Compare Fiji (2004) - Laos (2003)

Compare Fiji (2004) z Laos (2003)

	Fiji (2004)	Laos (2003)

Administrative divisions	4 divisions and 1 dependency; Central, Eastern, Northern, Rotuma, Western	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: 31.7% (male 142,412; female 136,754) 15-64 years: 64.3% (male 283,690; female 283,027) 65 years and over: 4% (male 16,047; female 18,944) (2004 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	sugarcane, coconuts, cassava (tapioca), rice, sweet potatoes, bananas; cattle, pigs, horses, goats; fish	sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton; tea, peanuts, rice; water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry
Airports	28 (2003 est.)	51 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 3 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.)	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: 25 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 19 (2004 est.)	total: 42 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 26 (2002)
Area	total: 18,270 sq km land: 18,270 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 236,800 sq km land: 230,800 sq km water: 6,000 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than New Jersey	slightly larger than Utah
Background	Fiji became independent in 1970, after nearly a century as a British colony. Democratic rule was interrupted by two military coups in 1987, caused by concern over a government perceived as dominated by the Indian community (descendants of contract laborers brought to the islands by the British in the 19th century). A 1990 constitution favored native Melanesian control of Fiji, but led to heavy Indian emigration; the population loss resulted in economic difficulties, but ensured that Melanesians became the majority. Amendments enacted in 1997 made the constitution more equitable. Free and peaceful elections in 1999 resulted in a government led by an Indo-Fijian, but a coup in May 2000 ushered in a prolonged period of political turmoil. Parliamentary elections held in August 2001 provided Fiji with a democratically elected government and gave a mandate to the government of Prime Minister Laisenia QARASE.	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	22.91 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)	36.93 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Budget	revenues: $427.9 million expenditures: $531.4 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2000 est.)	revenues: $211 million expenditures: $462 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY98/99 est. est.)
Capital	Suva (Viti Levu)	Vientiane
Climate	tropical marine; only slight seasonal temperature variation	tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April)
Coastline	1,129 km	0 km (landlocked)
Constitution	promulgated on 25 July 1990 and amended on 25 July 1997 to allow nonethnic Fijians greater say in government and to make multiparty government mandatory; entered into force 28 July 1998; note - the May 1999 election was the first test of the amended constitution and introduced open voting - not racially prescribed - for the first time at the national level	promulgated 14 August 1991
Country name	conventional long form: Republic of the Fiji Islands conventional short form: Fiji	conventional long form: Lao People's Democratic Republic conventional short form: Laos local long form: Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao local short form: none
Currency	Fijian dollar (FJD)	kip (LAK)
Death rate	5.68 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)	12.39 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Debt - external	$188.1 million (2001 est.)	$2.53 billion (1999)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador David L. LYON embassy: 31 Loftus Street, Suva mailing address: P. O. Box 218, Suva telephone: [679] 331-4466 FAX: [679] 330-0081	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: Mr. Paula NAVUNISARAVI (Charge D'Affaires ad Interim) chancery: 2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Suite 240, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 337-8320 FAX: [1] (202) 337-1996	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	none	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	$40.3 million (1995)	$345 million (1999 est.)
