PHNOM PENH, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia had dispatched some 22, 300 laborers overseas in 2013, down 36 percent from 34,800 a year earlier, figures from the Ministry of Labor showed Monday.
The country sent 13,170 workers to Thailand last year, down 50 percent year-on-year; 8,820 to South Korea, up 8 percent; 111 to Japan, up 9 percent; and 90 to Malaysia, down 50 percent.
Also, the country sent 111 laborers to Singapore for the first time last year.
Cambodian laborers work in industries, agriculture, construction and fishing in Thailand, South Korea, and Japan, and serve as domestic helpers in Malaysia and Singapore.
Currently, some 130,000 Cambodian laborers have been working legally in those countries, and have sent home more than 200 million U.S. dollars a year, the ministry said.
Thailand is the largest market for Cambodian laborers, followed by Malaysia and South Korea.