##ciekawa_strona##
Compare Austria (2004) - Laos (2001)
Compare Austria (2004) z Laos (2001)
| Austria (2004) | Laos (2001) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 9 states (Bundeslaender, singular - Bundesland); Burgenland, Kaernten, Niederoesterreich, Oberoesterreich, Salzburg, Steiermark, Tirol, Vorarlberg, Wien | 16 provinces (khoueng, singular and plural), 1 municipality* (kampheng nakhon, singular and plural), and 1 special zone** (khetphiset, singular and plural); Attapu, Bokeo, Bolikhamxai, Champasak, Houaphan, Khammouan, Louangnamtha, Louangphabang, Oudomxai, Phongsali, Salavan, Savannakhet, Viangchan*, Viangchan, Xaignabouli, Xaisomboun**, Xekong, Xiangkhoang |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 15.9% (male 665,680; female 633,560)
15-64 years: 68.1% (male 2,799,411; female 2,764,426) 65 years and over: 16% (male 518,748; female 792,937) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years:
42.75% (male 1,212,577; female 1,196,795) 15-64 years: 53.94% (male 1,494,927; female 1,544,851) 65 years and over: 3.31% (male 85,632; female 101,185) (2001 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | grains, potatoes, sugar beets, wine, fruit; dairy products, cattle, pigs, poultry; lumber | sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton; tea, peanuts, rice; water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry |
| Airports | 55 (2003 est.) | 51 (2000 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 24
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 14 (2004 est.) |
total:
8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 31
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 27 (2004 est.) |
total:
43 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 17 under 914 m: 25 (2000 est.) |
| Area | total: 83,870 sq km
land: 82,444 sq km water: 1,426 sq km |
total:
236,800 sq km land: 230,800 sq km water: 6,000 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maine | slightly larger than Utah |
| Background | Once the center of power for the large Austro-Hungarian Empire, Austria was reduced to a small republic after its defeat in World War I. Following annexation by Nazi Germany in 1938 and subsequent occupation by the victorious Allies in 1945, Austria's status remained unclear for a decade. A State Treaty signed in 1955 ended the occupation, recognized Austria's independence, and forbade unification with Germany. A constitutional law that same year declared the country's "perpetual neutrality" as a condition for Soviet military withdrawal. Following the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991 and Austria's entry into the European Union in 1995, some Austrian's have called into question this neutrality. A prosperous, democratic country, Austria entered the European Monetary Union in 1999. | In 1975 the communist Pathet Lao took control of the government, ending a six-century-old monarchy. Initial closer ties to Vietnam and socialization were replaced with a gradual return to private enterprise, an easing of foreign investment laws, and the admission into ASEAN in 1997. |
| Birth rate | 8.9 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 37.84 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $67 billion
expenditures: $70 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
revenues:
$211 million expenditures: $462 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY98/99 est.) |
| Capital | Vienna | Vientiane |
| Climate | temperate; continental, cloudy; cold winters with frequent rain and some snow in lowlands and snow in mountains; moderate summers with occasional showers | tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April) |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Constitution | 1920; revised 1929 (reinstated 1 May 1945) | promulgated 14 August 1991 |
| Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Austria
conventional short form: Austria local long form: Republik Oesterreich local short form: Oesterreich |
conventional long form:
Lao People's Democratic Republic conventional short form: Laos local long form: Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao local short form: none |
| Currency | euro (EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by the financial institutions of member countries; as of 1 January 2002, the euro became the only legal tender in EMU member countries, including Austria |
kip (LAK) |
| Death rate | 9.56 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 13.02 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Debt - external | $15.5 billion (2003 est.) | $2.46 billion (1998 est.) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador William Lee LYONS BROWN, Jr.
