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Compare Laos (2001) - Bahamas, The (2004)
Compare Laos (2001) z Bahamas, The (2004)
| Laos (2001) | Bahamas, The (2004) | |
 |  | |
| 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 | 21 districts; Acklins and Crooked Islands, Bimini, Cat Island, Exuma, Freeport, Fresh Creek, Governor's Harbour, Green Turtle Cay, Harbour Island, High Rock, Inagua, Kemps Bay, Long Island, Marsh Harbour, Mayaguana, New Providence, Nichollstown and Berry Islands, Ragged Island, Rock Sound, Sandy Point, San Salvador and Rum Cay |
| Age structure | 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.) |
0-14 years: 28.3% (male 42,474; female 42,423)
15-64 years: 65.7% (male 96,825; female 99,985) 65 years and over: 6% (male 7,351; female 10,639) (2004 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton; tea, peanuts, rice; water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry | citrus, vegetables; poultry |
| Airports | 51 (2000 est.) | 63 (2003 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total:
8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 29
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 1 (2004 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.) |
total: 34
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.) |
| Area | total:
236,800 sq km land: 230,800 sq km water: 6,000 sq km |
total: 13,940 sq km
land: 10,070 sq km water: 3,870 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly larger than Utah | slightly smaller than Connecticut |
| Background | 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. | Arawak Indians inhabited the islands when Christopher Columbus first set foot in the New World on San Salvador in 1492. British settlement of the islands began in 1647; the islands became a colony in 1783. Since attaining independence from the UK in 1973, The Bahamas have prospered through tourism and international banking and investment management. Because of its geography, the country is a major transshipment point for illegal drugs, particularly shipments to the US, and its territory is used for smuggling illegal migrants into the US. |
| Birth rate | 37.84 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 18.22 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Budget | revenues:
$211 million expenditures: $462 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY98/99 est.) |
revenues: $918.5 million
expenditures: $956.5 million, including capital expenditures of $106.7 million (FY99/00) |
| Capital | Vientiane | Nassau |
| Climate | tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April) | tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 3,542 km |
| Constitution | promulgated 14 August 1991 | 10 July 1973 |
| Country name | conventional long form:
Lao People's Democratic Republic conventional short form: Laos local long form: Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao local short form: none |
conventional long form: Commonwealth of The Bahamas
conventional short form: The Bahamas |
| Currency | kip (LAK) | Bahamian dollar (BSD) |
| Death rate | 13.02 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 8.82 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Debt - external | $2.46 billion (1998 est.) | $308.5 million (2002) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador John D. ROOD
embassy: 42 Queen Street, Nassau mailing address: local or express mail address: P. O. Box N-8197, Nassau; Department of State, 3370 Nassau Place, Washington, DC 20521-3370 telephone: [1] (242) 322-1181, 328-2206 (after hours) FAX: [1] (242) 356-0222 |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador VANG Rattanavong chancery: 2222 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-6416 FAX: [1] (202) 332-4923 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Joshua SEARS
chancery: 2220 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 319-2660 FAX: [1] (202) 319-2668 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York |
| Disputes - international | parts of the border with Thailand are indefinite | concerned about migrants fleeing Haiti's deteriorated economic and political conditions |
| Economic aid - recipient | $345 million (1999 est.) | $9.8 million (1995) |
| Economy - overview | 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. | The Bahamas is a stable, developing nation with an economy heavily dependent on tourism and offshore banking. Tourism alone accounts for more than 60% of GDP and directly or indirectly employs half of the archipelago's labor force. Steady growth in tourism receipts and a boom in construction of new hotels, resorts, and residences had led to solid GDP growth in recent years, but the slowdown in the US economy and the attacks of 11 September 2001 held back growth in these sectors in 2001-03. Financial services constitute the second-most important sector of the Bahamian economy, accounting for about 15% of GDP. However, since December 2000, when the government enacted new regulations on the financial sector, many international businesses have left The Bahamas. Manufacturing and agriculture together contribute approximately a tenth of GDP and show little growth, despite government incentives aimed at those sectors. Overall growth prospects in the short run rest heavily on the fortunes of the tourism sector, which depends on growth in the US, the source of more than 80% of the visitors. In addition to tourism and banking, the government supports the development of a "third pillar," e-commerce. |
