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Compare Laos (2001) - Swaziland (2008)
Compare Laos (2001) z Swaziland (2008)
| Laos (2001) | Swaziland (2008) | |
 |  | |
| 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 | 4 districts; Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni |
| 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: 40.3% (male 230,238/female 226,184)
15-64 years: 56.1% (male 304,899/female 331,036) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 15,870/female 24,839) (2007 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton; tea, peanuts, rice; water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry | sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep |
| Airports | 51 (2000 est.) | 18 (2007) |
| 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: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2007) |
| 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: 17
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 10 (2007) |
| Area | total:
236,800 sq km land: 230,800 sq km water: 6,000 sq km |
total: 17,363 sq km
land: 17,203 sq km water: 160 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly larger than Utah | slightly smaller than New Jersey |
| 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. | Autonomy for the Swazis of southern Africa was guaranteed by the British in the late 19th century; independence was granted in 1968. Student and labor unrest during the 1990s pressured King MSWATI III, the world's last absolute monarch, to grudgingly allow political reform and greater democracy, although he has backslid on these promises in recent years. A constitution came into effect in 2006, but political parties remain banned. The African United Democratic Party tried unsuccessfully to register as an official political party in mid 2006. Talks over the constitution broke down between the government and progressive groups in 2007. Swaziland recently surpassed Botswana as the country with the world's highest known HIV/AIDS prevalence rate. |
| Birth rate | 37.84 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 26.98 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Budget | revenues:
$211 million expenditures: $462 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY98/99 est.) |
revenues: $1.216 billion
expenditures: $1.15 billion (2007 est.) |
| Capital | Vientiane | name: Mbabane
geographic coordinates: 26 18 S, 31 06 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: Lobamba (royal and legislative capital) |
| Climate | tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April) | varies from tropical to near temperate |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Constitution | promulgated 14 August 1991 | signed by the King in July 2005 went into effect on 8 February 2006 |
| 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: Kingdom of Swaziland
conventional short form: Swaziland local long form: Umbuso weSwatini local short form: eSwatini |
| Currency | kip (LAK) | - |
| Death rate | 13.02 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 30.35 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Debt - external | $2.46 billion (1998 est.) | $538.6 million (31 December 2007 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: Ambassador Maurice S. PARKER
embassy: Central Bank Building, Mahlokahla Street, Mbabane mailing address: P. O. Box 199, Mbabane telephone: [268] 404-6441 through 404-6445 FAX: [268] 404-5959 |
| 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 Ephraim Mandla HLOPHE
chancery: 1712 New Hampshire Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-5002 FAX: [1] (202) 234-8254 |
| Disputes - international | parts of the border with Thailand are indefinite | in 2006, Swazi king advocates resort to ICJ to claim parts of Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal from South Africa |
| Economic aid - recipient | $345 million (1999 est.) | $46.03 million (2005) |
| 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. | In this small, landlocked economy, subsistence agriculture occupies approximately 70% of the population. The manufacturing sector has diversified since the mid-1980s. Sugar and wood pulp remain important foreign exchange earners. In 2007, the sugar industry increased efficiency and diversification efforts, in response to a 17% decline in EU sugar prices. Mining has declined in importance in recent years with only coal and quarry stone mines remaining active. Surrounded by South Africa, except for a short border with Mozambique, Swaziland is heavily dependent on South Africa from which it receives more than nine-tenths of its imports and to which it sends 60% of its exports. Swaziland's currency is pegged to the South African rand, subsuming Swaziland's monetary policy to South Africa. Customs duties from the Southern African Customs Union, which may equal as much as 70% of government revenue this year, and worker remittances from South Africa substantially supplement domestically earned income. Swaziland is not poor enough to merit an IMF program; however, the country is struggling to reduce the size of the civil service and control costs at public enterprises. The government is trying to improve the atmosphere for foreign investment. With an estimated 40% unemployment rate, Swaziland's need to increase the number and size of small and medium enterprises and attract foreign direct investment is acute. Overgrazing, soil depletion, drought, and sometimes floods persist as problems for the future. More than one-fourth of the population needed emergency food aid in 2006-07 because of drought, and nearly two-fifths of the adult population has been infected by HIV/AIDS. |
| Electricity - consumption | 173.6 million kWh (1999) | 1.3 billion kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - exports | 705 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - imports | 142 million kWh (1999) | 872 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2007) |
| Electricity - production | 792 million kWh (1999) | 460 million kWh (2005) |
| 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: Great Usutu River 21 m
highest point: Emlembe 1,862 m |
| Environment - current issues | unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; a majority of the population does not have access to potable water | limited supplies of potable water; wildlife populations being depleted because of excessive hunting; overgrazing; soil degradation; soil erosion |
| 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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
| 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% | African 97%, European 3% |
| 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) | lilangeni per US dollar - 7.4 (2007), 6.85 (2006), 6.3593 (2005), 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003) |
| 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: King MSWATI III (since 25 April 1986)
head of government: Prime Minister Absolom Themba DLAMINI (since 14 November 2003) cabinet: Cabinet recommended by the prime minister and confirmed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch from among the elected members of the House of Assembly |
| Exports | $323 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 0 bbl/day (2004) |
| Exports - commodities | wood products, garments, electricity, coffee, tin | soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus and canned fruit |
| Exports - partners | Vietnam, Thailand, Germany, France, Belgium | South Africa 59.7%, EU 8.8%, US 8.8%, Mozambique 6.2% (2006) |
| 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 | three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple width), and blue; the red band is edged in yellow; centered in the red band is a large black and white shield covering two spears and a staff decorated with feather tassels, all placed horizontally |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $9 billion (2000 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
