Policy Briefs
6
From Access to Adoption: Strengthening Citizen Engagement with Cambodia's Digital Government Services
Published:
04-Sep-2026
Keyword: Digital government, e-government adoption, citizen engagement, digital literacy, Cambodia
Keyword: Digital government, e-government adoption, citizen engagement, digital literacy, Cambodia
Abstract/Summary
- More than three-quarters of Cambodians aged 16 or above (76.9 percent) had not used a government digital service in 2025, despite near-universal mobile coverage and rapid uptake of commercial digital finance.
- Among respondents who did not use government digital services, the main barriers are capability and awareness, which together account for 92.1 percent of non-use; data-security and connectivity concerns account for barely 2 percent.
- The two barriers fall on different citizens. Younger, better-educated non-users mostly do not know the services exist; older, less-educated non-users know of them but cannot yet use them.
- Education and digital skill separate users from non-users; location does not.
- Roughly one citizen in five would reach a digital service through a relative or government official. Delegated access is a durable channel, not a transitional stage.
- Some 64.5 percent of respondents expect to visit an office even after applying online, highlighting that digital interfaces have modernised faster than the underlying administrative requirements.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.64202/pb.06.2026.09