Cambodia’s population is expected to grow by 22 per cent to almost 19 million by 2030, while infant mortality is slated to decrease and life expectancy to increase, according to a UN report released on Wednesday.

In the newly published 2015 Revision of World Population Prospects by the UN’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), the Kingdom’s population is set to increase from its current 15,578,000 count in 2015 to 18,991,000 in 2030.

But while the country’s population is climbing, its rate of growth is predicted to taper off yearly as seen through the National Institute of Statistics’ (NIS) estimates.

“Population is indeed increasing but the increase in the next decades will be slower” as access to birth control and other family planning materials increases, said NIS Census Department Director They Kheam.

The DESA report noted that life expectancy will rise from 67.6 years in 2010-15 to 73.8 years in 2025-30. Infant mortality is also forecasted to decline from 29.9 per thousand in 2010-15 to 9.5 in 2025-30.

“The reason for this is the higher investment in programs dealing with health and safety and the reduction of mortality among the population,” Kheam said.

According to him, the next census is scheduled for 2018 with new government population projections coming out around 2019- 20.

UN representatives were not available for comment.