51% industry: 22% services: 27% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 11.8%
industry: 45.8% services: 42.3% (2007 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2000 est.) | - |
| GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2000 est.) | 1.6% (2007 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 18 00 N, 105 00 E | 26 30 S, 31 30 E |
| Geography - note | landlocked | landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South Africa |
| 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%: 1.6%
highest 10%: 40.7% (2001) |
| 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.) | 3,530 bbl/day (2004) |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel | motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals |
| Imports - partners | Thailand, Japan, Vietnam, China, Singapore, Hong Kong | South Africa 95.6%, EU 0.9%, Japan 0.9%, Singapore 0.3% (2006) |
| Independence | 19 July 1949 (from France) | 6 September 1968 (from UK) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 7.5% (1999 est.) | 1% (2007 est.) |
| Industries | tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism | coal, wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates, textile and apparel |
| Infant mortality rate | 92.89 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 70.66 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 74 deaths/1,000 live births female: 67.21 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 33% (2000 est.) | 6% (2007 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) | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, 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.) |
500 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) | High Court; Supreme Court; judges for both courts are appointed by the monarch |
| Labor force | 1 million - 1.5 million | 300,000 (2006) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 80% (1997 est.) | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
| 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: 535 km
border countries: Mozambique 105 km, South Africa 430 km |
| Land use | arable land:
3% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 3% forests and woodland: 54% other: 40% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 10.25%
permanent crops: 0.81% other: 88.94% (2005) |
| Languages | Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages | English (official, government business conducted in English), siSwati (official) |
| Legal system | based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and Socialist practice | based on South African Roman-Dutch law in statutory courts and Swazi traditional law and custom in traditional courts; 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 |
bicameral Parliament or Libandla consists of the Senate (30 seats; 10 members appointed by the House of Assembly and 20 appointed by the monarch; to serve five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (65 seats; 10 members appointed by the monarch and 55 elected by popular vote; to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Assembly - last held 18 October 2003 (next to be held in October 2008) election results: House of Assembly - balloting is done on a nonparty basis; candidates for election are nominated by the local council of each constituency and for each constituency the three candidates with the most votes in the first round of voting are narrowed to a single winner by a second round |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population:
53.48 years male: 51.58 years female: 55.44 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 32.23 years
male: 31.84 years female: 32.62 years (2007 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: 81.6% male: 82.6% female: 80.8% (2003 est.) |
| Location | Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam | Southern Africa, between Mozambique and South Africa |
| Map references | Southeast Asia | Africa |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
| 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 branches | Lao People's Army (LPA; includes riverine element), Air Force, National Police Department | Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force (USDF): Ground Force (includes air wing), Royal Swaziland Police Force (RSPF) (2007) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $55 million (FY98) | - |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.2% (FY96/97) | 4.7% (2006) |
| 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) | Independence Day, 6 September (1968) |
| Nationality | noun:
Lao(s) or Laotian(s) adjective: Lao or Laotian |
noun: Swazi(s)
adjective: Swazi |
| Natural hazards | floods, droughts, and blight | drought |
| Natural resources | timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones | asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold and diamond deposits, quarry stone, and talc |
| Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Pipelines | petroleum products 136 km | - |
| Political parties and leaders | Lao People's Revolutionary Party or LPRP [KHAMTAI Siphandon, party president]; other parties proscribed | the status of political parties, previously banned, is unclear under the new (2006) Constitution and currently being debated - the following are considered political associations; African United Democratic Party or AUDP [Stanley MAUNDZISA, president]; Imbokodvo National Movement or INM; Ngwane National Liberatory Congress or NNLC [Obed DLAMINI, president]; People's United Democratic Movement or PUDEMO [Mario MASUKU, president] |
| 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.) | 1,133,066
note: estimates for this country explicitly 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 and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2007 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 46.1% (1993 est.) | 69% (2006) |
| Population growth rate | 2.48% (2001 est.) | -0.337% (2007 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | none | - |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 3, FM 2 (plus 4 repeaters), shortwave 3 (2004) |
| Radios | 730,000 (1997) | - |
| Railways | 0 km | total: 301 km
narrow gauge: 301 km 1.067-m gauge (2006) |
| Religions | Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% | Zionist 40% (a blend of Christianity and indigenous ancestral worship), Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 10%, other (includes Anglican, Bahai, Methodist, Mormon, Jewish) 30% |
| 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: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.018 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.921 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.639 male(s)/female total population: 0.947 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age |
| 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: a somewhat modern but not an advanced system
domestic: mobile-cellular subscribership is increasing; combined fixed-line and mobile cellular teledensity about 25 telephones per 100 persons; telephone system consists of carrier-equipped, open-wire lines and low-capacity, microwave radio relay international: country code - 268; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 25,000 (1997) | 44,000 (2006) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 4,915 (1997) | 250,000 (2006) |
| Television broadcast stations | 4 (1999) | 12 (includes 7 relay stations) (2004) |
| Terrain | mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus | mostly mountains and hills; some moderately sloping plains |
| Total fertility rate | 5.12 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.43 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 5.7% (1997 est.) | 40% (2006 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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