Khmer Republic]] (1970–1975)
# [[Democratic Kampuchea]] (1975–1982, ousted in 1979); became [[Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea]] in exile (1982–1993)
# [[People's Republic of Kampuchea]] (1979–1989), later renamed "State of Cambodia" (1989–1993) 
# [[Cambodia|Second Kingdom of Cambodia]] (1993–present)

In 1989, the State of Cambodia implemented reform policies that transformed the Cambodian economic system from a [[command economy]] to an open market one.<ref name="Chheang 2008 282">{{cite journal|last=Chheang|first=Vannarith|title=The Political Economy of Tourism in Cambodia|journal=Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research|date=September 2008|volume=13|issue=3|pages=282|doi=10.1080/10941660802280414|s2cid=153876563}}</ref> In line with the economic reformation, private property rights were introduced and state-owned enterprises were privatized. Cambodia also focused on integrating itself into regional and international economic blocs, such as the [[Association of South East Asian Nations]] and the [[World Trade Organization]] respectively. These policies triggered a growth in the economy, with its national GDP growing at an average of 6.1% before a period of domestic unrest and regional economic instability in 1997 ([[1997 Asian financial crisis]]).<ref name="Chheang 2008 282"/> However, conditions improved and since 1999, the Cambodian economy has continued to grow at an average pace of approximately 6–8% per annum.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Un|first=Kheang|title=A Thin Veneer of Change|journal=Asian Survey|date=January 2012|volume=52|issue=1|pages=202–209|jstor=10.1525/as.2012.52.1.202|doi=10.1525/as.2012.52.1.202}}</ref>

In 2007, Cambodia's [[gross domestic product]] grew by an estimated 18.6%. Garment exports rose by almost 8%, while tourist arrivals increased by nearly 35%. With exports decreasing, the 2007 GDP growth was driven largely by consumption and investment. [[Foreign direct investment]] (FDI) inflows reached US$600 million (7 percent of GDP), slightly more than what the country received in official aid. Domestic investment, driven largely by the private sector, accounted for 23.4 percent of GDP. Export growth, especially to the US, began to slow in late 2007 accompanied by stiffer competition from Vietnam and emerging risks (a slowdown in the US economy and lifting of safeguards on China's exports). US companies were the fifth largest investors in Cambodia, with more than $1.2 billion in investments over the period 1997–2007.

Cambodia was severely damaged economically by the [[2008 financial crisis]], and its main economic sector, the garment industry, suffered a 23% drop in exports to the United States and Europe.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Lee|first=Joosung J .|title=An Outlook for Cambodia's Garment Industry in the Post-Safeguard Policy Era|journal=Asian Survey|date=May–June 2011|volume=51|issue=3|pages=570|jstor=10.1525/as.2011.51.3.559|doi=10.1525/as.2011.51.3.559}}</ref> As a result, 60,000 workers were laid off. However, in the last quarter of 2009 and early 2010, conditions were beginning to improve and the Cambodian economy began to recover. Cambodian exports to the US for the first 11 months of 2012 reached $2.49 billion, a 1 per cent increase year-on-year. Its imports of US goods grew 26 per cent for that period, reaching $213 million. Another factor underscoring the potential of the Cambodian economy is the recent halving of its poverty rate. The poverty rate is 20.5 per cent, meaning that approximately 2.8 million people live below the poverty line.
[[File:GPD per capita development of Cambodia.jpg|thumb|left|Real GPD per capita development of Cambodia]]