embassy: Boltzmanngasse 16, A-1090, Vienna mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [43] (1) 31339-0, 31375, 31335 FAX: [43] (1) 3100682 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affairs Karen Brevard STEWART embassy: 19 Rue Bartholonie, B. P. 114, Vientiane mailing address: American Embassy, Box V, APO AP 96546 telephone: [856] (21) 212581, 212582, 212585 FAX: [856] (21) 212584 |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Eva NOWOTNY
chancery: 3524 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008-3035 telephone: [1] (202) 895-6700 FAX: [1] (202) 895-6750 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York |
chief of mission:
Ambassador VANG Rattanavong chancery: 2222 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-6416 FAX: [1] (202) 332-4923 |
| Disputes - international | minor disputes with the Czech Republic over the Temelin Nuclear Power Plant | parts of the border with Thailand are indefinite |
| Economic aid - donor | ODA, $520 million (2002) | - |
| Economic aid - recipient | - | $345 million (1999 est.) |
| Economy - overview | Austria, with its well-developed market economy and high standard of living, is closely tied to other EU economies, especially Germany's. Membership in the EU has drawn an influx of foreign investors attracted by Austria's access to the single European market and proximity to EU aspirant economies. Slow growth in Germany and elsewhere in the world held the economy to 0.7% growth in 2001, 1.4% in 2002, and again less than 1% in 2003. However, recent data signal that the recovery has started. The government estimates economic growth in 2004 of 1.7-2.1% and of 2.5% in 2005. The government is planning a EURO 500 billion income tax cut in 2004, though some economists doubt it will have stimulative effects in 2004, because it will be offset by higher health insurance contributions and higher taxes on energy. For 2005, Austria plans a tax cut of EURO 2.5 billion and harmonization of the various pension schemes. To meet increased competition from both EU and Central European countries, particularly the new EU members, Austria will need to emphasize knowledge-based sectors of the economy, continue to deregulate the service sector, and lower its tax burden. A key issue is the encouragement of much greater participation in the labor market by its aging population. | The government of Laos - one of the few remaining official communist states - began decentralizing control and encouraging private enterprise in 1986. The results, starting from an extremely low base, were striking - growth averaged 7% during 1988-97. Reform efforts subsequently slowed, and GDP growth dropped an average of 3 percentage points. Because Laos depends heavily on its trade with Thailand, it was damaged by the regional financial crisis beginning in 1997. Government mismanagement deepened the crisis, and from June 1997 to June 1999 the Lao kip lost 87% of its value. Laos' foreign exchange problems peaked in September 1999 when the kip fell from 3,500 kip to the dollar to 9,000 kip to the dollar in a matter of weeks. Now that the currency has stabilized, however, the government seems content to let the current situation persist, despite limited government revenue and foreign exchange reserves. A landlocked country with a primitive infrastructure, Laos has no railroads, a rudimentary road system, and limited external and internal telecommunications. Electricity is available in only a few urban areas. Subsistence agriculture accounts for half of GDP and provides 80% of total employment. For the foreseeable future the economy will continue to depend on aid from the IMF and other international sources; Japan is currently the largest bilateral aid donor; aid from the former USSR/Eastern Europe has been cut sharply. |
| Electricity - consumption | 54.85 billion kWh (2001) | 173.6 million kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - exports | 14.25 billion kWh (2001) | 705 million kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - imports | 14.47 billion kWh (2001) | 142 million kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - production | 58.75 billion kWh (2001) | 792 million kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
2.78% hydro: 97.22% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Neusiedler See 115 m
highest point: Grossglockner 3,798 m |
lowest point:
Mekong River 70 m highest point: Phou Bia 2,817 m |
| Environment - current issues | some forest degradation caused by air and soil pollution; soil pollution results from the use of agricultural chemicals; air pollution results from emissions by coal- and oil-fired power stations and industrial plants and from trucks transiting Austria between northern and southern Europe | unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; a majority of the population does not have access to potable water |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Ethnic groups | German 88.5%, indigenous minorities 1.5% (includes Croatians, Slovenes, Hungarians, Czechs, Slovaks, Roma), recent immigrant groups 10% (includes Turks, Bosnians, Serbians, Croatians) (2001) | Lao Loum (lowland) 68%, Lao Theung (upland) 22%, Lao Soung (highland) including the Hmong ("Meo") and the Yao (Mien) 9%, ethnic Vietnamese/Chinese 1% |
| Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999) | kips per US dollar - 7,578.00 (December 2000), 7,102.03 (1999), 3,298.33 (1998), 1,259.98 (1997), 921.02 (1996) |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President Heinz FISCHER (since 8 July 2004)
head of government: Chancellor Wolfgang SCHUESSEL (OeVP)(since 4 February 2000); Vice Chancellor Hubert GORBACH (since 21 October 2003) cabinet: Council of Ministers chosen by the president on the advice of the chancellor elections: president elected by direct popular vote for a six-year term; presidential election last held 25 April 2004 (next to be held NA April 2010); chancellor traditionally chosen by the president from the plurality party in the National Council; vice chancellor chosen by the president on the advice of the chancellor election results: Heinz FISCHER elected president; percent of vote - Heinz FISCHER (SPOe) 52.4%, Benita FERRERO-WALDNER (OeVP) 47.6% note: government coalition - OeVP and FPOe |
chief of state:
President Gen. KHAMTAI Siphandon (since 26 February 1998) and Vice President Lt. Gen. CHOUMMALI Saignason (since NA March 2001) head of government: Prime Minister BOUNGNANG Volachit (since NA March 2001); Deputy Prime Ministers THONGLOUN Sisolit (since NA March 2001), SOMSAVAT Lengsavat (since 26 February 1998) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president, approved by the National Assembly elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term; election last held 21 December 1997 (next to be held NA 2002); prime minister appointed by the president with the approval of the National Assembly for a five-year term election results: KHAMTAI Siphandon elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - NA% |
| Exports | 35,470 bbl/day (2001) | $323 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, paper and paperboard, metal goods, chemicals, iron and steel; textiles, foodstuffs | wood products, garments, electricity, coffee, tin |
| Exports - partners | Germany 31.9%, Italy 9.6%, Switzerland 5.2%, US 4.9%, France 4.8%, UK 4.7% (2003) | Vietnam, Thailand, Germany, France, Belgium |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 October - 30 September |
| Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and red | three horizontal bands of red (top), blue (double width), and red with a large white disk centered in the blue band |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $245.3 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $9 billion (2000 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3.5%
industry: 25.7% services: 70.9% (2003 est.) |
agriculture:
51% industry: 22% services: 27% (1999 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $30,000 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2000 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 0.7% (2003 est.) | 4% (2000 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 47 20 N, 13 20 E | 18 00 N, 105 00 E |
| Geography - note | landlocked; strategic location at the crossroads of central Europe with many easily traversable Alpine passes and valleys; major river is the Danube; population is concentrated on eastern lowlands because of steep slopes, poor soils, and low temperatures elsewhere | landlocked |
| Heliports | 1 (2003 est.) | - |
| Highways | total: 200,000 km
paved: 200,000 km (including 1,633 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (2000) |
total:
14,000 km paved: 3,360 km unpaved: 10,640 km (1991) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.5%
highest 10%: 22.5% (1995) |
lowest 10%:
4.2% highest 10%: 26.4% (1992) |
| Illicit drugs | transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and South American cocaine destined for Western Europe | world's third-largest illicit opium producer (estimated cultivation in 1999 - 21,800 hectares, a 16% decrease over 1998; estimated potential production in 1999 - 140 metric tons, about the same as in 1998); potential heroin producer; transshipment point for heroin and methamphetamine produced in Burma; illicit producer of cannabis |
| Imports | 262,000 bbl/day (2001) | $540 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal goods, oil and oil products; foodstuffs | machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel |
| Imports - partners | Germany 43.2%, Italy 6.7%, Hungary 5.4%, Switzerland 5%, Netherlands 4.2% (2003) | Thailand, Japan, Vietnam, China, Singapore, Hong Kong |
| Independence | 1156 (Duchy of Austria founded); 12 November 1918 (republic proclaimed) | 19 July 1949 (from France) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 1.9% (2003 est.) | 7.5% (1999 est.) |
| Industries | construction, machinery, vehicles and parts, food, chemicals, lumber and wood processing, paper and paperboard, communications equipment, tourism | tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 4.68 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.76 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
92.89 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.4% (2003 est.) | 33% (2000 est.) |
| International organization participation | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (observer), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC | ACCT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
| Irrigated land | 457 sq km (2000 est.) | 1,250 sq km (1993 est.)
