Cambodia was included in the list of least developed countries (LDC) in 1991. Since then, Cambodia has achieved rapid socio-economic development and met the graduation criteria for the first time in 2021. All three criteria were met again with significant margins in 2024.

In May 2024, the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) endorsed the recommendation for Cambodia’s LDC graduation in 2029, following a five-year preparatory period. Graduation from LDC status, however, would result in the gradual withdrawal of international support measures including preferential trade arrangements, flexible application of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Rules of Origin (RoO) and Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), among others.

These changes will have implications on Cambodia’s macroeconomic and trade performance (namely, export sectors), as well as on employment and poverty, with differential gender impacts.