Grenada (2001) | Laos (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | 6 parishes and 1 dependency*; Carriacou and Petit Martinique*, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mark, Saint Patrick | 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:
37.05% (male 16,739; female 16,318) 15-64 years: 59.03% (male 27,850; female 24,820) 65 years and over: 3.92% (male 1,592; female 1,908) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 42.5% (male 1,233,659; female 1,219,872)
15-64 years: 54.2% (male 1,543,246; female 1,591,419) 65 years and over: 3.3% (male 86,375; female 102,609) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, mace, citrus, avocados, root crops, sugarcane, corn, vegetables | sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton; tea, peanuts, rice; water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry |
Airports | 3 (2000 est.) | 51 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 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 (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:
340 sq km land: 340 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 236,800 sq km
land: 230,800 sq km water: 6,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | twice the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than Utah |
Background | One of the smallest independent countries in the western hemisphere, Grenada was seized by a Marxist military council on 19 October 1983. Six days later the island was invaded by US forces and those of six other Caribbean nations, which quickly captured the ringleaders and their hundreds of Cuban advisers. Free elections were reinstituted the following year. | 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 | 23.12 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 37.39 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$85.8 million expenditures: $102.1 million, including capital expenditures of $28 million (1997) |
revenues: $211 million
expenditures: $462 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY98/99 est.) |
Capital | Saint George's | Vientiane |
Climate | tropical; tempered by northeast trade winds | tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April) |
Coastline | 121 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 19 December 1973 | promulgated 14 August 1991 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Grenada |
conventional long form: Lao People's Democratic Republic
conventional short form: Laos local long form: Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao local short form: none |
Currency | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) | kip (LAK) |
Death rate | 7.82 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 12.71 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $182.8 million (1998) | $2.53 billion (1999) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
the ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Grenada embassy: Point Salines, Saint George's mailing address: P. O. Box 54, Saint George's, Grenada, West Indies telephone: [1] (473) 444-1173 through 1176 FAX: [1] (473) 444-4820 |
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 Denis G. ANTOINE chancery: 1701 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 265-2561 consulate(s) general: New York |
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 | $8.3 million (1995) | $345 million (1999 est.) |
Economy - overview | In this island economy progress in fiscal reforms and prudent macroeconomic management have kept annual growth steady since 1998. The increase in economic activity has been led by construction and trade. Tourist facilities are being expanded; tourism is the leading foreign exchange earner. Major short-term concerns are the rising fiscal deficit and the deterioration in the external account balance. Grenada shares a common central bank and a common currency with seven other members of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). | 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 | 111.6 million kWh (1999) | 690.6 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 400 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 142 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 120 million kWh (1999) | 1.02 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 2%
hydro: 98% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Saint Catherine 840 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, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, 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 | black 82% some South Asians (East Indians) and Europeans, trace Arawak/Carib Amerindian | 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 | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976) | kips per US dollar - 9,467.00 (December 2001), 8,954.58 (2001), 7,887.64 (2000), 7,102.03 (1999), 3,298.33 (1998), 1,259.98 (1997) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Daniel WILLIAMS (since 9 August 1996) head of government: Prime Minister Keith MITCHELL (since 22 June 1995) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; prime minister appointed by the governor general from among the members of the House of Assembly |
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 | $62.3 million (2000 est.) | $325 million (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, fruit and vegetables, clothing, mace | wood products, garments, electricity, coffee, tin |
Exports - partners | Caricom 32.3%, UK 20%, US 13%, Netherlands 8.8% (1991) | Thailand 20%, France 7.5%, Germany 5.9%, UK 4.1%, Belgium 4% (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 October - 30 September |
Flag description | a rectangle divided diagonally into yellow triangles (top and bottom) and green triangles (hoist side and outer side), with a red border around the flag; there are seven yellow, five-pointed stars with three centered in the top red border, three centered in the bottom red border, and one on a red disk superimposed at the center of the flag; there is also a symbolic nutmeg pod on the hoist-side triangle (Grenada is the world's second-largest producer of nutmeg, after Indonesia); the seven stars represent the seven administrative divisions | 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 - $394 million (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $9.2 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
9.7% industry: 15% services: 75.3% (1996 est.) |
agriculture: 53%
industry: 22% services: 25% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,400 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,630 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 7% (2000 est.) | 5% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 12 07 N, 61 40 W | 18 00 N, 105 00 E |
