PHNOM PENH, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- China on Wednesday donated material and equipment to Cambodia for its 2019 general population census, officials said.

The donation included cars, motorcycles, desktop computers, laptop computers, printers, photocopiers and tablets.

Economic and Commercial Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy to Cambodia Li An handed over those material and equipment to Cambodian Senior Minister and Minister of Planning Chhay Than at a ceremony in Phnom Penh.

Li said China was pleased to help Cambodia in the statistical sector, saying that the upcoming census was crucial to following up on Cambodia's development and gathering statistics for development purposes in the future.

Chhay Than expressed gratitude to the Chinese government and people for constantly supporting Cambodia's development in all fields.

"The donation today opens a new chapter of cooperation in statistical sector between Cambodia and China," he said.

Cambodia is going to conduct a general population census on March 3-13, and some 50,000 census workers will be deployed to collect the demographic, social and economic statistics, including births, deaths, migration, education and employment status among others.

He said the census is estimated to cost 8.5 million U.S. dollars.

The Southeast Asian nation conducted a general population census once a decade. The 2008 population census found that Cambodia's population was 13.4 million, up from 11.4 million in 1998.

Chhay Than said the country's current population is estimated at about 16 million.