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Compare Botswana (2001) - Laos (2004)
Compare Botswana (2001) z Laos (2004)
| Botswana (2001) | Laos (2004) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 10 districts and four town councils*; Central, Chobe, Francistown*, Gaborone*, Ghanzi, Kgalagadi, Kgatleng, Kweneng, Lobatse*, Ngamiland, North-East, Selebi-Pikwe*, South-East, Southern | 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, Louangphrabang, Oudomxai, Phongsali, Salavan, Savannakhet, Viangchan*, Viangchan, Xaignabouli, Xaisomboun**, Xekong, Xiangkhoang |
| Age structure | 0-14 years:
40.3% (male 321,164; female 318,007) 15-64 years: 55.56% (male 423,954; female 457,227) 65 years and over: 4.14% (male 26,691; female 39,076) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 41.9% (male 1,277,152; female 1,265,761)
15-64 years: 54.9% (male 1,642,895; female 1,688,175) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 87,995; female 106,139) (2004 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | sorghum, corn, millet, pulses, groundnuts (peanuts), beans, cowpeas, sunflower seed; livestock | sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton, tea, peanuts, rice, water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry |
| Airports | 92 (2000 est.) | 46 (2003 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total:
11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 9
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
81 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 56 under 914 m: 22 (2000 est.) |
total: 35
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.) |
| Area | total:
600,370 sq km land: 585,370 sq km water: 15,000 sq km |
total: 236,800 sq km
land: 230,800 sq km water: 6,000 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Texas | slightly larger than Utah |
| Background | Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name upon independence in 1966. The economy, one of the most robust on the continent, is dominated by diamond mining. | Laos was under the control of Siam (Thailand) from the late 18th century until the late 19th century when it became part of French Indochina. The Franco-Siamese Treaty of 1907 defined the current Lao border with Thailand. 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 | 28.85 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 36.47 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Budget | revenues:
$1.6 billion expenditures: $1.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $560 million (FY96) |
revenues: $298.5 million
expenditures: $429.9 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
| Capital | Gaborone | Vientiane |
| Climate | semiarid; warm winters and hot summers | tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April) |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Constitution | March 1965, effective 30 September 1966 | promulgated 14 August 1991 |
| Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Botswana conventional short form: Botswana former: Bechuanaland |
conventional long form: Lao People's Democratic Republic
conventional short form: Laos local long form: Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao local short form: none |
| Currency | pula (BWP) | kip (LAK) |
| Death rate | 24.18 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 12.1 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Debt - external | $455 million (2000) | $2.49 billion (2001) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador John E. LANGE embassy: address NA, Gaborone mailing address: P. O. Box 90, Gaborone telephone: [267] 353982 FAX: [267] 356947 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Patricia M. HASLACH
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 Kgosi SEEPAPITSO IV chancery: 1531-1533 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 244-4990 FAX: [1] (202) 244-4164 |
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 | none | demarcation of boundaries with Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam is largely complete, but with Thailand several areas including Mekong River islets remain in dispute; ongoing disputes with Thailand and Vietnam over squatters; concern among Mekong Commission members that China's construction of dams on the Mekong River will affect water levels |
| Economic aid - recipient | $73 million (1995) | $243 million (2001 est.) |
| Economy - overview | Botswana has maintained one of the world's highest growth rates since independence in 1966. Through fiscal discipline and sound management, Botswana has transformed itself from one of the poorest countries in the world to a middle-income country with a per capita GDP of $6,600 in 2000. Diamond mining has fueled much of Botswana's economic expansion and currently accounts for more than one-third of GDP and for three-fourths of export earnings. Tourism, subsistence farming, and cattle raising are other key sectors. The government must deal with high rates of unemployment and poverty. Unemployment officially is 19%, but unofficial estimates place it closer to 40%. HIV/AIDS infection rates are the highest in the world and threaten Botswana's impressive economic gains. | 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 | 1.517 billion kWh (1999) | 824.7 million kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 400 million kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - imports | 950 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production | 610 million kWh (1999) | 1.317 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point:
junction of the Limpopo and Shashe Rivers 513 m highest point: Tsodilo Hills 1,489 m |
lowest point: Mekong River 70 m
highest point: Phou Bia 2,817 m |
