Laos (2001) | New Zealand (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 | 13 regions; Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Canterbury, Gisborne-Hawke's Bay, Manawatu-Wanganui, Nelson-Marlborough, Northland, Otago, Southland, Taranaki, Waikato, Wellington, West Coast |
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: 21.7% (male 443,211; female 422,507)
15-64 years: 66.7% (male 1,337,383; female 1,325,683) 65 years and over: 11.6% (male 203,084; female 261,949) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton; tea, peanuts, rice; water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry | wheat, barley, potatoes, pulses, fruits, vegetables; wool, beef, dairy products; fish |
Airports | 51 (2000 est.) | 113 (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: 46
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 11 914 to 1,523 m: 27 under 914 m: 5 (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: 70
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 29 under 914 m: 39 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
236,800 sq km land: 230,800 sq km water: 6,000 sq km |
total: 268,680 sq km
land: NA sq km water: NA sq km note: includes Antipodes Islands, Auckland Islands, Bounty Islands, Campbell Island, Chatham Islands, and Kermadec Islands |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Utah | about the size of Colorado |
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. | The Polynesian Maori reached New Zealand in about A.D. 800. In 1840, their chieftains entered into a compact with Britain, the Treaty of Waitangi, in which they ceded sovereignty to Queen Victoria while retaining territorial rights. In that same year, the British began the first organized colonial settlement. A series of land wars between 1843 and 1872 ended with the defeat of the native peoples. The British colony of New Zealand became an independent dominion in 1907 and supported the UK militarily in both World Wars. New Zealand's full participation in a number of defense alliances lapsed by the 1980s. In recent years, the government has sought to address longstanding Maori grievances. |
Birth rate | 37.84 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 14.04 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$211 million expenditures: $462 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY98/99 est.) |
revenues: $32.14 billion
expenditures: $30.13 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003) |
Capital | Vientiane | Wellington |
Climate | tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April) | temperate with sharp regional contrasts |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 15,134 km |
Constitution | promulgated 14 August 1991 | consists of a series of legal documents, including certain acts of the UK and New Zealand Parliaments and The Constitution Act 1986 which is the principal formal charter |
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: none
conventional short form: New Zealand abbreviation: NZ |
Currency | kip (LAK) | New Zealand dollar (NZD) |
Death rate | 13.02 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 7.54 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $2.46 billion (1998 est.) | $37.46 billion (2003 est.) |
Dependent areas | - | Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau |
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 Charles J. SWINDELLS
embassy: 29 Fitzherbert Terrace, Thorndon, Wellington mailing address: P. O. Box 1190, Wellington; PSC 467, Box 1, APO AP 96531-1034 telephone: [64] (4) 462-6000 FAX: [64] (4) 499-0490 consulate(s) general: Auckland |
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 L. John WOOD
chancery: 37 Observatory Circle NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 328-4800 FAX: [1] (202) 667-5227 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, New York |
Disputes - international | parts of the border with Thailand are indefinite | territorial claim in Antarctica (Ross Dependency) |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $99.7 million |
Economic aid - recipient | $345 million (1999 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. | Over the past 20 years the government has transformed New Zealand from an agrarian economy dependent on concessionary British market access to a more industrialized, free market economy that can compete globally. This dynamic growth has boosted real incomes (but left behind many at the bottom of the ladder), broadened and deepened the technological capabilities of the industrial sector, and contained inflationary pressures. Per capita income has been rising and is now 80% of the level of the four largest EU economies. New Zealand is heavily dependent on trade - particularly in agricultural products - to drive growth, and it has been affected by the global economic slowdown and the slump in commodity prices. Thus far the economy has been resilient, and growth should continue at the same level in 2004. Expenditures on health, education, and pensions will increase proportionately. |
Electricity - consumption | 173.6 million kWh (1999) | 34.88 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) | 37.51 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
2.78% hydro: 97.22% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Mekong River 70 m highest point: Phou Bia 2,817 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Aoraki-Mount Cook 3,754 m |
Environment - current issues | unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; a majority of the population does not have access to potable water | deforestation; soil erosion; native flora and fauna hard-hit by species introduced from outside |
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: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Antarctic Seals, Marine Life Conservation |
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% | New Zealand European 74.5%, Maori 9.7%, other European 4.6%, Pacific Islander 3.8%, Asian and others 7.4% |
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) | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 1.7229 (2003), 2.1622 (2002), 2.3788 (2001), 2.2012 (2000), 1.8896 (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 Silvia CARTWRIGHT (since 4 April 2001)
head of government: Prime Minister Helen CLARK (since 10 December 1999) and Deputy Prime Minister Michael CULLEN (since NA July 2002) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor general on the recommendation of the prime minister 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 a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general |
Exports | $323 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 30,220 bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | wood products, garments, electricity, coffee, tin | dairy products, meat, wood and wood products, fish, machinery |
Exports - partners | Vietnam, Thailand, Germany, France, Belgium | Australia 21.8%, US 14.6%, Japan 11%, China 4.9%, UK 4.8% (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 | blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant with four red five-pointed stars edged in white centered in the outer half of the flag; the stars represent the Southern Cross constellation |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $9 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $85.34 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
51% industry: 22% services: 27% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 4.8%
