  Cambodia-The Wartime Economy, 1970-75    Cambodia Index  The
war that engulfed the rest of Indochina spread to Cambodia in
April 1970, shortly after the coup that deposed Prince Sihanouk.
Wartime conditions had a major impact on the country's economy,
especially on the export sector. Production and export of
virtually all commodities dropped sharply, as insecurity spread
throughout the countryside. Intense combat in the nation's most
densely populated farming areas caused a large segment of the
peasant population to flee to cities and to towns. By 1975 the
population of Phnom Penh had swollen to 2 million, from just
50,000 in 1955. Moreover, the war seriously dislocated the
economic system. Food shortages arose as insurgents interrupted
the transportation of crops from the countryside to the main
marketing centers. Increasing budgetary expenditures,
skyrocketing inflation, shrinking export earnings, and a rising
balance-of-payments deficit plagued the war-torn economy.  The
war's most damaging effect was on