| Electricity - consumption | 173.6 million kWh (1999) | 1.451 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - exports | 705 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - imports | 142 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production | 792 million kWh (1999) | 1.56 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
2.78% hydro: 97.22% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Mekong River 70 m highest point: Phou Bia 2,817 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Alvernia, on Cat Island 63 m |
| Environment - current issues | unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; a majority of the population does not have access to potable water | coral reef decay; solid waste disposal |
| 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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
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% | black 85%, white 12%, Asian and Hispanic 3% |
| Exchange rates | kips per US dollar - 7,578.00 (December 2000), 7,102.03 (1999), 3,298.33 (1998), 1,259.98 (1997), 921.02 (1996) | Bahamian dollars per US dollar - 1 (2003), 1 (2002), 1 (2001), 1 (2000), 1 (1999) |
| Executive branch | 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% |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Dame Ivy DUMONT (since NA May 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Perry CHRISTIE (since 3 May 2002) and Deputy Prime Minister Cynthia PRATT (since 7 May 2002) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the prime minister's recommendation elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; the prime minister recommends the deputy prime minister |
| Exports | $323 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
| Exports - commodities | wood products, garments, electricity, coffee, tin | fish and crawfish; rum, salt, chemicals; fruit and vegetables |
| Exports - partners | Vietnam, Thailand, Germany, France, Belgium | US 35%, Spain 9.6%, Germany 7.8%, France 7.6%, Poland 5.3%, Switzerland 4.8%, Peru 4.2%, Paraguay 4.2% (2003) |
| Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | 1 July - 30 June |
| Flag description | three horizontal bands of red (top), blue (double width), and red with a large white disk centered in the blue band | three equal horizontal bands of aquamarine (top), gold, and aquamarine, with a black equilateral triangle based on the hoist side |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $9 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5.049 billion (2003 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
51% industry: 22% services: 27% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 3%
industry: 7% services: 90% (2001 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $16,700 (2003 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2000 est.) | 0% (2003 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 18 00 N, 105 00 E | 24 15 N, 76 00 W |
| Geography - note | landlocked | strategic location adjacent to US and Cuba; extensive island chain of which 30 are inhabited |
| Heliports | - | 1 (2003 est.) |
| Highways | total:
14,000 km paved: 3,360 km unpaved: 10,640 km (1991) |
total: 2,693 km
paved: 1,546 km unpaved: 1,147 km (1999 est.) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
4.2% highest 10%: 26.4% (1992) |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
| 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 | transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for US and Europe; offshore financial center |
| Imports | $540 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel | machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, mineral fuels; food and live animals |
| Imports - partners | Thailand, Japan, Vietnam, China, Singapore, Hong Kong | US 20.8%, South Korea 17.4%, Italy 11.4%, France 9.1%, Brazil 7.5%, Japan 5.6%, Venezuela 5.3% (2003) |
| Independence | 19 July 1949 (from France) | 10 July 1973 (from UK) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 7.5% (1999 est.) | NA (2002 est.) |
| Industries | tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism | tourism, banking, e-commerce, cement, oil refining and transshipment, salt, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral-welded steel pipe |
| Infant mortality rate | 92.89 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 25.7 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 31.73 deaths/1,000 live births female: 19.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 33% (2000 est.) | 1.7% (2002 est.) |
| International organization participation | 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) | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOM, IOC, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
| Irrigated land | 1,250 sq km (1993 est.)
