Cambodia

Cambodia is a southeastern Asian nation with a 2009 population of 14.8 million, a growing percentage of which is of school age. Most of the population is rural and employed within the agricultural sector. The poverty rate remains high, despite economic development. Cambodia's Buddhist and French colonial heritage shaped its early educational system. Its modern system had to be rebuilt after the destruction of the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s. Most Cambodian children achieve some level of primary education, and the 2009 adult literacy rate approached 80 percent. The educational system is still plagued by many problems, however, including large educational divides along rural/urban, gender, and income groups. Cambodia's educational attainments remain low by global comparison.

Cambodia's early formal education system has been traced back to ...