Cambodia has one of the highest numbers of generals per capita in the world. As of early 2018, Cambodia had more than 3,000 generals presiding over its 125,000-strong armed forces. The funny problem already occurred in the mid-1990s.

Cambodian generals visiting Army 2018 near Kubinka (Picture source: Army Recognition)

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has announced plans to reform the country’s armed forces by reducing the number of generals, VOA reports. Cambodia has one of the highest numbers of generals per capita in the world, with several thousand officers reportedly holding the rank, making it a so-called "Mexican army". Hun Sen announced the reduction while attending the Second Belt and Road Forum in Beijing last April. He was reported as saying that, in the future, only the Defense minister and the army commander-in-chief would be given the top rank of four-stars. Phay Siphan, a government spokesman, said “This is to avoid overlapping job responsibilities. At the moment, government reform is not only on the political front. We reform all sectors.”

In the mid-1990s, the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces already counted innumerable generals, as stars could simply be bribed for around USD1,000 per unit, without passing any kind of skill nor military knowledge test. The army had become so “shiny” under the bright sun that a reform was decided and, from one day to the following one, all the officers lost two ranks… and the associated salary, which led plenty of armed forces members to use their pistol for “personal extra-hour benefit” aiming at compensating the loss of income, already very low.