Laos (2001) | Monaco (2003) | |
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; there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are four quarters (quartiers, singular - quartier); Fontvieille, La Condamine, Monaco-Ville, Monte-Carlo |
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: 15.5% (male 2,551; female 2,445)
15-64 years: 62.1% (male 9,814; female 10,130) 65 years and over: 22.4% (male 2,937; female 4,253) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton; tea, peanuts, rice; water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry | none |
Airports | 51 (2000 est.) | none; linked to airport in Nice, France, by helicopter service (2002) |
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.) |
- |
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:
236,800 sq km land: 230,800 sq km water: 6,000 sq km |
total: 1.95 sq km
land: 1.95 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Utah | about three times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC |
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. | Economic development was spurred in the late 19th century with a railroad linkup to France and the opening of a casino. Since then, the principality's mild climate, splendid scenery, and gambling facilities have made Monaco world famous as a tourist and recreation center. |
Birth rate | 37.84 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 9.46 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$211 million expenditures: $462 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY98/99 est.) |
revenues: $518 million
expenditures: $531 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1995) |
Capital | Vientiane | Monaco |
Climate | tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April) | Mediterranean with mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 4.1 km |
Constitution | promulgated 14 August 1991 | 17 December 1962 |
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: Principality of Monaco
conventional short form: Monaco local long form: Principaute de Monaco local short form: Monaco |
Currency | kip (LAK) | euro (EUR) |
Death rate | 13.02 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 12.82 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $2.46 billion (1998 est.) | $NA |
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 |
the US does not have an embassy in Monaco; the US Consul General in Marseille (France) is accredited to Monaco |
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 |
Monaco does not have an embassy in the US
consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | parts of the border with Thailand are indefinite | none |
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. | Monaco, situated on the French Mediterranean coast, is a popular resort, attracting tourists to its casino and pleasant climate. In 2001, a major new construction project will extend the pier used by cruise ships in the main harbor. The principality has successfully sought to diversify into services and small, high-value-added, nonpolluting industries. The state has no income tax and low business taxes and thrives as a tax haven both for individuals who have established residence and for foreign companies that have set up businesses and offices. The state retains monopolies in a number of sectors, including tobacco, the telephone network, and the postal service. Living standards are high, roughly comparable to those in prosperous French metropolitan areas. Monaco does not publish national income figures; the estimates below are extremely rough. |
Electricity - consumption | 173.6 million kWh (1999) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 705 million kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - imports | 142 million kWh (1999) | NA kWh
note: electricity supplied by France |
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:
Mekong River 70 m highest point: Phou Bia 2,817 m |
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mont Agel 140 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 |
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
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% | French 47%, Monegasque 16%, Italian 16%, other 21% |
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 - 1.06 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.8995 (1998) |
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: Prince RAINIER III (since 9 May 1949); Heir Apparent Prince ALBERT Alexandre Louis Pierre, son of the monarch (born 14 March 1958)
head of government: Minister of State Patrick LECLERCQ (since 5 January 2000) cabinet: Council of Government is under the authority of the monarch elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; minister of state appointed by the monarch from a list of three French national candidates presented by the French Government |
Exports | $323 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $NA; full customs integration with France, which collects and rebates Monegasque trade duties; also participates in EU market system through customs union with France |
Exports - commodities | wood products, garments, electricity, coffee, tin | - |
Exports - partners | Vietnam, Thailand, Germany, France, Belgium | - |
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 | two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and white; similar to the flag of Indonesia which is longer and the flag of Poland which is white (top) and red |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $9 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $870 million (1999 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
51% industry: 22% services: 27% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $27,000 (1999 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 18 00 N, 105 00 E | 43 44 N, 7 24 E |
Geography - note | landlocked | second-smallest independent state in the world (after Holy See); almost entirely urban |
Heliports | - | 1 (shuttle service between the international airport at Nice, France, and Monaco's heliport at Fontvieille) (2002) |
Highways | total:
14,000 km paved: 3,360 km unpaved: 10,640 km (1991) |
total: 50 km
paved: 50 km unpaved: 0 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 | - |
Imports | $540 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $NA; full customs integration with France, which collects and rebates Monegasque trade duties; also participates in EU market system through customs union with France |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel | - |
Imports - partners | Thailand, Japan, Vietnam, China, Singapore, Hong Kong | - |
Independence | 19 July 1949 (from France) | 1419 (beginning of the rule by the House of Grimaldi) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7.5% (1999 est.) | NA% |
Industries | tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism | tourism, construction, small-scale industrial and consumer products |
Infant mortality rate | 92.89 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 5.63 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 6.52 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.69 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 33% (2000 est.) | NA% |
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) | ACCT, ECE, FAO, IAEA, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IFRCS, IHO, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNITAR, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 2 (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 or Tribunal Supreme (judges appointed by the monarch on the basis of nominations by the National Council) |
Labor force | 1 million - 1.5 million | 30,540 (January 1994) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 80% (1997 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: 4.4 km
border countries: France 4.4 km |
Land use | arable land:
3% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 3% forests and woodland: 54% other: 40% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (urban area) (1998 est.) |
Languages | Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages | French (official), English, Italian, Monegasque |
Legal system | based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and Socialist practice | based on French law; 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 National Council or Conseil National (24 seats; 16 members elected by list majority system, 8 by proportional representation; to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 9 February 2003 (next to be held NA February 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UNAM 21, UND 3 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
53.48 years male: 51.58 years female: 55.44 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 79.27 years
male: 75.37 years female: 83.37 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 57% male: 70% female: 44% (1999 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: 99% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam | Western Europe, bordering the Mediterranean Sea on the southern coast of France, near the border with Italy |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Europe |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 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.) |
none (2002 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
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 | Republic Day, 2 December (1975) | National Day (Prince of Monaco Holiday), 19 November |
Nationality | noun:
Lao(s) or Laotian(s) adjective: Lao or Laotian |
noun: Monegasque(s) or Monacan(s)
adjective: Monegasque or Monacan |
Natural hazards | floods, droughts, and blight | NA |
Natural resources | timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones | none |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 7.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | petroleum products 136 km | - |
Political parties and leaders | Lao People's Revolutionary Party or LPRP [KHAMTAI Siphandon, party president]; other parties proscribed | National and Democratic Union or UND [Jean-Louis CAMPORA]; Union for Monaco or UPM (including National Union for the Future of Monaco or UNAM [leader NA] |
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.) | 32,130 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 46.1% (1993 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.48% (2001 est.) | 0.44% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Monaco |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 1, FM NA, shortwave 8 (1998) |
Radios | 730,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 1.7 km
standard gauge: 1.7 km 1.435-m gauge (2002) |
Religions | Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% | Roman Catholic 90% |
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: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.91 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 21 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 automatic telephone system
domestic: NA international: no satellite earth stations; connected by cable into the French communications system |
Telephones - main lines in use | 25,000 (1997) | 31,027 (1995) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 4,915 (1997) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (1999) | 5 (1998) |
Terrain | mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus | hilly, rugged, rocky |
Total fertility rate | 5.12 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.76 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 5.7% (1997 est.) | 3.1% (1998) |
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 |
none |