Compare British Indian Ocean Territory (2007) - Laos (2003)

Compare British Indian Ocean Territory (2007) z Laos (2003)

	British Indian Ocean Territory (2007)	Laos (2003)

Administrative divisions	-	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: 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	-	sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton; tea, peanuts, rice; water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry
Airports	1 (2007)	51 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 over 3,047 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: 42 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 26 (2002)
Area	total: 54,400 sq km land: 60 sq km; Diego Garcia 44 sq km water: 54,340 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago of 55 islands	total: 236,800 sq km land: 230,800 sq km water: 6,000 sq km
Area - comparative	land area is about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC	slightly larger than Utah
Background	Established as a territory of the UK in 1965, a number of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) islands were transferred to the Seychelles when it attained independence in 1976. Subsequently, BIOT has consisted only of the six main island groups comprising the Chagos Archipelago. The largest and most southerly of the islands, Diego Garcia, contains a joint UK-US naval support facility. All of the remaining islands are uninhabited. Former agricultural workers, earlier residents in the islands, were relocated primarily to Mauritius but also to the Seychelles, between 1967 and 1973. In 2000, a British High Court ruling invalidated the local immigration order that had excluded them from the archipelago, but upheld the special military status of Diego Garcia.	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	-	36.93 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Budget	-	revenues: $211 million expenditures: $462 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY98/99 est. est.)
Capital	-	Vientiane
Climate	tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds	tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April)
Coastline	698 km	0 km (landlocked)
Constitution	-	promulgated 14 August 1991
Country name	conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT	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	-	12.39 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Debt - external	-	$2.53 billion (1999)
Dependency status	overseas territory of the UK; administered by a commissioner, resident in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London	-
Diplomatic representation from the US	none (overseas territory of the UK)	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	none (overseas territory of the UK)	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	Mauritius and Seychelles claim the Chagos Archipelago including Diego Garcia; in 2001, the former inhabitants of the Chagos Archipelago, evicted in 1967 and 1973 and now residing chiefly in Mauritius, were granted UK citizenship and the right to repatriation; in May 2006, the High Court of London reversed U.K. Government's 2004 orders of council that banned habitation on the islands; a small group of Chagossians visited Diego Garcia in April 2006; repatriation is complicated by the exclusive US military lease of Diego Garcia that restricts access to the largest viable island in the chain	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	-	$345 million (1999 est.)
Economy - overview	All economic activity is concentrated on the largest island of Diego Garcia, where a joint UK-US military facility is located. Construction projects and various services needed to support the military installation are performed by military and contract employees from the UK, Mauritius, the Philippines, and the US. There are no industrial or agricultural activities on the islands. When the native Ilois return, they plan to reestablish sugarcane production and fishing. The territory makes money by selling fishing licenses and postage stamps.	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	NA kWh	824.7 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	-	400 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	-	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military	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: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m	lowest point: Mekong River 70 m highest point: Phou Bia 2,817 m
Environment - current issues	NA	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, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups	-	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	-	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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) head of government: Commissioner Leigh TURNER (since July 2006); Administrator Tony HUMPHRIES (since February 2005); note - both reside in the UK and are represented by the officer commanding British Forces on Diego Garcia cabinet: NA elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; commissioner and administrator appointed by the monarch	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 (2001)
Exports - commodities	-	wood products, garments, electricity, coffee, tin
Exports - partners	-	Vietnam 25.7%, Thailand 19%, France 7.5%, Germany 5.3% (2002)
Fiscal year	-	1 October - 30 September
Flag description	white with six blue wavy horizontal stripes; the flag of the UK is in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the striped section bears a palm tree and yellow crown centered on the outer half of the flag	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: 53% industry: 23% services: 24% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $1,800 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	-	5.7% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates	6 00 S, 71 30 E; note - Diego Garcia 7 20 S, 72 25 E	18 00 N, 105 00 E
Geography - note	archipelago of 55 islands; Diego Garcia, largest and southernmost island, occupies strategic location in central Indian Ocean; island is site of joint US-UK military facility	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%: 3.2% highest 10%: 30.6% (1997)
Illicit drugs	-	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 (2001)
Imports - commodities	-	machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel, consumer goods
Imports - partners	-	Thailand 58.9%, Vietnam 12.3%, China 7.9% (2002)
Independence	-	19 July 1949 (from France)
Industrial production growth rate	-	7.5% (1999 est.)
Industries	-	tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism
Infant mortality rate	-	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)	-	10% (2002 est.)
International organization participation	-	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	0 sq km	1,640 sq km note: rainy season irrigation - 2,169 sq km; dry season irrigation - 750 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	-	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	-	2.4 million (1999)
Labor force - by occupation	-	agriculture 80% (1997 est.)
Land boundaries	0 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: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005)	arable land: 3.47% permanent crops: 0.23% other: 96.3% (1998 est.)
Languages	-	Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages
Legal system	the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply	based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and socialist practice
Legislative branch	-	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: 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: 52.8% male: 67.5% female: 38.1% (2003 est.)
Location	archipelago in the Indian Ocean, south of India, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia	Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam
Map references	Political Map of the World	Southeast Asia
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 3 nm exclusive fishing zone: 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 - note	defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016	-
Military branches	-	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	-	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	-	Republic Day, 2 December (1975)
Nationality	-	noun: Lao(s) or Laotian(s) adjective: Lao or Laotian
Natural hazards	NA	floods, droughts
Natural resources	coconuts, fish, sugarcane	timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones
Net migration rate	-	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Pipelines	-	refined products 540 km (2003)
Political parties and leaders	-	Lao People's Revolutionary Party or LPRP [KHAMTAI Siphandon, party president]; other parties proscribed
Political pressure groups and leaders	-	noncommunist political groups proscribed; most opposition leaders fled the country in 1975
Population	no indigenous inhabitants note: approximately 1,200 former agricultural workers resident in the Chagos Archipelago, often referred to as Chagossians or Ilois, were relocated to Mauritius and the Seychelles in the 1960s and 1970s; in November 2000 they were granted the right of return by a British High Court ruling, though no timetable has been set; in November 2004, there were approximately 4,000 UK and US military personnel and civilian contractors living on the island of Diego Garcia	5,921,545 (July 2003 est.)
Population below poverty line	-	40% (2002 est.)
Population growth rate	-	2.45% (2003 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	none
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998)	AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 4 (1998)
Railways	-	0 km
Religions	-	Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% (including various Christian denominations 1.5%)
Sex ratio	-	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
Telephone system	general assessment: separate facilities for military and public needs are available domestic: all commercial telephone services are available, including connection to the Internet international: country code (Diego Garcia) - 246; international telephone service is carried by satellite (2000)	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	NA	25,000 (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular	-	4,915 (1997)
Television broadcast stations	1 (1997)	4 (1999)
Terrain	flat and low (most areas do not exceed two meters in elevation)	mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus
Total fertility rate	-	4.94 children born/woman (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate	-	5.7% (1997 est.)
Waterways	-	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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