The development of Phnom Penh

Audio 03:30

A view of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, with the business district on the horizon.

Getty images / Andrew TB Tan

By: Juliette Buchez

5 mins

From 812,000 inhabitants in 1994 to around 2.5 million inhabitants today, the population of Phnom Penh has tripled in 25 years.

Ghost town at the end of the Khmer Rouge regime, the capital of Cambodia then became the nerve center of development supported by international aid at the end of the civil war.

In recent years, Phnom Penh's transformation into a metropolis has further accelerated.

But the lack of transparency on urban plans does not make it possible to imagine what the city of tomorrow could be, when the priority seems to be given to economic development rather than sustainable development.

  • Cambodia