Economy - overview	Fiji, endowed with forest, mineral, and fish resources, is one of the most developed of the Pacific island economies, though still with a large subsistence sector. Sugar exports and a growing tourist industry - with 300,000 to 400,000 tourists annually - are the major sources of foreign exchange. Sugar processing makes up one-third of industrial activity. Long-term problems include low investment, uncertain land ownership rights, and the government's ability to manage its budget. Yet short-run economic prospects are good, provided tensions do not again erupt between indigenous Fijians and Indo-Fijians.	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	483.7 million kWh (2001)	824.7 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2001)	400 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2001)	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	520.1 million kWh (2001)	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: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Tomanivi 1,324 m	lowest point: Mekong River 70 m highest point: Phou Bia 2,817 m
Environment - current issues	deforestation; soil erosion	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, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94 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	Fijian 51% (predominantly Melanesian with a Polynesian admixture), Indian 44%, European, other Pacific Islanders, overseas Chinese, and other 5% (1998 est.)	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	Fijian dollars per US dollar - 1.8958 (2003), 2.1869 (2002), 2.2766 (2001), 2.1286 (2000), 1.9696 (1999)	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 Ratu Josefa ILOILOVATU Uluivuda (since 18 July 2000) head of government: Prime Minister Laisenia QARASE (since 10 September 2000) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister from among the members of Parliament and is responsible to Parliament; note - there is also a Presidential Council that advises the president on matters of national importance and a Great Council of Chiefs, which consists of the highest ranking members of the traditional chief system elections: president elected by the Great Council of Chiefs for a five-year term; prime minister appointed by the president election results: Ratu Josefa ILOILOVATU Uluivuda elected president by the Great Council of Chiefs; percent of vote - NA%	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)	NA (2001)
Exports - commodities	sugar, garments, gold, timber, fish, molasses, coconut oil	wood products, garments, electricity, coffee, tin
Exports - partners	US 23.7%, Australia 18.4%, UK 13.6%, Samoa 6%, Japan 4.8% (2003)	Vietnam 25.7%, Thailand 19%, France 7.5%, Germany 5.3% (2002)
Fiscal year	calendar year	1 October - 30 September
Flag description	light blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Fijian shield centered on the outer half of the flag; the shield depicts a yellow lion above a white field quartered by the cross of Saint George featuring stalks of sugarcane, a palm tree, bananas, and a white dove	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 - $5.012 billion (2003 est.)	purchasing power parity - $10.4 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 16.6% industry: 22.4% services: 61% (2001 est.)	agriculture: 53% industry: 23% services: 24% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $5,800 (2003 est.)	purchasing power parity - $1,800 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	4.8% (2003 est.)	5.7% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates	18 00 S, 175 00 E	18 00 N, 105 00 E
Geography - note	includes 332 islands of which approximately 110 are inhabited	landlocked; most of the country is mountainous and thickly forested; the Mekong forms a large part of the western boundary with Thailand
Highways	total: 3,440 km paved: 1,692 km unpaved: 1,748 km (1999 est.)	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 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)	NA (2001)
Imports - commodities	manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products, food, chemicals	machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel, consumer goods
Imports - partners	Australia 35.1%, Singapore 19.2%, New Zealand 17.2%, Japan 4.9% (2003)	Thailand 58.9%, Vietnam 12.3%, China 7.9% (2002)
Independence	10 October 1970 (from UK)	19 July 1949 (from France)
Industrial production growth rate	NA	7.5% (1999 est.)
Industries	tourism, sugar, clothing, copra, gold, silver, lumber, small cottage industries	tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism
Infant mortality rate	total: 12.99 deaths/1,000 live births male: 14.36 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 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)	1.6% (2002 est.)	10% (2002 est.)
International organization participation	ACP, AsDB, C, CP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, OPCW, PCA, PIF, Sparteca, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNMISET, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, 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	30 sq km (1998 est.)	1,640 sq km note: rainy season irrigation - 2,169 sq km; dry season irrigation - 750 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president); Court of Appeal; High Court; Magistrates' Courts	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	137,000 (1999)	2.4 million (1999)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture, including subsistence agriculture 70% (2001 est.)	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: 10.95% permanent crops: 4.65% other: 84.4% (2001)	arable land: 3.47% permanent crops: 0.23% other: 96.3% (1998 est.)
Languages	English (official), Fijian, Hindustani	Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages
Legal system	based on British system	based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and socialist practice
Legislative branch	bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (34 seats; 24 appointed by the President on the advice of the Great Council of Chiefs, nine appointed by the president, and one appointed by the council of Rotuma) and the House of Representatives (71 seats; 23 reserved for ethnic Fijians, 19 reserved for ethnic Indians, three reserved for other ethnic groups, one reserved for the council of Rotuma constituency encompassing the whole of Fiji, and 25 open seats; members serve five-year terms) elections: House of Representatives - last held 25 August through 1 September, 19 September 2001 (next to be held not later than September 2006) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - FLP 26.5%, SDL 27.5%, NFP 1.2%, MV 4.2%, NLUP 1.3%, UGP .3%, independents 1.4%; seats by party - FLP 27, SDL 32, MV 6, NFP 1, NLUP 2, UGP 1, independents 2	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: 69.2 years male: 66.74 years female: 71.79 years (2004 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: 93.7% male: 95.5% female: 91.9% (2003 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 52.8% male: 67.5% female: 38.1% (2003 est.)
