Cambodia - September 2025

Thailand’s unilateral closure of its border with Cambodia following the armed clashes between the two countries has led to the sudden repatriation of between 800,000 and 2 million expatriate Cambodian workers. The massive influx of newly unemployed workers has strained the country’s economy, both through the burden on the government of reintegrating them and through the loss of remittances. Development banks and researchers are concerned that unemployment and poverty will increase significantly and have downgraded the country’s growth outlook. Many of the returning workers were undocumented in Thailand and face additional challenges, such as unpaid wages and a lack of access to the Cambodian identity documents necessary to seek state aid and protection. 

Sources: Nikkei Asia, Channel News Asia, The Diplomat