industry: 27.4% services: 67.8% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $21,600 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2000 est.) | 3.5% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 18 00 N, 105 00 E | 41 00 S, 174 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked | about 80% of the population lives in cities; Wellington is the southernmost national capital in the world |
Highways | total:
14,000 km paved: 3,360 km unpaved: 10,640 km (1991) |
total: 92,053 km
paved: 57,809 km (including at least 190 km of expressways) unpaved: 34,244 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
4.2% highest 10%: 26.4% (1992) |
lowest 10%: 0.3%
highest 10%: 29.8% (1991 est.) |
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.) | 119,700 bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel | machinery and equipment, vehicles and aircraft, petroleum, electronics, textiles, plastics |
Imports - partners | Thailand, Japan, Vietnam, China, Singapore, Hong Kong | Australia 22.2%, US 11.8%, Japan 11.8%, China 9%, Germany 5.3% (2003) |
Independence | 19 July 1949 (from France) | 26 September 1907 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7.5% (1999 est.) | 1.3% (2003 est.) |
Industries | tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism | food processing, wood and paper products, textiles, machinery, transportation equipment, banking and insurance, tourism, mining |
Infant mortality rate | 92.89 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 5.96 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 6.83 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 33% (2000 est.) | 1.8% (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) | ANZUS (US suspended security obligations to NZ on 11 August 1986), APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, C, CP, EBRD, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NSG, OECD, OPCW, PCA, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNMISET, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, 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.) |
2,850 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) | High Court; Court of Appeal |
Labor force | 1 million - 1.5 million | 2.008 million (2003 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 80% (1997 est.) | agriculture 10%, industry 25%, services 65% (1995) |
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: 5.6%
permanent crops: 6.99% other: 87.41% (2001) |
Languages | Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages | English (official), Maori (official) |
Legal system | based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and Socialist practice | based on English law, with special land legislation and land courts for the Maori; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
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 House of Representatives - commonly called Parliament (120 seats; 69 members elected by popular vote in single-member constituencies including 7 Maori constituencies, and 51 proportional seats chosen from party lists, all to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 27 July 2002 (next to be held NA 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NZLP 52, NP 27, NZFP 13, ACT New Zealand 9, Green Party 9, UF 8, other 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
53.48 years male: 51.58 years female: 55.44 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 78.49 years
male: 75.5 years female: 81.61 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: 99% (1980 est.) male: NA female: NA |
Location | Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam | Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of Australia |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Oceania |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 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: 10 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 77,523 GRT/108,352 DWT
by type: bulk 3, cargo 2, container 1, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 2 foreign-owned: Australia 1, Isle of Man 1 registered in other countries: 8 (2004 est.) |
Military branches | Lao People's Army (LPA; includes riverine element), Air Force, National Police Department | New Zealand Army, Royal New Zealand Navy, Royal New Zealand Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $55 million (FY98) | $1.147 billion (FY03/04) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.2% (FY96/97) | 1% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,319,537 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 1,033,464 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
710,627 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 868,984 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
64,437 (2001 est.) |
males: 27,157 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Republic Day, 2 December (1975) | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) |
Nationality | noun:
Lao(s) or Laotian(s) adjective: Lao or Laotian |
noun: New Zealander(s)
adjective: New Zealand |
Natural hazards | floods, droughts, and blight | earthquakes are common, though usually not severe; volcanic activity |
Natural resources | timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones | natural gas, iron ore, sand, coal, timber, hydropower, gold, limestone |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 4.05 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | petroleum products 136 km | gas 2,213 km; liquid petroleum gas 79 km; oil 160 km; refined products 304 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Lao People's Revolutionary Party or LPRP [KHAMTAI Siphandon, party president]; other parties proscribed | ACT New Zealand [Richard PREBBLE]; Green Party [Jeanette FITZSIMONS and Rod DONALD]; National Party or NP [Don BRASH]; New Zealand First Party or NZFP [Winston PETERS]; New Zealand Labor Party or NZLP [Helen CLARK]; Progressive Coalition [James (Jim) ANDERTON]; United Future or UF [Peter DUNNE] |
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.) | 3,993,817 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 46.1% (1993 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | 2.48% (2001 est.) | 1.05% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Tauranga, Wellington |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 124, FM 290, shortwave 4 (1998) |
Radios | 730,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 3,898 km
narrow gauge: 3,898 km 1.067-m gauge (506 km electrified) (2003) |
Religions | Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% | Anglican 24%, Presbyterian 18%, Roman Catholic 15%, Methodist 5%, Baptist 2%, other Protestant 3%, unspecified or none 33% (1986) |
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: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 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: excellent domestic and international systems
domestic: NA international: country code - 64; submarine cables to Australia and Fiji; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 25,000 (1997) | 1.765 million (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 4,915 (1997) | 2.599 million (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (1999) | 41 (plus 52 medium-power repeaters and over 650 low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus | predominately mountainous with some large coastal plains |
Total fertility rate | 5.12 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.79 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 5.7% (1997 est.) | 4.7% (2003 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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