note: rainy season irrigation - 2,169 sq km; dry season irrigation - 750 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Judicial Court or Oberster Gerichtshof; Administrative Court or Verwaltungsgerichtshof; Constitutional Court or Verfassungsgerichtshof | People's Supreme Court (the president of the People's Supreme Court is elected by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the National Assembly Standing Committee; the vice president of the People's Supreme Court and the judges are appointed by the National Assembly Standing Committee) |
| Labor force | 3.425 million (2003) | 1 million - 1.5 million |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture and forestry 4%, industry and crafts 29%, services 67% (2001 est.) | agriculture 80% (1997 est.) |
| Land boundaries | total: 2,562 km
border countries: Czech Republic 362 km, Germany 784 km, Hungary 366 km, Italy 430 km, Liechtenstein 35 km, Slovakia 91 km, Slovenia 330 km, Switzerland 164 km |
total:
5,083 km border countries: Burma 235 km, Cambodia 541 km, China 423 km, Thailand 1,754 km, Vietnam 2,130 km |
| Land use | arable land: 16.91%
permanent crops: 0.86% other: 82.23% (2001) |
arable land:
3% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 3% forests and woodland: 54% other: 40% (1993 est.) |
| Languages | German (official nationwide), Slovene (official in Carinthia), Croatian (official in Burgenland), Hungarian (official in Burgenland) | Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages |
| Legal system | civil law system with Roman law origin; judicial review of legislative acts by the Constitutional Court; separate administrative and civil/penal supreme courts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and Socialist practice |
| Legislative branch | bicameral Federal Assembly or Bundesversammlung consists of Federal Council or Bundesrat (62 members; members represent each of the states on the basis of population, but with each state having at least three representatives; members serve a five- or six-year term) and the National Council or Nationalrat (183 seats; members elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: National Council - last held 24 November 2002 (next to be held in the fall of 2006) election results: National Council - percent of vote by party - OeVP 42.3%, SPOe 36.5%, FPOe 10.0%, Greens 9.5%; seats by party - OeVP 79, SPOe 69, FPOe 18, Greens 17 |
unicameral National Assembly (99 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms; note - by presidential decree, on 27 October 1997, the number of seats increased from 85 to 99)
elections: last held 21 December 1997 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - LPRP or LPRP-approved (independent, non-party members) 99 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 78.87 years
male: 76 years female: 81.89 years (2004 est.) |
total population:
53.48 years male: 51.58 years female: 55.44 years (2001 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98% male: NA female: NA |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 57% male: 70% female: 44% (1999 est.) |
| Location | Central Europe, north of Italy and Slovenia | Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam |
| Map references | Europe | Southeast Asia |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
| Merchant marine | total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 29,624 GRT/37,425 DWT
by type: cargo 4, container 2 foreign-owned: Netherlands 1 registered in other countries: 34 (2004 est.) |
total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,370 GRT/3,000 DWT ships by type: cargo 1 (2000 est.) |
| Military branches | Land Forces (KdoLdSK), Air Forces (KdoLuSK) | Lao People's Army (LPA; includes riverine element), Air Force, National Police Department |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $1.497 billion (FY01/02) | $55 million (FY98) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.85% (June 2004) | 4.2% (FY96/97) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 2,066,467 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49:
1,319,537 (2001 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 1,699,384 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49:
710,627 (2001 est.) |
| Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 48,981 (2004 est.) | males:
