Laos (2001) | Burma (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 | 7 divisions (taing-myar, singular - taing) and 7 states (pyi ne-myar, singular - pyi ne)
divisions: Ayeyarwady, Bago, Magway, Mandalay, Sagaing, Tanintharyi, Yangon (Rangoon) states: Chin State, Kachin State, Kayin State, Kayah State, Mon State, Rakhine State, Shan State |
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: 27.6% (male 6,023,874; female 5,774,055)
15-64 years: 67.5% (male 14,317,308; female 14,504,500) 65 years and over: 4.9% (male 927,570; female 1,172,889) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton; tea, peanuts, rice; water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry | rice, pulses, beans, sesame, groundnuts, sugarcane; hardwood; fish and fish products |
Airports | 51 (2000 est.) | 79 (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: 9
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (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: 69
over 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 20 under 914 m: 31 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
236,800 sq km land: 230,800 sq km water: 6,000 sq km |
total: 678,500 sq km
land: 657,740 sq km water: 20,760 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Utah | slightly smaller than Texas |
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. | Britain conquered Burma over a period of 62 years (1824-1886) and incorporated it into its Indian Empire. Burma was administered as a province of India until 1937 when it became a separate, self-governing colony; independence from the Commonwealth was attained in 1948. Gen. NE WIN dominated the government from 1962 to 1988, first as military ruler, then as self-appointed president, and later as political kingpin. Despite multiparty legislative elections in 1990 that resulted in the main opposition party - the National League for Democracy (NLD) - winning a landslide victory, the ruling junta refused to hand over power. NLD leader and Nobel Peace Prize recipient AUNG SAN SUU KYI, who was under house arrest from 1989 to 1995 and 2000 to 2002, was imprisoned in May 2003 and is currently under house arrest. In December 2004, the junta announced it was extending her detention for at least an additional year. Her supporters, as well as all those who promote democracy and improved human rights, are routinely harassed or jailed. |
Birth rate | 37.84 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 18.64 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$211 million expenditures: $462 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY98/99 est.) |
revenues: $7.9 billion
expenditures: $12.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $5.7 billion (FY96/97) |
Capital | Vientiane | Rangoon (government refers to the capital as Yangon) |
Climate | tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April) | tropical monsoon; cloudy, rainy, hot, humid summers (southwest monsoon, June to September); less cloudy, scant rainfall, mild temperatures, lower humidity during winter (northeast monsoon, December to April) |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 1,930 km |
Constitution | promulgated 14 August 1991 | 3 January 1974 (suspended since 18 September 1988); national convention convened in 1993 to draft a new constitution but collapsed in 1996; reconvened in 2004 but does not include participation of democratic opposition |
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: Union of Burma
conventional short form: Burma local long form: Pyidaungzu Myanma Naingngandaw (translated by the US Government as Union of Myanma and by the Burmese as Union of Myanmar) local short form: Myanma Naingngandaw former: Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma note: since 1989 the military authorities in Burma have promoted the name Myanmar as a conventional name for their state; this decision was not approved by any sitting legislature in Burma, and the US Government did not adopt the name, which is a derivative of the Burmese short-form name Myanma Naingngandaw |
Currency | kip (LAK) | kyat (MMK) |
Death rate | 13.02 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 12.16 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $2.46 billion (1998 est.) | $6.011 billion (2003 est.) |
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: Charge d'Affaires Carmen M. MARTINEZ
embassy: 581 Merchant Street, Rangoon (GPO 521) mailing address: Box B, APO AP 96546 telephone: [95] (1) 379 880, 379 881 FAX: [95] (1) 256 018 |
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: vacant
chancery: 2300 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-9044 FAX: [1] (202) 332-9046 consulate(s) general: New York (UN) |
Disputes - international | parts of the border with Thailand are indefinite | despite continuing border committee talks, significant differences remain with Thailand over boundary alignment and the handling of ethnic rebels, refugees, and illegal cross-border activities; groups in Burma and Thailand express concern over China's construction of 13 hydroelectric dams on the Salween River in Yunnan Province; India seeks cooperation from Burma to keep out Indian Nagaland insurgents |
Economic aid - recipient | $345 million (1999 est.) | $127 million (2001 est.) |
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. | Burma is a resource-rich country that suffers from government controls and abject rural poverty. The military regime took steps in the early 1990s to liberalize the economy after decades of failure under the "Burmese Way to Socialism", but those efforts have since stalled. Burma has been unable to achieve monetary or fiscal stability, resulting in an economy that suffers from serious macroeconomic imbalances - including a steep inflation rate and an official exchange rate that overvalues the Burmese kyat by more than 100 times the market rate. In addition, most overseas development assistance ceased after the junta suppressed the democracy movement in 1988 and subsequently ignored the results of the 1990 election. A crisis in the private banking sector in early 2003 followed by economic moves against Burma by the United States, the European Union, and Japan - including a US ban on imports from Burma and a Japanese freeze on new bilateral economic aid - further weakened the Burmese economy. Burma is data poor, and official statistics are often dated and inaccurate. Published estimates of Burma's foreign trade are greatly understated because of the size of the black market and border trade - often estimated to be one to two times the official economy. Better relations with foreign countries and relaxed controls at home are needed to promote foreign investment, exports, and tourism. In February 2003, a major banking crisis hit the country's 20 private banks, shutting them down and disrupting the economy. In July and August 2003, the United States imposed a ban on all Burmese imports and a ban on provision of financial services, hampering Burma's ability to obtain foreign exchange. As of January 2004, the largest private banks remained moribund, leaving the private sector with little formal access to credit outside of government contracts. |
