Compare Benin (2007) - Laos (2003)

Compare Benin (2007) z Laos (2003)

	Benin (2007)	Laos (2003)

Administrative divisions	12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou	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: 43.9% (male 1,788,248/female 1,754,940) 15-64 years: 53.7% (male 2,138,649/female 2,203,291) 65 years and over: 2.4% (male 77,844/female 115,342) (2007 est.)	0-14 years: 42.2% (male 1,255,172; female 1,242,823) 15-64 years: 54.6% (male 1,592,697; female 1,639,431) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 87,192; female 104,230) (2003 est.)
Agriculture - products	cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, cashews; livestock	sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton; tea, peanuts, rice; water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry
Airports	5 (2007)	51 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007)	total: 9 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2007)	total: 42 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 26 (2002)
Area	total: 112,620 sq km land: 110,620 sq km water: 2,000 sq km	total: 236,800 sq km land: 230,800 sq km water: 6,000 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Pennsylvania	slightly larger than Utah
Background	Present day Benin was the site of Dahomey, a prominent West African kingdom that rose in the 15th century. The territory became a French Colony in 1872 and achieved independence on 1 August 1960, as the Republic of Benin. A succession of military governments ended in 1972 with the rise to power of Mathieu KEREKOU and the establishment of a government based on Marxist-Leninist principles. A move to representative government began in 1989. Two years later, free elections ushered in former Prime Minister Nicephore SOGLO as president, marking the first successful transfer of power in Africa from a dictatorship to a democracy. KEREKOU was returned to power by elections held in 1996 and 2001, though some irregularities were alleged. KEREKOU stepped down at the end of his second term in 2006 and was succeeded by Thomas YAYI Boni, a political outsider and independent.	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, a liberalization of foreign investment laws, and the admission into ASEAN in 1997.
Birth rate	38.1 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	36.93 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Budget	revenues: $786 million expenditures: $1.024 billion (2006 est.)	revenues: $211 million expenditures: $462 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY98/99 est. est.)
Capital	name: Porto-Novo (official capital) geographic coordinates: 6 29 N, 2 37 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: Cotonou (seat of government)	Vientiane
Climate	tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north	tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April)
Coastline	121 km	0 km (landlocked)
Constitution	adopted by referendum 2 December 1990	promulgated 14 August 1991
Country name	conventional long form: Republic of Benin conventional short form: Benin local long form: Republique du Benin local short form: Benin former: Dahomey	conventional long form: Lao People's Democratic Republic conventional short form: Laos local long form: Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao local short form: none
Currency	-	kip (LAK)
Death rate	11.94 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	12.39 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Debt - external	$1.6 billion (2000)	$2.53 billion (1999)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Gayleatha B. BROWN embassy: Rue Caporal Bernard Anani, Cotonou mailing address: 01 B. P. 2012, Cotonou telephone: [229] 21-30-06-50 FAX: [229] 21-30-06-70	chief of mission: Ambassador Douglas A. HARTWICK 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 Cyrille Segbe OGUIN chancery: 2124 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-6656 FAX: [1] (202) 265-1996	chief of mission: Ambassador PHANTHONG Phommahaxay chancery: 2222 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-6416 FAX: [1] (202) 332-4923
Disputes - international	two villages remain in dispute along the border with Burkina Faso; Benin accused Burkina Faso of moving boundary pillars; much of Benin-Niger boundary, including tripoint with Nigeria, remains undemarcated; in 2005, Nigeria ceded thirteen villages to Benin, but border relations remain strained by rival gang clashes; Benin and Togo announced plans in 2006 to construct a joint hydroelectric dam on the Mona River at the southern end of the border	demarcation of boundaries with Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam is nearing completion, but with Thailand several areas including Mekong River islets remain in dispute; ongoing disputes with Thailand and Vietnam over squatters
Economic aid - recipient	$349.1 million (2005)	$345 million (1999 est.)
Economy - overview	The economy of Benin remains underdeveloped and dependent on subsistence agriculture, cotton production, and regional trade. Growth in real output has averaged around 5% in the past six years, but rapid population growth has offset much of this increase. Inflation has subsided over the past several years. In order to raise growth still further, Benin plans to attract more foreign investment, place more emphasis on tourism, facilitate the development of new food processing systems and agricultural products, and encourage new information and communication technology. Specific projects to improve the business climate by reforms to the land tenure system, the commercial justice system, and the financial sector were included in Benin's $307 million Millennium Challenge Account grant signed in February 2006. The 2001 privatization policy continues in telecommunications, water, electricity, and agriculture in spite of government reluctance. The Paris Club and bilateral creditors have eased the external debt situation, with Benin benefiting from a G8 debt reduction announced in July 2005, while pressing for more rapid structural reforms. Benin continues to be hurt by Nigerian trade protection that bans imports of a growing list of products from Benin and elsewhere, which has resulted in increased smuggling and criminality in the border region.	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% in 1988-2001 except during the short-lived drop caused by the Asian financial crisis beginning in 1997. Despite this high growth rate, Laos remains a country with a primitive infrastructure; it 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. The economy will continue to benefit from aid from the IMF and other international sources and from new foreign investment in food processing and mining.
