Almost a quarter of Cambodia's population - some 1.7 million people - died from torture, starvation and overwork under the radical communist Khmer Rouge regime, which seized power in 1975.

Driven by a distorted dream of turning the Southeast Asian nation into an agrarian peasant utopia, the movement's leader, Pol Pot, evacuated cities and abolished money and private property.

The so-called "Killing Fields" were put to a stop when Vietnam invaded Cambodia in December 1978, driving the Khmer Rouge into the jungle along the border with Thailand. The Vietnamese withdrew in 1989 and elections in 1993 created a fragile democracy.

A U.N.-backed tribunal comprising both international and Cambodian judges has been set up to try surviving leaders of the Khmer Rouge.

Five senior cadres have been arrested and charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes. The court has been plagued by delays, but the first full trial is expected to begin later in 2008.

The World Bank says Cambodia has achieved high rates of economic growth and significantly cut poverty over the last decade and a half. However, growth has been largely confined to urban areas.

Other major problems in Cambodia include HIV/AIDS and the threat posed by millions of unexploded landmines. Illegal logging and drug trafficking are also rife.

Cambodians who died under the Khmer Rouge	1.7 million ( The Cambodian Genocide Program, Yale University )
Population living below $1 a day	34.1 percent ( UNDP - Human Development Report 2006)
Total number of unexploded landmines/UXO	4-6 million ( Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) Annual report 2005)
Numbers maimed or killed every year	800-900, down from 4,000 in 1996 ( Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) Annual report 2005)