64,437 (2001 est.) |
| National holiday | National Day, 26 October (1955); note - commemorates the State Treaty restoring national sovereignty and the end of occupation and the passage of the law on permanent neutrality | Republic Day, 2 December (1975) |
| Nationality | noun: Austrian(s)
adjective: Austrian |
noun:
Lao(s) or Laotian(s) adjective: Lao or Laotian |
| Natural hazards | landslides; avalanches; earthquakes | floods, droughts, and blight |
| Natural resources | oil, coal, lignite, timber, iron ore, copper, zinc, antimony, magnesite, tungsten, graphite, salt, hydropower | timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones |
| Net migration rate | 2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Pipelines | gas 2,722 km; oil 663 km; refined products 149 km (2004) | petroleum products 136 km |
| Political parties and leaders | Austrian People's Party or OeVP [Wolfgang SCHUESSEL]; Freedom Party of Austria or FPOe [Ursula HAUBNER]; Social Democratic Party of Austria or SPOe [Alfred GUSENBAUER]; The Greens [Alexander VAN DER BELLEN] | Lao People's Revolutionary Party or LPRP [KHAMTAI Siphandon, party president]; other parties proscribed |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | Austrian Trade Union Federation (nominally independent but primarily Socialist) or OeGB; Federal Economic Chamber; OeVP-oriented League of Austrian Industrialists or VOeI; Roman Catholic Church, including its chief lay organization, Catholic Action; three composite leagues of the Austrian People's Party or OeVP representing business, labor, and farmers and other non-government organizations in the areas of environment and human rights | noncommunist political groups proscribed; most opposition leaders fled the country in 1975 |
| Population | 8,174,762 (July 2004 est.) | 5,635,967 (July 2001 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 3.9% (1999) | 46.1% (1993 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 0.14% (2004 est.) | 2.48% (2001 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Enns, Krems, Linz, Vienna | none |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 65 (plus several hundred repeaters), shortwave 1 (2001) | AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 4 (1998) |
| Radios | - | 730,000 (1997) |
| Railways | total: 6,021 km (3,552 km electrified)
standard gauge: 5,565 km 1.435-m gauge (3,430 km electrified) narrow gauge: 34 km 1.000-m gauge (28 km electrified); 422 km 0.760-m gauge (94 km electrified) (2003) |
0 km |
| Religions | Roman Catholic 73.6%, Protestant 4.7%, Muslim 4.2%, other 0.1%, none 17.4% | Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.65 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal; compulsory for presidential elections | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment: highly developed and efficient
domestic: there are 48 main lines for every 100 persons; the fiber optic net is very extensive; all telephone applications and Internet services are available international: country code - 43; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 Eutelsat; in addition, there are about 600 VSAT (very small aperture terminals) (2002) |
general assessment:
service to general public is poor but improving, with over 20,000 telephones currently in service and an additional 48,000 expected by 2001; the government relies on a radiotelephone network to communicate with remote areas domestic: radiotelephone communications international: satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 3.881 million (2003) | 25,000 (1997) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 7,094,500 (2003) | 4,915 (1997) |
| Television broadcast stations | 10 (plus more than 1,000 repeaters) (2001) | 4 (1999) |
| Terrain | in the west and south mostly mountains (Alps); along the eastern and northern margins mostly flat or gently sloping | mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus |
| Total fertility rate | 1.35 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 5.12 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 4.4% (2003 est.) | 5.7% (1997 est.) |
| Waterways | 358 km (2003) | 4,587 km approximately
note: primarily Mekong and tributaries; 2,897 additional km are intermittently navigable by craft drawing less than 0.5 m |
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