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Compare Laos (2001) - Reunion (2003)
Compare Laos (2001) z Reunion (2003)
| Laos (2001) | Reunion (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 (overseas department of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 4 arrondissements, 24 communes, and 47 cantons |
| 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: 31.3% (male 121,119; female 115,501)
15-64 years: 62.8% (male 233,607; female 240,502) 65 years and over: 5.9% (male 18,036; female 26,406) (2003 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton; tea, peanuts, rice; water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry | sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn |
| Airports | 51 (2000 est.) | 2 (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.) |
total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
| 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: 2,517 sq km
land: 2,507 sq km water: 10 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly larger than Utah | slightly smaller than Rhode Island |
| 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 Portuguese discovered the uninhabited island in 1513. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French immigration, supplemented by influxes of Africans, Chinese, Malays, and Malabar Indians, gave the island its ethnic mix. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cost the island its importance as a stopover on the East Indies trade route. |
| Birth rate | 37.84 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 20.17 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Budget | revenues:
$211 million expenditures: $462 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY98/99 est.) |
revenues: $1.26 billion
expenditures: $2.62 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998) |
| Capital | Vientiane | Saint-Denis |
| Climate | tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April) | tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry from May to November, hot and rainy from November to April |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 207 km |
| Constitution | promulgated 14 August 1991 | 28 September 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 Reunion
conventional short form: Reunion local long form: none local short form: Ile de la Reunion former: Bourbon Island |
| Currency | kip (LAK) | euro (EUR) |
| Death rate | 13.02 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 5.49 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Debt - external | $2.46 billion (1998 est.) | $NA |
| 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 | none |
| Economic aid - recipient | $345 million (1999 est.) | $NA; note - substantial annual subsidies from France |
| 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 has traditionally been based on agriculture, but services now dominate. Sugarcane has been the primary crop for more than a century, and in some years it accounts for 85% of exports. The government has been pushing the development of a tourist industry to relieve high unemployment, which amounts to one-third of the labor force. The gap in Reunion between the well-off and the poor is extraordinary and accounts for the persistent social tensions. The white and Indian communities are substantially better off than other segments of the population, often approaching European standards, whereas minority groups suffer the poverty and unemployment typical of the poorer nations of the African continent. The outbreak of severe rioting in February 1991 illustrates the seriousness of socioeconomic tensions. The economic well-being of Reunion depends heavily on continued financial assistance from France. |
| Electricity - consumption | 173.6 million kWh (1999) | 1.005 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) | 1.08 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
2.78% hydro: 97.22% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 55.5%
hydro: 44.5% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Mekong River 70 m highest point: Phou Bia 2,817 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 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% | French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian |
| 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: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Gonthier FRIEDERICI (since NA)
head of government: President of the General Council Jean-Luc POUDROUX (since NA March 1998) and President of the Regional Council Paul VERGES (since NA March 1993) 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 the Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils |
| Exports | $323 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
| Exports - commodities | wood products, garments, electricity, coffee, tin | sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3%, (1993) |
| Exports - partners | Vietnam, Thailand, Germany, France, Belgium | France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (2000) |
| 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.) | purchasing power parity - $4.174 billion (1999 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
51% industry: 22% services: 27% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 8%
industry: 19% services: 73% (2000 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5,600 (2002 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2000 est.) | 2.5% (2002 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 18 00 N, 105 00 E | 21 06 S, 55 36 E |
| Geography - note | landlocked | this mountainous, volcanic island has an active volcano, Piton de la Fournaise; there is a tropical cyclone center at Saint-Denis, which is the monitoring station for the whole of the Indian Ocean |
| Highways | total:
14,000 km paved: 3,360 km unpaved: 10,640 km (1991) |
total: 2,724 km
paved: 1,300 km (including 73 km of four-lane road) unpaved: 1,424 km (1994) |
| 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 (2001) |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel | manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products |
| Imports - partners | Thailand, Japan, Vietnam, China, Singapore, Hong Kong | France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (2000) |
| 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 | sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction |
| Infant mortality rate | 92.89 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 8.13 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.89 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.34 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) | FZ, InOC, WFTU |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 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.) |
120 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) | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel |
| Labor force | 1 million - 1.5 million | 309,900 (2000) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 80% (1997 est.) | agriculture 13%, industry 12%, services 75% (2000) |
| 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: 13.2%
permanent crops: 2% other: 84.8% (1998 est.) |
| Languages | Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages | French (official), Creole widely used |
| Legal system | based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and Socialist practice | French 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 |
unicameral General Council (49 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council (45 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held 15 and 22 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004); Regional Council - last held 15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - various right-wing candidates 13, PCR 10, PS 10, UDF 8, RPR 6, other left-wing candidates 2; Regional Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PCR 19, UDF 9, RPR 8, various right-wing candidates 4, various left-wing candidates 5 note: Reunion elects three representatives to the French Senate; elections last held NA 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Reunion also elects five deputies to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP-RPR 1, UMP 1, PCR 1 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population:
53.48 years male: 51.58 years female: 55.44 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 73.43 years
male: 70.03 years female: 77 years (2003 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: 88.9% male: 87% female: 90.8% (2003 est.) |
| Location | Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar |
| Map references | Southeast Asia | World |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
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.) |
- |
| 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 indigenous military forces; French forces (including Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie) |
| 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.) |
males age 15-49: 198,341 (2003 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
710,627 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 101,116 (2003 est.) |
| Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | 18 years of age (2003 est.) |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
64,437 (2001 est.) |
males: 6,795 (2003 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: Reunionese (singular and plural)
adjective: Reunionese |
| Natural hazards | floods, droughts, and blight | periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano |
| Natural resources | timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones | fish, arable land, hydropower |
| Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 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 | Communist Party of Reunion or PCR [Paul VERGES]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Andre Maurice PIHOUEE]; Socialist Party or PS [Jean-Claude FRUTEAU]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Gilbert GERARD] |
| 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.) | 755,171 (July 2003 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 46.1% (1993 est.) | NA% |
| Population growth rate | 2.48% (2001 est.) | 1.47% (2003 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | none | Le Port, Pointe des Galets |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (2001) |
| Radios | 730,000 (1997) | - |
| Railways | 0 km | 0 km |
| Religions | Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% | Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995) |
| 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: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2003 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: adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denis
domestic: modern open-wire and microwave radio relay network international: radiotelephone communication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 25,000 (1997) | 268,500 (1999) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 4,915 (1997) | 197,000 (September 2000) |
| Television broadcast stations | 4 (1999) | 35 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (2001) |
| Terrain | mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus | mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast |
| Total fertility rate | 5.12 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.53 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 5.7% (1997 est.) | 36% (1999 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 |
none |
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