Isle of Man (2005) | Laos (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | none; there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 24 local authorities each with its own elections | 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: 17.4% (male 6,681/female 6,365)
15-64 years: 65.5% (male 24,693/female 24,482) 65 years and over: 17.1% (male 5,163/female 7,665) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years:
42.75% (male 1,212,577; female 1,196,795) 15-64 years: 53.94% (male 1,494,927; female 1,544,851) 65 years and over: 3.31% (male 85,632; female 101,185) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cereals, vegetables; cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry | sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton; tea, peanuts, rice; water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry |
Airports | 1 (2004 est.) | 51 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total:
8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total:
43 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 17 under 914 m: 25 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 572 sq km
land: 572 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
236,800 sq km land: 230,800 sq km water: 6,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than three times the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than Utah |
Background | Part of the Norwegian Kingdom of the Hebrides until the 13th century when it was ceded to Scotland, the isle came under the British crown in 1765. Current concerns include reviving the almost extinct Manx Gaelic language. | 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 | 11.18 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 37.84 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $485 million
expenditures: $463 million, including capital expenditures of NA (FY00/01 est.) |
revenues:
$211 million expenditures: $462 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY98/99 est.) |
Capital | Douglas | Vientiane |
Climate | temperate; cool summers and mild winters; overcast about one-third of the time | tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April) |
Coastline | 160 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | unwritten; note - The Isle of Man Constitution Act of 1961 does not embody the unwritten Manx Constitution | promulgated 14 August 1991 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Isle of Man |
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 | 11.26 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 13.02 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $2.46 billion (1998 est.) |
Dependency status | British crown dependency | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (British crown dependency) | chief of mission:
Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affairs Karen Brevard STEWART 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 (British crown dependency) | chief of mission:
Ambassador VANG Rattanavong chancery: 2222 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-6416 FAX: [1] (202) 332-4923 |
Disputes - international | none | parts of the border with Thailand are indefinite |
Economic aid - recipient | NA | $345 million (1999 est.) |
Economy - overview | Offshore banking, manufacturing, and tourism are key sectors of the economy. The government's policy of offering incentives to high-technology companies and financial institutions to locate on the island has paid off in expanding employment opportunities in high-income industries. As a result, agriculture and fishing, once the mainstays of the economy, have declined in their shares of GDP. Trade is mostly with the UK. The Isle of Man enjoys free access to EU markets. | 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% during 1988-97. Reform efforts subsequently slowed, and GDP growth dropped an average of 3 percentage points. Because Laos depends heavily on its trade with Thailand, it was damaged by the regional financial crisis beginning in 1997. Government mismanagement deepened the crisis, and from June 1997 to June 1999 the Lao kip lost 87% of its value. Laos' foreign exchange problems peaked in September 1999 when the kip fell from 3,500 kip to the dollar to 9,000 kip to the dollar in a matter of weeks. Now that the currency has stabilized, however, the government seems content to let the current situation persist, despite limited government revenue and foreign exchange reserves. A landlocked country with a primitive infrastructure, Laos 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. For the foreseeable future the economy will continue to depend on aid from the IMF and other international sources; Japan is currently the largest bilateral aid donor; aid from the former USSR/Eastern Europe has been cut sharply. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 173.6 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | - | 705 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | - | 142 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | - | 792 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
2.78% hydro: 97.22% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Irish Sea 0 m
highest point: Snaefell 621 m |
lowest point:
Mekong River 70 m highest point: Phou Bia 2,817 m |
Environment - current issues | waste disposal (both household and industrial); transboundary air pollution | 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 | Manx (Norse-Celtic descent), Briton | 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 | Manx pounds per US dollar - 0.5462 (2004), 0.6125 (2003), 0.6672 (2002), 0.6947 (2001), 0.6609 (2000) | kips per US dollar - 7,578.00 (December 2000), 7,102.03 (1999), 3,298.33 (1998), 1,259.98 (1997), 921.02 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Lord of Mann Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Lieutenant Governor Ian MACFADYEN (since 26 October 2002)
head of government: Chief Minister Donald GELLING (since 14 December 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers elections: the monarch is hereditary; lieutenant governor appointed by the monarch for a five-year term; the Chief Minister is elected by the Tynwald; election last held 14 December 2004 (next to be held December 2010) election results: Donald GELLING elected chief minister by the Tynwald; note - Richard CORKILL resigned 2 December 2004 |
chief of state:
President Gen. KHAMTAI Siphandon (since 26 February 1998) and Vice President Lt. Gen. CHOUMMALI Saignason (since NA March 2001) head of government: Prime Minister BOUNGNANG Volachit (since NA March 2001); Deputy Prime Ministers THONGLOUN Sisolit (since NA March 2001), 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 21 December 1997 (next to be held NA 2002); 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 | $323 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | tweeds, herring, processed shellfish, beef, lamb | wood products, garments, electricity, coffee, tin |
Exports - partners | UK (2000) | Vietnam, Thailand, Germany, France, Belgium |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | 1 October - 30 September |
Flag description | red with the Three Legs of Man emblem (Trinacria), in the center; the three legs are joined at the thigh and bent at the knee; in order to have the toes pointing clockwise on both sides of the flag, a two-sided emblem is used | 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 - $9 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1%
industry: 13% services: 86% (2000 est.) |
agriculture:
51% industry: 22% services: 27% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $28,500 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 4% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 54 15 N, 4 30 W | 18 00 N, 105 00 E |
Geography - note | one small islet, the Calf of Man, lies to the southwest, and is a bird sanctuary | landlocked |
Highways | total: 800 km
paved: 800 km unpaved: 0 km (1999) |
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%:
4.2% highest 10%: 26.4% (1992) |
Illicit drugs | - | world's third-largest illicit opium producer (estimated cultivation in 1999 - 21,800 hectares, a 16% decrease over 1998; estimated potential production in 1999 - 140 metric tons, about the same as in 1998); potential heroin producer; transshipment point for heroin and methamphetamine produced in Burma; illicit producer of cannabis |
Imports | $NA | $540 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | timber, fertilizers, fish | machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel |
Imports - partners | UK (2000) | Thailand, Japan, Vietnam, China, Singapore, Hong Kong |
Independence | none (British crown dependency) | 19 July 1949 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3.2% (FY96/97) | 7.5% (1999 est.) |
Industries | financial services, light manufacturing, tourism | tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | total: 5.93 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 6.93 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.87 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
92.89 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.6% (March 2003 est.) | 33% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | UPU | ACCT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), 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 (1998 est.) | 1,250 sq km (1993 est.)