| Environment - current issues | overgrazing; desertification; limited fresh water resources | unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; most of the population does not have access to potable water |
| Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Ethnic groups | Tswana (or Setswana) 79%, Kalanga 11%, Basarwa 3%, other, including Kgalagadi and white 7% | Lao Loum (lowland) 68%, Lao Theung (upland) 22%, Lao Soung (highland) including the Hmong and the Yao 9%, ethnic Vietnamese/Chinese 1% |
| Exchange rates | pulas per US dollar - 5.4585 (January 2001), 5.1018 (2000), 4.6244 (1999), 4.2259 (1998), 3.6508 (1997), 3.3242 (1996) | kips per US dollar - 10,443 (2003), 10,056.3 (2002), 8,954.58 (2001), 7,887.64 (2000), 7,102.02 (1999) |
| Executive branch | chief of state:
President Festus MOGAE (since 1 April 1998) and Vice President Seretse Ian KHAMA (since 13 July 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Festus MOGAE (since 1 April 1998) and Vice President Seretse Ian KHAMA (since 13 July 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term; election last held 16 October 1999 (next to be held NA October 2004); vice president appointed by the president election results: Festus MOGAE elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - 54.3% |
chief of state: President Gen. KHAMTAI Siphadon (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 Bouasone BOUPHAVANH (since 3 October 2003) Deputy Prime Minister Maj. Gen. ASANG Laoli (since 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 in 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 | $2.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
| Exports - commodities | diamonds 72%, vehicles, copper, nickel, meat (1998) | garments, wood products, coffee, electricity, tin |
| Exports - partners | EU 77%, Southern African Customs Union (SACU) 18%, Zimbabwe 3% (1998) | Thailand 20.7%, Vietnam 15.9%, France 7.3%, Germany 5.3%, Belgium 4% (2003) |
| Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | 1 October - 30 September |
| Flag description | light blue with a horizontal white-edged black stripe in the center | 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 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $10.32 billion (2003 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
4% industry: 46% (including 36% mining) services: 50% (1998 est.) |
agriculture: 49.4%
industry: 24.5% services: 26.1% (2003 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $6,600 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2003 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 6% (2000 est.) | 5.5% (2003 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 22 00 S, 24 00 E | 18 00 N, 105 00 E |
| Geography - note | landlocked; population concentrated in eastern part of the country | landlocked; most of the country is mountainous and thickly forested; the Mekong River forms a large part of the western boundary with Thailand |
| Highways | total:
18,482 km paved: 4,343 km unpaved: 14,139 km (1996) |
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% |
lowest 10%: 3.2%
highest 10%: 30.6% (1997) |
| Illicit drugs | - | world's third-largest illicit opium producer (estimated cultivation in 2003 - 18,900 hectares, a 19% decrease over 2002; estimated potential production in 2003 - 200 metric tons, a 11% increase from 2002); potential heroin producer; transshipment point for heroin and methamphetamine produced in Burma; illicit producer of cannabis; growing methamphetamine abuse problem |
| Imports | $2.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
| Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, textiles, petroleum products | machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel, consumer goods |
| Imports - partners | Southern African Customs Union (SACU) 76%, Europe 10%, South Korea 5% (1998) | Thailand 59.4%, China 12.8%, Vietnam 10.2% (2003) |
| Independence | 30 September 1966 (from UK) | 19 July 1949 (from France) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 6.2% (2000 est.) | 9.7% (2001 est.) |
| Industries | diamonds, copper, nickel, coal, salt, soda ash, potash; livestock processing | tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism |
| Infant mortality rate | 63.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 87.06 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 97.05 deaths/1,000 live births female: 76.69 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 8.6% (2000 est.) | 15.3% (2003 est.) |
| International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACCT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer) |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 3 (2000) | - |
| Irrigated land | 20 sq km (1993 est.) | 1,640 sq km
note: rainy season irrigation - 2,169 sq km; dry season irrigation - 750 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Judicial branch | High Court; Court of Appeal; Magistrates' Courts (one in each district) | 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 | 235,000 formal sector employees (1995) | 2.6 million (2001 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | 100,000 public sector; 135,000 private sector, including 14,300 who are employed in various mines in South Africa; most others engaged in cattle raising and subsistence agriculture (1995 est.) | agriculture 80% (1997 est.) |
| Land boundaries | total:
4,013 km border countries: Namibia 1,360 km, South Africa 1,840 km, Zimbabwe 813 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:
1% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 46% forests and woodland: 47% other: 6% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 3.8%
permanent crops: 0.35% other: 95.85% (2001) |
| Languages | English (official), Setswana | Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages |
