Compare Holy See (Vatican City) (2003) - Laos (2007)

Compare Holy See (Vatican City) (2003) z Laos (2007)

	Holy See (Vatican City) (2003)	Laos (2007)

Administrative divisions	none	15 provinces (khoueng, singular and plural), 1 municipality* (kampheng nakhon, singular and plural); Attapu, Bokeo, Bolikhamxai, Champasak, Houaphan, Khammouan, Louangnamtha, Louangphrabang, Oudomxai, Phongsali, Salavan, Savannakhet, Viangchan (Vientiane)*, Viangchan, Xaignabouli, Xekong, Xiangkhoang
Age structure	-	0-14 years: 41.2% (male 1,349,352/female 1,338,252) 15-64 years: 55.7% (male 1,795,029/female 1,835,168) 65 years and over: 3.1% (male 90,188/female 114,009) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	-	sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton, tea, peanuts, rice; water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry
Airports	none (2002)	42 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	-	total: 9 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	-	total: 33 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 23 (2007)
Area	total: 0.44 sq km land: 0.44 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 236,800 sq km land: 230,800 sq km water: 6,000 sq km
Area - comparative	about 0.7 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC	slightly larger than Utah
Background	Popes in their secular role ruled portions of the Italian peninsula for more than a thousand years until the mid 19th century, when many of the Papal States were seized by the newly united Kingdom of Italy. In 1870, the pope's holdings were further circumscribed when Rome itself was annexed. Disputes between a series of "prisoner" popes and Italy were resolved in 1929 by three Lateran Treaties, which established the independent state of Vatican City and granted Roman Catholicism special status in Italy. In 1984, a concordat between the Holy See and Italy modified certain of the earlier treaty provisions, including the primacy of Roman Catholicism as the Italian state religion. Present concerns of the Holy See include the failing health of Pope John Paul II, interreligious dialogue and reconciliation, and the application of church doctrine in an era of rapid change and globalization. About 1 billion people worldwide profess the Catholic faith.	Modern-day Laos has its roots in the ancient Lao kingdom of Lan Xang, established in the 14th Century under King FA NGUM. For three hundred years Lan Xang included large parts of present-day Cambodia and Thailand, as well as all of what is now Laos. After centuries of gradual decline, Laos came 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 and instituting a strict socialist regime closely aligned to Vietnam. A gradual return to private enterprise and the liberalization of foreign investment laws began in 1986. Laos became a member of ASEAN in 1997.
Birth rate	-	34.98 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $173.5 million expenditures: $176.6 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001)	revenues: $392.3 million expenditures: $541.3 million (2006 est.)
Capital	Vatican City	name: Vientiane geographic coordinates: 17 58 N, 102 36 E time difference: UTC+7 (12 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	temperate; mild, rainy winters (September to mid-May) with hot, dry summers (May to September)	tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April)
Coastline	0 km (landlocked)	0 km (landlocked)
Constitution	Apostolic Constitution of 1967 (effective 1 March 1968)	promulgated 14 August 1991
Country name	conventional long form: The Holy See (State of the Vatican City) conventional short form: Holy See (Vatican City) local long form: Santa Sede (Stato della Citta del Vaticano) local short form: Santa Sede (Citta del Vaticano)	conventional long form: Lao People's Democratic Republic conventional short form: Laos local long form: Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao local short form: none
Currency	euro (EUR)	-
Death rate	-	11.28 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	-	$3.179 billion (2006)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador R. James "Jim" NICHOLSON embassy: Villa Domiziana, Via delle Terme Deciane 26, 00153 Rome mailing address: PSC 59, Box 66, APO AE 09624 telephone: [39] (06) 4674-3428 FAX: [39] (06) 5758346	chief of mission: Ambassador Ravic R. HUSO embassy: 19 Rue Bartholonie, That Dam Road, Vientiane mailing address: American Embassy Vientiane, APO AP 96546 telephone: [856] 21-26-7000 FAX: [856] 21-26-7190
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Gabriel MONTALVO chancery: 3339 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 333-7121 FAX: [1] (202) 337-4036	chief of mission: Ambassador PHIANE Philakone chancery: 2222 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-6416 FAX: [1] (202) 332-4923
Disputes - international	none	Southeast Asian states have enhanced border surveillance to check the spread of avian flu; talks continue on completion of demarcation with Thailand but disputes remain over islands in the Mekong River; concern among Mekong Commission members that China's construction of dams on the Mekong River will affect water levels
Economic aid - recipient	none	$379 million (2006 est.)