Geography - note | the administration of the islands of the Grenadines group is divided between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada | landlocked; most of the country is mountainous and thickly forested; the Mekong forms a large part of the western boundary with Thailand |
Highways | total:
1,040 km paved: 638 km unpaved: 402 km (1996) |
total: 14,000 km
paved: 3,360 km unpaved: 10,640 km (1991) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 31% (1997) |
Illicit drugs | small-scale cannabis cultivation; lesser transshipment point for marijuana and cocaine to US | 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 | $217.5 million (2000 est.) | $540 million f.o.b. (2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | food, manufactured goods, machinery, chemicals, fuel (1989) | machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel |
Imports - partners | US 31.2%, Caricom 23.6%, UK 13.8%, Japan 7.1% (1991) | Thailand 52%, Singapore 3.9%, Japan 1.6%, Hong Kong 1.5%, China 0.8% (2000) |
Independence | 7 February 1974 (from UK) | 19 July 1949 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.7% (1997 est.) | 7.5% (1999 est.) |
Industries | food and beverages, textiles, light assembly operations, tourism, construction | tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 14.63 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 90.98 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.5% (2000 est.) | 10% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WTrO | 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) | 14 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 1,640 sq km
note: rainy season irrigation - 2,169 sq km; dry season irrigation - 750 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | West Indies Associate States Supreme Court (an associate judge resides in Grenada) | 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 | 42,300 (1996) | 2.4 million (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 62%, agriculture 24%, industry 14% (1999 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:
15% permanent crops: 18% permanent pastures: 3% forests and woodland: 9% other: 55% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 3.47%
permanent crops: 0.23% other: 96.3% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English (official), French patois | Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages |
Legal system | based on English common law | based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and Socialist practice |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (a 13-member body, 10 appointed by the government and three by the leader of the opposition) and the House of Representatives (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held on 18 January 1999 (next to be held by NA October 2004) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NNP 14, GULP 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 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:
64.52 years male: 62.74 years female: 66.31 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 53.88 years
male: 51.95 years female: 55.87 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 98% female: 98% (1970 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 57% male: 70% female: 44% (1999 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago | Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Southeast Asia |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,370 GRT/3,110 DWT
ships by type: cargo 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Royal Grenada Police Force (includes Special Service Unit), Coast Guard | Lao People's Army (LPA; including Riverine Force), Air Force, National Police Department |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $55 million (FY98) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 4.2% (FY96/97) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 1,365,027 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 734,945 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 64,437 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 7 February (1974) | Republic Day, 2 December (1975) |
Nationality | noun:
Grenadian(s) adjective: Grenadian |
noun: Lao(s) or Laotian(s)
adjective: Lao or Laotian |
Natural hazards | lies on edge of hurricane belt; hurricane season lasts from June to November | floods, droughts |
Natural resources | timber, tropical fruit, deepwater harbors | timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones |
Net migration rate | -15.86 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | - | petroleum products 136 km |
Political parties and leaders | Grenada United Labor Party or GULP [Herbert PREUDHOMME]; National Democratic Congress or NDC [leader vacant]; New National Party or NNP [George McGUIRE] | 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 | 89,227 (July 2001 est.) | 5,777,180 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 40% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | -0.06% (2001 est.) | 2.47% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Grenville, Saint George's | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 4 (1998) |
Radios | 57,000 (1997) | 730,000 (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | 0 km (2001) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 53%, Anglican 13.8%, other Protestant 33.2% | Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% (including various Christian denominations 1.5%) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.12 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female total population: 1.07 male(s)/female (2001 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: 0.84 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
automatic, islandwide telephone system domestic: interisland VHF and UHF radiotelephone links international: new SHF radiotelephone links to Trinidad and Tobago and Saint Vincent; VHF and UHF radio links to Trinidad |
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 | 27,000 (1997) | 25,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 976 (1997) | 4,915 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1997) | 4 (1999) |
Terrain | volcanic in origin with central mountains | mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus |
Total fertility rate | 2.54 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 5.03 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 15% (1997) | 5.7% (1997 est.) |
Waterways | none | 4,587 km approximately
note: primarily Mekong and tributaries; 2,897 additional km are intermittently navigable by craft drawing less than 0.5 m |