PHNOM PENH, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia is going to conduct a population census in March next year, Minister of Planning Chhay Than said here on Tuesday.

"We plan to spend 8.5 million U.S. dollars for the one-week census, which will be commenced from March 3, 2019," he told reporters after a meeting in Phnom Penh.

The minister said more than 40,000 census workers will be deployed to collect the demographic, social and economic statistics, including births, deaths, migration, education and employment status among others.

The Southeast Asian nation conducted a census once a decade. The 2008 population census showed that Cambodia's population was 13.4 million, an increase of two million from 11.4 million in 1998.

According to the minister, the country's current population is estimated at about 16 million.