Location	Oceania, island group in the South Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand	Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam
Map references	Oceania	Southeast Asia
Maritime claims	measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation; rectilinear shelf claim added	none (landlocked)
Merchant marine	total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,372 GRT/7,453 DWT by type: chemical tanker 1, passenger 1 foreign-owned: Australia 1, Singapore 1 (2004 est.)	total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 2,370 GRT/3,110 DWT ships by type: cargo 1 (2002 est.)
Military branches	Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF): Land Forces, Naval Division	Lao People's Army (LPA; including Riverine Force), Air Force, National Police Department
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$34 million (2003)	$55 million (FY98)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	2.2% (FY02)	4.2% (FY96)
Military manpower - availability	males age 15-49: 239,221 (2004 est.)	males age 15-49: 1,411,042 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	males age 15-49: 131,349 (2004 est.)	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: 9,302 (2004 est.)	males: 67,260 (2003 est.)
National holiday	Independence Day, second Monday of October (1970)	Republic Day, 2 December (1975)
Nationality	noun: Fijian(s) adjective: Fijian	noun: Lao(s) or Laotian(s) adjective: Lao or Laotian
Natural hazards	cyclonic storms can occur from November to January	floods, droughts
Natural resources	timber, fish, gold, copper, offshore oil potential, hydropower	timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones
Net migration rate	-3.14 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Pipelines	-	refined products 540 km (2003)
Political parties and leaders	Bai Kei Viti Party or BKV [Ratu Tevita MOMOEDONU]; Conservative Alliance Party/Matanitu Vanua or MV [Ratu Rakuita VAKALALABURE]; Dodonu Ni Taukei Party or DNT [Fereti S. DEWA]; Fiji Democratic Party or FDP [Felipe BOLE] (a merger of the Christian Democrat Alliance or VLV [Poesci Waqalevu BUNE], Fijian Association Party or FAP [Adi Kuini SPEED], Fijian Political Party or SVT (primarily Fijian) [Felipe BOLE], and New Labor Unity Party or NLUP [Tupeni BABA]); Fiji Labor Party or FLP [Mahendra CHAUDRHRY]; General Voters Party or GVP [leader NA] (became part of United General Party); Girmit Heritage Party or GHP [leader NA]; Justice and Freedom Party or AIM [leader NA]; Lio 'On Famor Rotuma Party or LFR [leader NA]; National Federation Party or NFP (primarily Indian) [Pramond RAE]; Nationalist Vanua Takolavo Party or NVTLP [Saula TELAWA]; Party of National Unity or PANU [Meli BOGILEKA]; Party of the Truth or POTT [leader NA]; United Fiji Party/Sogosogo Duavata ni Lewenivanua or SDL [Laisenia QARASE]; United General Party or UGP [Millis Mick BEDDOES]	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	880,874 (July 2004 est.)	5,921,545 (July 2003 est.)
Population below poverty line	25.5% (1990-91)	40% (2002 est.)
Population growth rate	1.41% (2004 est.)	2.45% (2003 est.)
Ports and harbors	Lambasa, Lautoka, Levuka, Malau, Savusavu, Suva, Vuda	none
Radio broadcast stations	AM 13, FM 40, shortwave 0 (1998)	AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 4 (1998)
Railways	total: 597 km narrow gauge: 597 km 0.600-m gauge note: belongs to the government-owned Fiji Sugar Corporation; used to haul sugarcane during harvest season (May to December) (2003)	0 km
Religions	Christian 52% (Methodist 37%, Roman Catholic 9%), Hindu 38%, Muslim 8%, other 2% note: Fijians are mainly Christian, Indians are Hindu, and there is a Muslim minority (1986)	Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% (including various Christian denominations 1.5%)
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2004 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	21 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: modern local, interisland, and international (wire/radio integrated) public and special-purpose telephone, telegraph, and teleprinter facilities; regional radio communications center domestic: NA international: country code - 679; access to important cable links between US and Canada as well as between NZ and Australia; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific 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: satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region)
Telephones - main lines in use	102,000 (2003)	25,000 (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular	109,900 (2003)	4,915 (1997)
Television broadcast stations	NA	4 (1999)
Terrain	mostly mountains of volcanic origin	mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus
Total fertility rate	2.78 children born/woman (2004 est.)	4.94 children born/woman (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate	7.6% (1999)	5.7% (1997 est.)
Waterways	203 km note: 122 km navigable by motorized craft and 200-metric-ton barges (2004)	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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