PHNOM PENH, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's population has increased to 15.28 million by March 2019, up 14.1 percent from 13.39 million in the 2008 census, said the provisional results of the 2019 general population census released on Wednesday.
The Southeast Asian nation has the male population of 7.41 million (48.5 percent) and the female population of 7.87 million (51.5 percent), the results said, adding the average size of households was 4.6 persons, the same as that of the 2008 census.
The results said the population in the new census had not included approximately 1.23 million Cambodian migrants working abroad.
According to the results, the population density was 86 people per square kilometer, up from 75 in 2008.
Among the kingdom's 25 cities and provinces, Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, has the highest population of 2.13 million, followed by neighboring Kandal province of 1.19 million and Prey Veng province of 1.05 million, the results said, adding that the coastal province of Kep has the lowest population of 41,798.
Speaking at the launching ceremony of the provisional results, Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sar Kheng said the results from the census provided essential demographic and household data for all forms of evaluation and planning.
"The 2019 general population census provides reliable data to the government, development partners and the public, so they can use it to prepare policies or strategic plans more effectively in the future," he said.
The 2019 general population census, conducted in March, was the fourth one in Cambodia, said Planning Minister Chhay Than, adding that the first census was conducted in 1962, indicating that the country had the population of 5.7 million.
The second one was held in 1998, finding that the country had the population of 11.4 million and the third one was made in 2008, discovering the country's population reached 13.39 million.
According to Than, the final results of the 2019 general population census will be publicized in the second quarter of 2020.