Electricity - consumption	587 million kWh (2005)	824.7 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2005)	400 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	595 million kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	105 million kWh (2005)	1.317 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source	-	fossil fuel: 1.4% hydro: 98.6% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m	lowest point: Mekong River 70 m highest point: Phou Bia 2,817 m
Environment - current issues	inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification	unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; a majority of the population does not have access to potable water
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements	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	Fon and related 39.2%, Adja and related 15.2%, Yoruba and related 12.3%, Bariba and related 9.2%, Peulh and related 7%, Ottamari and related 6.1%, Yoa-Lokpa and related 4%, Dendi and related 2.5%, other 1.6% (includes Europeans), unspecified 2.9% (2002 census)	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	Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002)	kips per US dollar - 7,562 (2002), 8,954.58 (2001), 7,887.64 (2000), 7,102.02 (1999), 3,298.33 (1998)
Executive branch	chief of state: President Thomas YAYI Boni (since 6 April 2006); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Thomas YAYI Boni (since 6 April 2006) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); runoff election held 19 March 2006 (next to be held in March 2011) election results: Thomas YAYI Boni elected president; percent of vote - Thomas YAYI Boni 74.5%, Adrien HOUNGBEDJI 25.5%	chief of state: President Gen. KHAMTAI Siphandon (since 26 February 1998) and Vice President Lt. Gen. CHOUMMALI Saignason (since 27 March 2001) head of government: Prime Minister BOUNGNANG Volachit (since 27 March 2001); First Deputy Prime Minister Maj. Gen. ASANG Laoli (since NA May 2002), Deputy Prime Minister THONGLOUN Sisolit (since 27 March 2001), and Deputy Prime Minister 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 24 February 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); 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	NA bbl/day	NA (2001)
Exports - commodities	cotton, cashews, shea butter, textiles, palm products, seafood	wood products, garments, electricity, coffee, tin
Exports - partners	China 20.9%, Indonesia 7.7%, India 7%, Netherlands 6.2%, Niger 5.7%, Togo 4.6%, Nigeria 4.3% (2006)	Vietnam 25.7%, Thailand 19%, France 7.5%, Germany 5.3% (2002)
Fiscal year	calendar year	1 October - 30 September
Flag description	two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red (bottom) with a vertical green band on the hoist side	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 - $10.4 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 32.8% industry: 13.7% services: 53.5% (2006 est.)	agriculture: 53% industry: 23% services: 24% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $1,800 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	4% (2006 est.)	5.7% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates	9 30 N, 2 15 E	18 00 N, 105 00 E
Geography - note	sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands	landlocked; most of the country is mountainous and thickly forested; the Mekong forms a large part of the western boundary with Thailand
Highways	-	total: 21,716 km paved: 9,664 km unpaved: 12,052 km (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA% (2003)	lowest 10%: 3.2% highest 10%: 30.6% (1997)
Illicit drugs	transshipment point used by Nigerian traffickers for narcotics destined for Western Europe; vulnerable to money laundering due to poorly enforced financial regulations	world's third-largest illicit opium producer (estimated cultivation in 2002 - 23,200 hectares, a 5% increase over 2001; estimated potential production in 2002 - 180 metric tons, a 10% decrease from 2001); potential heroin producer; transshipment point for heroin and methamphetamine produced in Burma; illicit producer of cannabis; growing methamphetamine abuse problem
Imports	NA bbl/day	NA (2001)
Imports - commodities	foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products	machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel, consumer goods
Imports - partners	China 46.6%, France 7.5%, Thailand 6% (2006)	Thailand 58.9%, Vietnam 12.3%, China 7.9% (2002)
Independence	1 August 1960 (from France)	19 July 1949 (from France)
Industrial production growth rate	8.3% (2001 est.)	7.5% (1999 est.)
Industries	textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement	tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism
Infant mortality rate	total: 77.85 deaths/1,000 live births male: 82.32 deaths/1,000 live births female: 73.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)	total: 88.94 deaths/1,000 live births male: 99.1 deaths/1,000 live births female: 78.41 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	3.8% (2006 est.)	10% (2002 est.)
