Human development is about fostering an environment wherein people can develop their potential, create more choices for themselves and live a long, healthy and productive life. UNDP has produced Human Development Reports for the last 17 years, which have promoted ‘people-centred’ development. National Human Development Reports (NHDRs) are designed to be advocacy documents based on thorough research. Globally, over 400 of these have been produced in 135 countries.  Cambodia began to produce NHDRs in 1997.

This report is the sixth, focusing on natural resources and rural livelihoods. The Cambodian NHDR is the outcome of a joint effort by the UNDP Country Office in Cambodia and the Ministry of Planning. This report describes the status of human development in Cambodia at the regional and provincial levels. The different human development indices have also been constructed for each province, distinguishing high performance areas from those which require more attention.