Electricity - consumption | 173.6 million kWh (1999) | 5.709 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) | 6.139 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: Andaman Sea 0 m
highest point: Hkakabo Razi 5,881 m |
Environment - current issues | unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; a majority of the population does not have access to potable water | deforestation; industrial pollution of air, soil, and water; inadequate sanitation and water treatment contribute to disease |
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, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94
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% | Burman 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Chinese 3%, Indian 2%, Mon 2%, other 5% |
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) | kyats per US dollar - 6.0764 (2003), 6.5734 (2002), 6.6841 (2001), 6.5167 (2000), 6.2858 (1999)
note: these are official exchange rates; unofficial exchange rates ranged in 2003 from 100 kyat/US dollar to nearly 1000 kyat/US dollar |
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: Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Sr. Gen. THAN SHWE (since 23 April 1992)
head of government: Prime Minister, Gen SOE WIN (since 19 October 2004) cabinet: State Peace and Development Council (SPDC); military junta, so named 15 November 1997, which initially assumed power 18 September 1988 under the name State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC); the SPDC oversees the cabinet elections: none |
Exports | $323 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | wood products, garments, electricity, coffee, tin | Clothing, gas, wood products, pulses, beans, fish, rice |
Exports - partners | Vietnam, Thailand, Germany, France, Belgium | Thailand 31.5%, US 10.2%, India 9.3%, China 5.8%, Japan 4.8% (2003) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | three horizontal bands of red (top), blue (double width), and red with a large white disk centered in the blue band | red with a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing, 14 white five-pointed stars encircling a cogwheel containing a stalk of rice; the 14 stars represent the 7 administrative divisions and 7 states |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $9 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $74.53 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
51% industry: 22% services: 27% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 57.2%
industry: 9.6% services: 33.1% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,800 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2000 est.) | -0.5% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 18 00 N, 105 00 E | 22 00 N, 98 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked | strategic location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes |
Heliports | - | 1 (2003 est.) |
Highways | total:
14,000 km paved: 3,360 km unpaved: 10,640 km (1991) |
total: 28,200 km
paved: 3,440 km unpaved: 24,760 km (1996 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
4.2% highest 10%: 26.4% (1992) |
lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 32.4% (1998) |
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 | world's second largest producer of illicit opium (potential production in 2003 - 484 metric tons, down 23% due to eradication efforts and alternate development; cultivation in 2003 - 47,130 hectares, a 39% decline from 2002); surrender of drug warlord KHUN SA's Mong Tai Army in January 1996 was hailed by Rangoon as a major counternarcotics success, but lack of government will and ability to take on major narcotrafficking groups and lack of serious commitment against money laundering continues to hinder the overall antidrug effort; major source of methamphetamine and heroin for regional consumption; currently under Financial Action Task Force countermeasures due to continued failure to address its inadequate money-laundering controls |
Imports | $540 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel | Fabric, petroleum products, plastics, machinery, transport equipment, construction materials, crude oil; food products |
Imports - partners | Thailand, Japan, Vietnam, China, Singapore, Hong Kong | China 31.1%, Singapore 22.3%, Thailand 15.1%, South Korea 6.3%, Malaysia 4.8%, Japan 4.3% (2003) |
Independence | 19 July 1949 (from France) | 4 January 1948 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7.5% (1999 est.) | NA |
Industries | tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism | agricultural processing; knit and woven apparel; wood and wood products; copper, tin, tungsten, iron; construction materials; pharmaceuticals; fertilizer; cement |
Infant mortality rate | 92.89 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 68.78 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 74.78 deaths/1,000 live births female: 62.42 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 33% (2000 est.) | 49.7% (2003 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) | ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
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.) |
15,920 sq km (1998 est.) |
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) | remnants of the British-era legal system are in place, but there is no guarantee of a fair public trial; the judiciary is not independent of the executive |