International organization participation	ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OIF, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO	ACCT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, 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	120 sq km (2003)	1,640 sq km note: rainy season irrigation - 2,169 sq km; dry season irrigation - 750 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice	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	3.211 million (1996)	2.4 million (1999)
Labor force - by occupation	-	agriculture 80% (1997 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 1,989 km border countries: Burkina Faso 306 km, Niger 266 km, Nigeria 773 km, Togo 644 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: 23.53% permanent crops: 2.37% other: 74.1% (2005)	arable land: 3.47% permanent crops: 0.23% other: 96.3% (1998 est.)
Languages	French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north)	Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages
Legal system	based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and socialist practice
Legislative branch	unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (83 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 31 March 2007 (next to be held by March 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FCBE 35, ADD 20, PRD 10, other and independents 18	unicameral National Assembly (109 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms; note - total number of seats increased from 99 to 109 for the 2002 election) elections: last held 24 February 2002 (next to be held NA 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - LPRP or LPRP-approved (independent, non-party members) 109
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 53.44 years male: 52.28 years female: 54.63 years (2007 est.)	total population: 54.3 years male: 52.34 years female: 56.33 years (2003 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 34.7% male: 47.9% female: 23.3% (2002 census)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 52.8% male: 67.5% female: 38.1% (2003 est.)
Location	Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo	Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam
Map references	Africa	Southeast Asia
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 200 nm	none (landlocked)
Merchant marine	-	total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 2,370 GRT/3,110 DWT ships by type: cargo 1 (2002 est.)
Military branches	Benin Armed Forces: Ground Forces Command, Benin Navy, Benin People's Air Force (Force Aerienne Populaire de Benin, FAPB) (2007)	Lao People's Army (LPA; including Riverine Force), Air Force, National Police Department
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$55 million (FY98)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	1.7% (2006)	4.2% (FY96)
Military manpower - availability	-	males age 15-49: 1,411,042 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	-	males age 15-49: 759,499 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - military age	-	18 years of age (2003 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	-	males: 67,260 (2003 est.)
National holiday	National Day, 1 August (1960)	Republic Day, 2 December (1975)
Nationality	noun: Beninese (singular and plural) adjective: Beninese	noun: Lao(s) or Laotian(s) adjective: Lao or Laotian
Natural hazards	hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March	floods, droughts
Natural resources	small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber	timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones
Net migration rate	0.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Pipelines	-	refined products 540 km (2003)
Political parties and leaders	Alliance for Dynamic Democracy or ADD [Nicephore SOGLO]; Alliance of Progress Forces or AFP; African Movement for Democracy and Progress or MADEP [Sefou FAGBOHOUN]; Democratic Renewal Party or PRD [Adrien HOUNGBEDJI]; Force Cowrie for an Emerging Benin or FCBE; Impulse for Progress and Democracy or IPD; Key Force or FC; Movement for Development and Solidarity or MDS; Movement for Development by the Culture-Salute Party-Congress of People for Progress Alliance or Alliance MDC-PS-CPP; New Alliance or NA; Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP; The Star Alliance (Alliance E'toile) [Sacca LAFIA]; Union of Tomorrow's Benin or UBF [Bruno AMOUSSOU] note: approximately 20 additional minor parties	Lao People's Revolutionary Party or LPRP [KHAMTAI Siphandon, party president]; other parties proscribed
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	noncommunist political groups proscribed; most opposition leaders fled the country in 1975
Population	8,078,314 note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2007 est.)	5,921,545 (July 2003 est.)
Population below poverty line	33% (2001 est.)	40% (2002 est.)
Population growth rate	2.674% (2007 est.)	2.45% (2003 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	none
Radio broadcast stations	AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000)	AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 4 (1998)
Railways	total: 758 km narrow gauge: 758 km 1.000-m gauge (2006)	0 km
Religions	Christian 42.8% (Catholic 27.1%, Celestial 5%, Methodist 3.2%, other Protestant 2.2%, other 5.3%), Muslim 24.4%, Vodoun 17.3%, other 15.5% (2002 census)	Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% (including various Christian denominations 1.5%)
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.019 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.971 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.675 male(s)/female total population: 0.983 male(s)/female (2007 est.)	at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: inadequate; fixed-line network is almost saturated with fixed-line teledensity stuck at a meager 1 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone density of roughly 10 per 100 persons domestic: fair system of open-wire, microwave radio relay, and cellular connections; four mobile-cellular providers international: country code - 229; landing point for the SAT-3/WASC fiber-optic submarine cable that provides connectivity to Europe and Asia; satellite earth station - 7 (Intelsat-Atlantic Ocean) (2007)	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	76,300 (2005)	25,000 (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular	750,000 (2005)	4,915 (1997)
Television broadcast stations	1 (2001)	4 (1999)
Terrain	mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains	mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus
Total fertility rate	5.08 children born/woman (2007 est.)	4.94 children born/woman (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate	NA%	5.7% (1997 est.)
Waterways	150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2005)	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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