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Compare Laos (2001) - French Guiana (2006)
Compare Laos (2001) z French Guiana (2006)
| Laos (2001) | French Guiana (2006) | |
 |  | |
| 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 | none (overseas department of France) |
| 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: 28.9% (male 29,540/female 28,210)
15-64 years: 64.8% (male 69,302/female 59,980) 65 years and over: 6.3% (male 6,350/female 6,127) (2006 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton; tea, peanuts, rice; water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry | corn, rice, manioc (tapioca), sugar, cocoa, vegetables, bananas; cattle, pigs, poultry |
| Airports | 51 (2000 est.) | 11 (2006) |
| 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: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
| 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: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 5 (2006) |
| Area | total:
236,800 sq km land: 230,800 sq km water: 6,000 sq km |
total: 91,000 sq km
land: 89,150 sq km water: 1,850 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly larger than Utah | slightly smaller than Indiana |
| 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. | First settled by the French in 1604, French Guiana was the site of notorious penal settlements until 1951. The European Space Agency launches its communication satellites from Kourou. |
| Birth rate | 37.84 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 20.46 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Budget | revenues:
$211 million expenditures: $462 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY98/99 est.) |
revenues: $135.5 million
expenditures: $135.5 million; including capital expenditures of $105 million (1996) |
| Capital | Vientiane | name: Cayenne
geographic coordinates: 4 56 N, 52 20 W time difference: UTC-3 (2 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Climate | tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April) | tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variation |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 378 km |
| Constitution | promulgated 14 August 1991 | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) |
| 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: Department of Guiana
conventional short form: French Guiana local long form: none local short form: Guyane |
| Currency | kip (LAK) | - |
| Death rate | 13.02 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 4.88 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Debt - external | $2.46 billion (1998 est.) | $800.3 million (2003) |
| Dependency status | - | overseas department of France |
| 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 |
none (overseas department of France) |
| 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 |
none (overseas department of France) |
| Disputes - international | parts of the border with Thailand are indefinite | Suriname claims area between Riviere Litani and Riviere Marouini (both headwaters of the Lawa) in French Guiana |
| Economic aid - recipient | $345 million (1999 est.) | $NA |
| 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 economy is tied closely to the much larger French economy through subsidies and imports. Besides the French space center at Kourou (which accounts for 25% of GDP), fishing and forestry are the most important economic activities. Forest and woodland cover 90% of the country. The large reserves of tropical hardwoods, not fully exploited, support an expanding sawmill industry that provides sawn logs for export. Cultivation of crops is limited to the coastal area, where the population is largely concentrated; rice and manioc are the major crops. French Guiana is heavily dependent on imports of food and energy. Unemployment is a serious problem, particularly among younger workers. |
| Electricity - consumption | 173.6 million kWh (1999) | 432.6 million kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - exports | 705 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - imports | 142 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - production | 792 million kWh (1999) | 465.2 million kWh (2003) |
| 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: Bellevue de l'Inini 851 m |
| Environment - current issues | unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; a majority of the population does not have access to potable water | NA |
| 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 | 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 or mulatto 66%, white 12%, East Indian, Chinese, Amerindian 12%, other 10% |
| 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) | euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001) |
| 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: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Jean-Pierre LAFLAQUIERE (since 19 July 2006)
head of government: President of the General Council Pierre DESERT (since 26 March 2004); President of the Regional Council Antoine KARAM (since 22 March 1992) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; presidents of the General and Regional Councils are appointed by the members of those councils |
| Exports | $323 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
| Exports - commodities | wood products, garments, electricity, coffee, tin | shrimp, timber, gold, rum, rosewood essence, clothing |
| Exports - partners | Vietnam, Thailand, Germany, France, Belgium | France 62%, Switzerland 7%, US 2% (2004) |
| Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | calendar year |
| Flag description | three horizontal bands of red (top), blue (double width), and red with a large white disk centered in the blue band | the flag of France is used |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $9 billion (2000 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
51% industry: 22% services: 27% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: NA% 6.6%
industry: NA% 15.6% services: NA% 77.8% |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2000 est.) | - |
| GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2000 est.) | NA% |
| Geographic coordinates | 18 00 N, 105 00 E | 4 00 N, 53 00 W |
| Geography - note | landlocked | mostly an unsettled wilderness; the only non-independent portion of the South American continent |
| Highways | total:
14,000 km paved: 3,360 km unpaved: 10,640 km (1991) |
- |
| 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 | small amount of marijuana grown for local consumption; minor transshipment point to Europe |
| Imports | $540 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel | food (grains, processed meat), machinery and transport equipment, fuels and chemicals |