note: rainy season irrigation - 2,169 sq km; dry season irrigation - 750 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court of Justice (justices are appointed by the Lord Chancellor of England on the nomination of the lieutenant governor) | 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 | 39,690 (2001) | 1 million - 1.5 million |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture, forestry and fishing 3%, manufacturing 11%, construction 10%, transport and communication 8%, wholesale and retail distribution 11%, professional and scientific services 18%, public administration 6%, banking and finance 18%, tourism 2%, entertainment and catering 3%, miscellaneous services 10% | 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: 9%
permanent crops: 0% other: 91% (permanent pastures, forests, mountain, and heathland) (2002) |
arable land:
3% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 3% forests and woodland: 54% other: 40% (1993 est.) |
Languages | English, Manx Gaelic | Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages |
Legal system | English common law and Manx statute | based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and Socialist practice |
Legislative branch | bicameral Tynwald consists of the Legislative Council (an 11-member body composed of the President of Tynwald, the Lord Bishop of Sodor and Man, a nonvoting attorney general, and 8 others named by the House of Keys) and the House of Keys (24 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Keys - last held 22 November 2001 (next to be held November 2006) election results: House of Keys - percent of vote by party - Man Labor Party 17.3%, Alliance for Progressive Government 14.6%; seats by party - Man Labor Party 2, Alliance for Progressive Government 3, independents 19 |
unicameral National Assembly (99 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms; note - by presidential decree, on 27 October 1997, the number of seats increased from 85 to 99)
elections: last held 21 December 1997 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - LPRP or LPRP-approved (independent, non-party members) 99 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 78.34 years
male: 74.98 years female: 81.87 years (2005 est.) |
total population:
53.48 years male: 51.58 years female: 55.44 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 57% male: 70% female: 44% (1999 est.) |
Location | Western Europe, island in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland | Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam |
Map references | Europe | Southeast Asia |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 267 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,834,626 GRT/11,354,689 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 31, cargo 54, chemical tanker 45, combination ore/oil 1, container 15, liquefied gas 46, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 53, refrigerated cargo 4, roll on/roll off 10, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 5 foreign-owned: 253 (Australia 1, Bahamas 8, Denmark 39, France 2, Germany 55, Greece 20, Hong Kong 3, Italy 7, Japan 4, Netherlands 2, New Zealand 1, Norway 18, Singapore 2, Sweden 1, Turkey 2, United Kingdom 86, United States 2) registered in other countries: 9 (2005) |
total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,370 GRT/3,000 DWT ships by type: cargo 1 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
Military branches | - | Lao People's Army (LPA; includes riverine element), Air Force, National Police Department |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $55 million (FY98) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 4.2% (FY96/97) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
1,319,537 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
710,627 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
64,437 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Tynwald Day, 5 July | Republic Day, 2 December (1975) |
Nationality | noun: Manxman (men), Manxwoman (women)
adjective: Manx |
noun:
Lao(s) or Laotian(s) adjective: Lao or Laotian |
Natural hazards | NA | floods, droughts, and blight |
Natural resources | none | timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones |
Net migration rate | 5.33 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | petroleum products 136 km |
Political parties and leaders | Man Labor Party [leader NA]; Alliance for Progressive Government [leader NA]; Man Nationalist Party [leader NA]
note: most members sit as independents |
Lao People's Revolutionary Party or LPRP [KHAMTAI Siphandon, party president]; other parties proscribed |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | noncommunist political groups proscribed; most opposition leaders fled the country in 1975 |
Population | 75,049 (July 2005 est.) | 5,635,967 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | 46.1% (1993 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.52% (2005 est.) | 2.48% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Castletown, Douglas, Ramsey | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 4 (1998) |
Radios | - | 730,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 61 km (35 km electrified) (2003) | 0 km |
Religions | Anglican, Roman Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Society of Friends | Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2005 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: 0.85 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: landline, telefax, mobile cellular telephone system international: fiber-optic cable, microwave radio relay, satellite earth station, submarine cable |
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 | 51,000 (1999) | 25,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 4,915 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (receives broadcasts from the UK and satellite) (1999) | 4 (1999) |
Terrain | hills in north and south bisected by central valley | mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus |
Total fertility rate | 1.65 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 5.12 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 0.6% (2004 est.) | 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 |