note: rainy season irrigation - 2,169 sq km; dry season irrigation - 750 sq km (1998 est.) |
NA sq km |
| 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) | Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; magistrates courts |
| Labor force | 1 million - 1.5 million | 156,000 (1999) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 80% (1997 est.) | agriculture 5%, industry 5%, tourism 50%, other services 40% (1999 est.) |
| Land boundaries | total:
5,083 km border countries: Burma 235 km, Cambodia 541 km, China 423 km, Thailand 1,754 km, Vietnam 2,130 km |
0 km |
| Land use | arable land:
3% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 3% forests and woodland: 54% other: 40% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 0.8%
permanent crops: 0.4% other: 98.8% (2001) |
| Languages | Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages | English (official), Creole (among Haitian immigrants) |
| Legal system | based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and Socialist practice | based on English common law |
| Legislative branch | 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 |
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (16-member body appointed by the governor general upon the advice of the prime minister and the opposition leader for five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (40 seats; members elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms); the government may dissolve the parliament and call elections at any time
elections: last held 1 May 2002 (next to be held by May 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - PLP 50.8%, FNM 41.1%, independents 5.2%; seats by party - PLP 29, FNM 7, independents 4 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population:
53.48 years male: 51.58 years female: 55.44 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 65.63 years
male: 62.21 years female: 69.11 years (2004 est.) |
| Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 57% male: 70% female: 44% (1999 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 95.6% male: 94.7% female: 96.5% (2003 est.) |
| Location | Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam | Caribbean, chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida, northeast of Cuba |
| Map references | Southeast Asia | Central America and the Caribbean |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
| Merchant marine | total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,370 GRT/3,000 DWT ships by type: cargo 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 1,035 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 31,631,252 GRT/43,025,977 DWT
by type: bulk 165, cargo 188, chemical tanker 45, combination bulk 10, combination ore/oil 17, container 97, liquefied gas 27, livestock carrier 2, multi-functional large load carrier 4, passenger 108, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 163, refrigerated cargo 133, roll on/roll off 34, short-sea/passenger 18, specialized tanker 3, vehicle carrier 20 foreign-owned: Algeria 1, Australia 7, Belgium 14, Bermuda 1, Canada 4, Chile 1, China 4, Croatia 1, Cuba 3, Cyprus 14, Denmark 49, Estonia 1, Faroe Islands 1, Finland 9, France 21, Germany 13, Gibraltar 1, Greece 163, Hong Kong 9, India 1, Indonesia 3, Ireland 1, Israel 3, Italy 7, Japan 35, Kenya 2, South Korea 1, Latvia 1, Liberia 1, Malaysia 11, Malta 1, Monaco 68, Netherlands 29, New Zealand 1, Norway 231, Panama 2, Philippines 3, Poland 14, Reunion 1, Russia 1, Saudi Arabia 9, Singapore 13, Slovenia 1, Spain 6, Sweden 9, Switzerland 1, Thailand 1, Trinidad and Tobago 2 registered in other countries: 11 (2004 est.) |
| Military branches | Lao People's Army (LPA; includes riverine element), Air Force, National Police Department | Royal Bahamas Defense Force (including Coast Guard) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $55 million (FY98) | NA |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.2% (FY96/97) | NA |
| 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 | Republic Day, 2 December (1975) | Independence Day, 10 July (1973) |
| Nationality | noun:
Lao(s) or Laotian(s) adjective: Lao or Laotian |
noun: Bahamian(s)
adjective: Bahamian |
| Natural hazards | floods, droughts, and blight | hurricanes and other tropical storms cause extensive flood and wind damage |
| Natural resources | timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones | salt, aragonite, timber, arable land |
| Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -2.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Pipelines | petroleum products 136 km | - |
| Political parties and leaders | Lao People's Revolutionary Party or LPRP [KHAMTAI Siphandon, party president]; other parties proscribed | Free National Movement or FNM [Tommy TURNQUEST]; Progressive Liberal Party or PLP [Perry CHRISTIE] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | noncommunist political groups proscribed; most opposition leaders fled the country in 1975 | NA |
| Population | 5,635,967 (July 2001 est.) | 299,697
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2004 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 46.1% (1993 est.) | NA |
| Population growth rate | 2.48% (2001 est.) | 0.72% (2004 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | none | Freeport, Matthew Town, Nassau |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 3, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2004) |
| Radios | 730,000 (1997) | - |
| Railways | 0 km | - |
| Religions | Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% | Baptist 32%, Anglican 20%, Roman Catholic 19%, Methodist 6%, Church of God 6%, other Protestant 12%, none or unknown 3%, other 2% |
| Sex ratio | 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.) |
at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | 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) |
general assessment: modern facilities
domestic: totally automatic system; highly developed international: country code - 1-242; tropospheric scatter and submarine cable to Florida; 3 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (1997) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 25,000 (1997) | 131,700 (2003) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 4,915 (1997) | 121,800 (2002) |
| Television broadcast stations | 4 (1999) | 2 (2004) |
| Terrain | mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus | long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills |
| Total fertility rate | 5.12 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.23 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 5.7% (1997 est.) | 6.9% (2001 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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