According to the General Population Census of Cambodia 2008 shows that the total number of young Cambodians aged 10 to 25 years old is estimated to be around 35% of the total population. For many of them the transition to adulthood offers them a lot of opportunities, but also exposes them to new vulnerabilities such as human rights abuse, particularly in the area of sexuality and child bearing periods.

Young girls are coerced into unwanted sex or sold for their virginity, some engage in entertainment work with a higher risk of unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions, sexually transmitted infections, HIV and complications from childbirth at an early age.

In Cambodia about 36% of young men aged between 15 and 24 have already engaged in high risk sexual behavior which a non-marital, a non-cohabitating partner. Around 25% of Cambodian women admitted having had an induced abortion at least once. Teenage fertility has not changed during the last decade in the country, although the average fertility level of Cambodian women has fallen sharply and the mean age of marriage has gone up.

It is still of a concern for UNFPA that 8% of the girls aged 15 to 19 years old have already become a mother.