Economy - overview	This unique, noncommercial economy is supported financially by an annual tax on Roman Catholic dioceses throughout the world, as well as by special collections (known as Peter's Pence); the sale of postage stamps, coins, medals, and tourist mementos; fees for admission to museums; and the sale of publications. Investments and real estate income also account for a sizable portion of revenue. The incomes and living standards of lay workers are comparable to those of counterparts who work in the city of Rome.	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 6% per year in 1988-2006 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, though the government is sponsoring major improvements in the road system with possible support from Japan. Electricity is available in only a few urban areas. Subsistence agriculture, dominated by rice, accounts for about half of GDP and provides 80% of total employment. The economy will continue to benefit from aid by the IMF and other international sources and from new foreign investment in hydropower and mining. Construction will be another strong economic driver, especially as hydroelectric dam and road projects gain steam. Several policy changes since 2004 may help spur growth. In late 2004, Laos gained Normal Trade Relations status with the US, allowing Laos-based producers to benefit from lower tariffs on exports. Laos is taking steps to join the World Trade Organization in the next few years; the resulting trade policy reforms will improve the business environment. On the fiscal side, a value-added tax (VAT) regime, slated to begin in 2008, will streamline the government's inefficient tax system.
Electricity - consumption	NA kWh	1.193 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh	728 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by Italy	326 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	NA kWh	1.715 billion kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: unnamed location 19 m highest point: unnamed location 75 m	lowest point: Mekong River 70 m highest point: Phou Bia 2,817 m
Environment - current issues	NA	unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; most of the population does not have access to potable water
Environment - international agreements	party to: none of the selected agreements signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution, Environmental Modification	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	Italians, Swiss, other	Lao Loum (lowland) 68%, Lao Theung (upland) 22%, Lao Soung (highland) including the Hmong and the Yao 9%, ethnic Vietnamese/Chinese 1%
Exchange rates	euros per US dollar - 1.06 1.1324 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999)	kips per US dollar - 10,235 (2006), 10,820 (2005), 10,585.5 (2004), 10,569 (2003), 10,056.3 (2002)
Executive branch	chief of state: Pope JOHN PAUL II (since 16 October 1978) head of government: Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo SODANO (since 2 December 1990) cabinet: Pontifical Commission appointed by the pope elections: pope elected for life by the College of Cardinals; election last held 16 October 1978 (next to be held after the death of the current pope); secretary of state appointed by the pope election results: Karol WOJTYLA elected pope	chief of state: President Lt. Gen. CHOUMMALI Saignason (since 8 June 2006); Vice President BOUN-GNANG Volachit (since 8 June 2006) head of government: Prime Minister BOUASONE Bouphavanh (since 8 June 2006); Deputy Prime Ministers Maj. Gen. ASANG Laoli (since May 2002), Maj. Gen. DOUANGCHAI Phichit (since 8 June 2006), SOMSAVAT Lengsavat (since 26 February 1998), and THONGLOUN Sisoulit (since 27 March 2001) cabinet: Ministers appointed by president, approved by National Assembly elections: president and vice president elected by National Assembly for five-year terms; election last held 8 June 2006 (next to be held in 2011); prime minister nominated by president and elected by National Assembly for five-year term election results: CHOUMMALI Saignason elected president; BOUN-GNANG Volachit elected vice president; percent of National Assembly vote - 100%; BOUASONE Bouphavanh elected prime minister; percent of National Assembly vote - 97%
Exports	0 kWh	NA bbl/day
Exports - commodities	-	garments, wood products, coffee, electricity, tin
Exports - partners	-	Thailand 41%, Vietnam 9.7%, China 4.1%, Malaysia 4% (2006)
Fiscal year	calendar year	1 October - 30 September
Flag description	two vertical bands of yellow (hoist side) and white with the crossed keys of Saint Peter and the papal miter centered in the white band	three horizontal bands of red (top), blue (double width), and red with a large white disk centered in the blue band
GDP - composition by sector	-	agriculture: 42.7% industry: 31% services: 26.2% (2006 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	-	8.3% (2006 est.)
Geographic coordinates	41 54 N, 12 27 E	18 00 N, 105 00 E
Geography - note	urban; landlocked; enclave in Rome, Italy; world's smallest state; outside the Vatican City, 13 buildings in Rome and Castel Gandolfo (the pope's summer residence) enjoy extraterritorial rights	landlocked; most of the country is mountainous and thickly forested; the Mekong River forms a large part of the western boundary with Thailand
Heliports	1 (2002)	-
Highways	none; all city streets	-
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	lowest 10%: 3.4% highest 10%: 28.5% (2002)
Illicit drugs	-	estimated opium poppy cultivation in 2005 was 5,600 hectares, about a 45% decrease from 2004; estimated potential opium production in 2005 was 28 metric tons, a significant decrease from 200 metric tons in 2003; unsubstantiated reports of domestic methamphetamine production; growing domestic methamphetamine problem
Imports	NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by Italy	NA bbl/day
Imports - commodities	-	machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel, consumer goods
Imports - partners	-	Thailand 68.8%, China 11.3%, Vietnam 5.5% (2006)
Independence	11 February 1929 (from Italy) note: on 11 February 1929, three treaties were signed with Italy which, among other things, recognized the full sovereignty of the Vatican and established its territorial extent; however, the origin of the Papal States, which over the years have varied considerably in extent, may be traced back to the 8th century	19 July 1949 (from France)
Industrial production growth rate	-	15.7% (2006 est.)