| Imports - partners | Thailand, Japan, Vietnam, China, Singapore, Hong Kong | France 63%, US, Trinidad and Tobago, Italy (2004) |
| Independence | 19 July 1949 (from France) | none (overseas department of France) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 7.5% (1999 est.) | NA% |
| Industries | tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism | construction, shrimp processing, forestry products, rum, gold mining |
| Infant mortality rate | 92.89 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 11.76 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 12.58 deaths/1,000 live births female: 10.89 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 33% (2000 est.) | 1% (2003) |
| 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) | UPU, WCL, WFTU |
| 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.) |
20 sq km (2003) |
| 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) | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel (highest local court based in Martinique with jurisdiction over Martinique, Guadeloupe, and French Guiana) |
| Labor force | 1 million - 1.5 million | 62,630 (1999) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 80% (1997 est.) | agriculture: 18.2%
industry: 21.2% services: 60.6% (1980) |
| 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: 1,240.4 km
border countries: Brazil 730.4 km, Suriname 510 km |
| Land use | arable land:
3% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 3% forests and woodland: 54% other: 40% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 0.13%
permanent crops: 0.04% other: 99.83% (90% forest, 10% other) (2005) |
| Languages | Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages | French |
| Legal system | based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and Socialist practice | French legal system |
| 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 General Council or Conseil General (19 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council or Conseil Regional (31 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held in March 2000 (next to be held March 2006); Regional Council - last held 21 and 28 March 2004 (next to be held in 2010) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PSG 5, various left-wing parties 5, independents 7, other 2; Regional Council - (second election results) percent of vote by party - PS 37.24%, UMP 31.58%, FDG/Walwari 31.18%; seats by party - PS 17, UMP 7, FDG/Walwari 7 note: one seat was elected to the French Senate on 27 September 1998 (next to be held September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; 2 seats were elected to the French National Assembly on 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held in 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP/RPR 1, Walwari Committee 1 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population:
53.48 years male: 51.58 years female: 55.44 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 77.27 years
male: 73.95 years female: 80.75 years (2006 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: 83% male: 84% female: 82% (1982 est.) |
| Location | Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam | Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Brazil and Suriname |
| Map references | Southeast Asia | South America |
| 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.) |
- |
| Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
| Military branches | Lao People's Army (LPA; includes riverine element), Air Force, National Police Department | no regular military forces; Gendarmerie |
| 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) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
| Nationality | noun:
Lao(s) or Laotian(s) adjective: Lao or Laotian |
noun: French Guianese (singular and plural)
adjective: French Guianese |
| Natural hazards | floods, droughts, and blight | high frequency of heavy showers and severe thunderstorms; flooding |
| Natural resources | timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones | bauxite, timber, gold (widely scattered), petroleum, kaolin, fish, niobium, tantalum, clay |
| Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 4.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Pipelines | petroleum products 136 km | - |
| Political parties and leaders | Lao People's Revolutionary Party or LPRP [KHAMTAI Siphandon, party president]; other parties proscribed | Guyana Democratic Forces or FDG [Georges OTHILY]; Guyanese Democratic Action or ADG [Andre LECANTE]; Guyanese Socialist Party or PSG [Marie-Claude VERDAN]; Popular National Guyanese Party or PNPG [Jose DORCY]; Socialist Party or PS [Alix LABBE]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Georges HABRAN-MERY]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP (includes RPR) [Remi Louis DUBOC]; Walwari Committee (aligned with the PRG in France) [Christine TAUBIRA-DELANON] |
| 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.) | 199,509 (July 2006 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 46.1% (1993 est.) | NA% |
| Population growth rate | 2.48% (2001 est.) | 1.96% (2006 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | none | - |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 2, FM 14 (including 6 repeaters), shortwave 6 (including 5 repeaters) (1998) |
| Radios | 730,000 (1997) | - |
| Railways | 0 km | - |
| Religions | Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% | Roman Catholic |
| 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: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.16 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.04 male(s)/female total population: 1.12 male(s)/female (2006 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: NA
domestic: fair open-wire and microwave radio relay system international: country code - 594; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 25,000 (1997) | 51,000 (2001) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 4,915 (1997) | 98,000 (2004) |
| Television broadcast stations | 4 (1999) | 3 (plus eight low-power repeaters) (1997) |
| Terrain | mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus | low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small mountains |
| Total fertility rate | 5.12 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.98 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 5.7% (1997 est.) | 19.2% (December 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 |
3,760 km
note: 460 km navigable by small oceangoing vessels and coastal and river steamers, 3,300 km by native craft (2003) |
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