Siem Reap is characterized by serious poverty, despite its tourism and construction industries, remaining the poorest province in Cambodia.  Siem Reap relies heavily on fresh water fishing and subsistence agriculture and are highly vulnerable to human trafficking for sexual or labor exploitation. Lack of community-based support mechanisms and a limited understanding of the consequences of child labor are prevalent in this province. Uninformed migration due to poverty is prevalent. Many children and women migrate to seek employment in the cities or neighboring countries.  A further consequence of this trend is that younger children who remain in the villages are in high demand as child laborers.

In terms of education, while there is a steady increase in the numbers of enrolments at the primary level, many children still leave school at the completion of their primary school education.  There are many reasons to explain this such as poverty, unavailability of schools in the area, excessive distances, no high schools etc. Many of those who are enrolled in primary school are also at risk of dropping out of school due to the high demand for their services at home. It is reported anecdotally that almost every child in each household is involved directly in the agriculture sector such as in harvesting, ploughing, or are indirectly involved in carrying out duties  such as child care, household activities or other domestic activities. While there is no reliable statistic or data of how many children are actually involved in agriculture, it is believed that these observations reflect the real situation with child labor in the provinces.