Industries	printing; production of coins, medals, postage stamps, a small amount of mosaics and staff uniforms; worldwide banking and financial activities	copper, tin, and gypsum mining; timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism, cement
Infant mortality rate	-	total: 81.44 deaths/1,000 live births male: 90.91 deaths/1,000 live births female: 71.56 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	-	6.8% (2006 est.)
International organization participation	CE (observer), IAEA, ICFTU, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM (guest), OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, UN (observer), UNCTAD, UNHCR, UPU, WHO (observer), WIPO, WToO (observer), WTrO (observer)	ACCT, APT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CP, EAS, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	NA	-
Irrigated land	0 sq km (1998 est.)	1,750 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	there are three tribunals responsible for civil and criminal matters within Vatican City; three other tribunals rule on issues pertaining to the Holy See note: judicial duties were established by the Motu Proprio of Pius XII on 1 May 1946	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	NA	2.1 million (2006 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	essentially services with a small amount of industry; note - dignitaries, priests, nuns, guards, and 3,000 lay workers live outside the Vatican	agriculture: 80% industry and services: 20% (2005 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 3.2 km border countries: Italy 3.2 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% (urban area) (1998 est.)	arable land: 4.01% permanent crops: 0.34% other: 95.65% (2005)
Languages	Italian, Latin, French, various other languages	Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages
Legal system	based on Code of Canon Law and revisions to it	based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and socialist practice; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	unicameral Pontifical Commission	unicameral National Assembly (115 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 30 April 2006 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - LPRP 113, independents 2
Life expectancy at birth	-	total population: 55.89 years male: 53.82 years female: 58.04 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	definition: NA total population: 100% male: NA% female: NA%	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 68.7% male: 77% female: 60.9% (2001 est.)
Location	Southern Europe, an enclave of Rome (Italy)	Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam
Map references	Europe	Southeast Asia
Maritime claims	none (landlocked)	none (landlocked)
Merchant marine	-	total: 1 ship (1000 GRT or over) 2,370 GRT/3,110 DWT by type: cargo 1 (2007)
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of Italy; Swiss Papal Guards are posted at entrances to the Vatican City to provide security and protect the Pope	Laos is one of the world's least developed countries; the Lao People's Armed Forces are small, poorly funded, and ineffectively resourced; there is little political will to allocate sparse funding to the military, and the armed forces' gradual degradation is likely to continue; the massive drug production and trafficking industry centered in the Golden Triangle makes Laos an important narcotics transit country, and armed Wa and Chinese smugglers are active on the Lao-Burma border (2005)
Military branches	Swiss Guards Corps (Corpo della Guardia Svizzera)	Lao People's Army (LPA; includes Riverine Force), Air Force
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	-	0.5% (2006)
National holiday	Coronation Day of Pope JOHN PAUL II, 22 October (1978)	Republic Day, 2 December (1975)
Nationality	noun: none adjective: none	noun: Lao(s) or Laotian(s) adjective: Lao or Laotian
Natural hazards	NA	floods, droughts
Natural resources	none	timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones
Net migration rate	-	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Pipelines	-	refined products 540 km (2006)
Political parties and leaders	none	Lao People's Revolutionary Party or LPRP [CHOUMMALI Saignason]; other parties proscribed
Political pressure groups and leaders	none (exclusive of influence exercised by church officers)	noncommunist political groups proscribed; most opposition leaders fled the country in 1975
Population	911 (July 2003 est.)	6,521,998 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	30.7% (2005 est.)
Population growth rate	0.01% (2003 est.)	2.37% (2007 est.)
Ports and harbors	none	-
Radio broadcast stations	AM 3, FM 4, shortwave 2 (1998)	AM 7, FM 14, shortwave 2 (2006)
Railways	total: 0.86 km standard gauge: 0.86 km 1.435-m gauge note: a spur of the Italian Railways system, serving Rome's Saint Peter's station (2001 est.)	-
Religions	Roman Catholic	Buddhist 65%, animist 32.9%, Christian 1.3%, other and unspecified 0.8% (1995 census)
Sex ratio	-	at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.008 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.978 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.791 male(s)/female total population: 0.984 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Suffrage	limited to cardinals less than 80 years old	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: automatic exchange domestic: tied into Italian system international: uses Italian system	general assessment: service to general public is poor but improving; the government relies on a radiotelephone network to communicate with remote areas domestic: multiple service providers; combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular subscribership about 10 per 100 persons international: country code - 856; satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region)
Telephones - main lines in use	NA	90,067 (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular	NA	638,200 (2006)
Television broadcast stations	1 (1996)	7 (includes 1 station relaying Vietnam Television from Hanoi) (2006)
Terrain	low hill	mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus
Total fertility rate	-	4.59 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	-	2.4% (2005 est.)
Waterways	none	4,600 km note: primarily Mekong and tributaries; 2,900 additional km are intermittently navigable by craft drawing less than 0.5 m (2007)

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