Labor force | 1 million - 1.5 million | 22.14 million (2003 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 80% (1997 est.) | agriculture 70%, industry 7%, services 23% (2001 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 |
total: 5,876 km
border countries: Bangladesh 193 km, China 2,185 km, India 1,463 km, Laos 235 km, Thailand 1,800 km |
Land use | arable land:
3% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 3% forests and woodland: 54% other: 40% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 15.19%
permanent crops: 0.97% other: 83.84% (2001) |
Languages | Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages | Burmese, minority ethnic groups have their own languages |
Legal system | based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and Socialist practice | has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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 |
unicameral People's Assembly or Pyithu Hluttaw (485 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 27 May 1990, but Assembly never allowed by junta to convene election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NLD 392 (opposition), SNLD 23 (opposition), NUP 10 (pro-government), other 60 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
53.48 years male: 51.58 years female: 55.44 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 56.01 years
male: 54.22 years female: 57.9 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: 85.3% male: 89.2% female: 81.4% (2002) |
Location | Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam | Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Bangladesh and Thailand |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Southeast Asia |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
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: 31 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 384,529 GRT/608,609 DWT
by type: bulk 8, cargo 18, container 1, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 1 foreign-owned: Germany 6, Japan 4 (2004 est.) |
Military branches | Lao People's Army (LPA; includes riverine element), Air Force, National Police Department | Army, Navy, Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $55 million (FY98) | $39 million (FY97) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.2% (FY96/97) | 2.1% (FY97) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,319,537 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 12,450,884
females age 15-49: 12,457,077 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
710,627 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 6,609,995
females age 15-49: 6,595,611 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
64,437 (2001 est.) |
males: 441,333
females: 440,914 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Republic Day, 2 December (1975) | Independence Day, 4 January (1948); Union Day, 12 February (1947) |
Nationality | noun:
Lao(s) or Laotian(s) adjective: Lao or Laotian |
noun: Burmese (singular and plural)
adjective: Burmese |
Natural hazards | floods, droughts, and blight | destructive earthquakes and cyclones; flooding and landslides common during rainy season (June to September); periodic droughts |
Natural resources | timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones | petroleum, timber, tin, antimony, zinc, copper, tungsten, lead, coal, some marble, limestone, precious stones, natural gas, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -1.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | petroleum products 136 km | gas 2,056 km; oil 558 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Lao People's Revolutionary Party or LPRP [KHAMTAI Siphandon, party president]; other parties proscribed | National League for Democracy or NLD [AUNG SHWE, chairman, AUNG SAN SUU KYI, general secretary]; National Unity Party or NUP (progovernment) [THA KYAW]; Shan Nationalities League for Democracy or SNLD [KHUN HTUN OO]; and other smaller parties |
Political pressure groups and leaders | noncommunist political groups proscribed; most opposition leaders fled the country in 1975 | National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma or NCGUB (self-proclaimed government in exile) ["Prime Minister" Dr. SEIN WIN] consists of individuals, some legitimately elected to the People's Assembly in 1990 (the group fled to a border area and joined insurgents in December 1990 to form parallel government in exile); Kachin Independence Army or KIA; Karen National Union or KNU; several Shan factions; United Wa State Army or UWSA; Union Solidarity and Development Association or USDA (progovernment, a social and political organization) [THAN AUNG, general secretary] |
Population | 5,635,967 (July 2001 est.) | 42,720,196
note: estimates for this country 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 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.) | 25% (2000 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.48% (2001 est.) | 0.47% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Bhamo, Chauk, Mandalay, Moulmein, Myitkyina, Pathein, Rangoon, Sittwe, Tavoy |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 1, FM 1 (2004) |
Radios | 730,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 3,955 km
narrow gauge: 3,955 km 1.000-m gauge (2003) |
Religions | Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% | Buddhist 89%, Christian 4% (Baptist 3%, Roman Catholic 1%), Muslim 4%, animist 1%, 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: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 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: barely meets minimum requirements for local and intercity service for business and government; international service is fair
domestic: NA international: country code - 95; satellite earth station - 2, Intelsat (Indian Ocean), and ShinSat |
Telephones - main lines in use | 25,000 (1997) | 357,300 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 4,915 (1997) | 66,500 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (1999) | 2 (2004) |
Terrain | mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus | central lowlands ringed by steep, rugged highlands |
Total fertility rate | 5.12 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.08 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 5.7% (1997 est.) | 4.2% (2003) |
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 |
12,800 km (2004) |