| Legal system | based on Roman-Dutch law and local customary law; judicial review limited to matters of interpretation; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and socialist practice |
| Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the House of Chiefs (a largely advisory 15-member body consisting of the chiefs of the eight principal tribes, four elected subchiefs, and three members selected by the other 12) and the National Assembly (44 seats, 40 members are directly elected by popular vote and 4 appointed by the majority party; members serve five-year terms)
elections: National Assembly elections last held 16 October 1999 (next to be held NA October 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - BDP 57.2%, BNF 26%, other 16.8%; seats by party - BDP 33, BNF 6, other 1 |
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 in 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:
37.13 years male: 36.77 years female: 37.51 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 54.69 years
male: 52.71 years female: 56.75 years (2004 est.) |
| Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 69.8% male: 80.5% female: 59.9% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 66.4% male: 77.4% female: 55.5% (2002) |
| Location | Southern Africa, north of South Africa | Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam |
| Map references | Africa | Southeast Asia |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
| Merchant marine | - | total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 2,370 GRT/3,110 DWT
by type: cargo 1 (2004 est.) |
| Military branches | Botswana Defense Force (includes Army and Air Wing), Botswana National Police | Lao People's Army (LPA; including Riverine Force), Air Force |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $61 million (FY99) | $10.9 million (2003) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.2% (FY99) | 0.5% (2003) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
380,152 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 1,456,500 (2004 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
199,995 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 783,800 (2004 est.) |
| Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
19,479 (2001 est.) |
males: 68,563 (2004 est.) |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 30 September (1966) | Republic Day, 2 December (1975) |
| Nationality | noun:
Motswana (singular), Batswana (plural) adjective: Motswana (singular), Batswana (plural) |
noun: Lao(s) or Laotian(s)
adjective: Lao or Laotian |
| Natural hazards | periodic droughts; seasonal August winds blow from the west, carrying sand and dust across the country, which can obscure visibility | floods, droughts |
| Natural resources | diamonds, copper, nickel, salt, soda ash, potash, coal, iron ore, silver | timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones |
| Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Pipelines | - | refined products 540 km (2004) |
| Political parties and leaders | Botswana Democratic Party or BDP [Festus MOGAE]; Botswana National Front or BNF [Kenneth KOMA]; Botswana Congress Party or BCP [Michael DINGAKE]; Botswana Alliance Movement or BAM [Ephraim Lepetu SETSHWAELO]
note: main parties are: BDP, BNF, BCP; other minor parties joined forces in 1999 to form the Botswana Alliance Movement or BAM [Ephraim SETSHWAELO, chairman] but did not capture any parliamentary seats; the BAM parties are: the United Action Party [Ephraim Lepetu SETSHWAELO], the Botswana Peoples Party, the Independence Freedom Party [Motsamai MPHO], and the Botswana Progressive Union [D. K. KWELE] |
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 | 1,586,119
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 2001 est.) |
6,068,117 (July 2004 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 47% (2000 est.) | 40% (2002 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 0.47% (2001 est.) | 2.44% (2004 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | none | none |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 7, FM 15, shortwave 5 (1998) | AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 4 (1998) |
| Radios | 237,000 (1997) | - |
| Railways | total:
888 km narrow gauge: 888 km 1.067-m gauge (2000) |
- |
| Religions | indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 50% | Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% (including various Christian denominations 1.5%) |
| Sex ratio | at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2001 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: 0.83 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment:
sparse system domestic: small system of open-wire lines, microwave radio relay links, and a few radiotelephone communication stations international: two international exchanges; digital microwave radio relay links to Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
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: country code - 856; satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 86,000 (1997) | 61,900 (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 55,200 (2002) |
| Television broadcast stations | 0 (1997) | 4 (1999) |
| Terrain | predominantly flat to gently rolling tableland; Kalahari Desert in southwest | mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus |
| Total fertility rate | 3.7 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 4.86 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 40% (2000 est.) | 5.7% (1997 est.) |
| Waterways | none | 4,600 km
note: primarily Mekong and tributaries; 2,897 additional km are intermittently navigable by craft drawing less than 0.5 m (2003) |
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