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Compare Laos (2001) - Turkmenistan (2001)

Compare Laos (2001) z Turkmenistan (2001)

 Laos (2001)Turkmenistan (2001)
 LaosTurkmenistan
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 5 welayatlar (singular - welayat): Ahal Welayaty (Ashgabat), Balkan Welayaty (Nebitdag), Dashhowuz Welayaty (formerly Tashauz), Lebap Welayaty (Charjew), Mary Welayaty

note:
administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses)
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:
37.88% (male 891,758; female 852,104)

15-64 years:
58.09% (male 1,313,303; female 1,360,690)

65 years and over:
4.03% (male 70,800; female 114,589) (2001 est.)
Agriculture - products sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton; tea, peanuts, rice; water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry cotton, grain; livestock
Airports 51 (2000 est.) 76 (2000 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:
13

2,438 to 3,047 m:
9

1,524 to 2,437 m:
4 (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.)
total:
63

2,438 to 3,047 m:
7

1,524 to 2,437 m:
5

914 to 1,523 m:
10

under 914 m:
41 (2000 est.)
Area total:
236,800 sq km

land:
230,800 sq km

water:
6,000 sq km
total:
488,100 sq km

land:
488,100 sq km

water:
0 sq km
Area - comparative slightly larger than Utah slightly larger than California
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. Annexed by Russia between 1865 and 1885, Turkmenistan became a Soviet republic in 1925. It achieved its independence upon the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. President NIYAZOV retains absolute control over the country and opposition is not tolerated. Extensive hydrocarbon/natural gas reserves could prove a boon to this underdeveloped country if extraction and delivery projects can be worked out.
Birth rate 37.84 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) 28.55 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Budget revenues:
$211 million

expenditures:
$462 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY98/99 est.)
revenues:
$588.6 million

expenditures:
$658.2 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.)
Capital Vientiane Ashgabat
Climate tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April) subtropical desert
Coastline 0 km (landlocked) 0 km; note - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km)
Constitution promulgated 14 August 1991 adopted 18 May 1992
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:
Turkmenistan

local long form:
none

local short form:
Turkmenistan

former:
Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic
Currency kip (LAK) Turkmen manat (TMM)
Death rate 13.02 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) 8.98 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Debt - external $2.46 billion (1998 est.) $2.5 billion (2000 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 Steven R. MANN

embassy:
9 Pushkin Street, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan 774000

mailing address:
use embassy street address

telephone:
[9] (9312) 35-00-45

FAX:
[9] (9312) 51-13-05
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 Mered ORAZOV

chancery:
2207 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:
[1] (202) 588-1500

FAX:
[1] (202) 588-0697
Disputes - international parts of the border with Thailand are indefinite Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined among Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan
Economic aid - recipient $345 million (1999 est.) $27.2 million (1995)
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. Turkmenistan is largely desert country with intensive agriculture in irrigated oases and huge gas (fifth largest reserves in the world) and oil resources. One-half of its irrigated land is planted in cotton, making it the world's tenth largest producer. Until the end of 1993, Turkmenistan had experienced less economic disruption than other former Soviet states because its economy received a boost from higher prices for oil and gas and a sharp increase in hard currency earnings. In 1994, Russia's refusal to export Turkmen gas to hard currency markets and mounting debts of its major customers in the former USSR for gas deliveries contributed to a sharp fall in industrial production and caused the budget to shift from a surplus to a slight deficit. With an authoritarian ex-communist regime in power and a tribally based social structure, Turkmenistan has taken a cautious approach to economic reform, hoping to use gas and cotton sales to sustain its inefficient economy. Privatization goals remain limited. In 1998-2000, Turkmenistan suffered from the continued lack of adequate export routes for natural gas and from obligations on extensive short-term external debt. At the same time, however, total exports rose sharply because of higher international oil and gas prices. Prospects in the near future are discouraging because of widespread internal poverty and the burden of foreign debt. IMF assistance would seem to be necessary, yet the government is not as yet ready to accept IMF requirements. Turkmenistan's 1999 deal to ship 20 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas through Russia's Gazprom pipeline helped alleviate the 2000 fiscal shortfall. Inadequate fiscal restraint and the tenuous nature of Turkmenistan's 2001 gas deals, combined with a lack of economic reform, will limit progress in the near term.
Electricity - consumption 173.6 million kWh (1999) 4.785 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - exports 705 million kWh (1999) 4.1 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - imports 142 million kWh (1999) 1.1 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - production 792 million kWh (1999) 8.371 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel:
2.78%

hydro:
97.22%

nuclear:
0%

other:
0% (1999)
fossil fuel:
99.94%

hydro:
0.06%

nuclear:
0%

other:
0% (1999)
Elevation extremes lowest point:
Mekong River 70 m

highest point:
Phou Bia 2,817 m
lowest point:
Vpadina Akchanaya -81.00 m; note - Sarygamysh Koli is a lake in northern Turkmenistan with a water level that fluctuates above and below the elevation of Vpadina Akchanaya (the lake has dropped as low as -110 m)

highest point:
Gora Ayribaba 3,139 m
Environment - current issues unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; a majority of the population does not have access to potable water contamination of soil and groundwater with agricultural chemicals, pesticides; salination, water-logging of soil due to poor irrigation methods; Caspian Sea pollution; diversion of a large share of the flow of the Amu Darya into irrigation contributes to that river's inability to replenish the Aral Sea; desertification
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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, 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% Turkmen 77%, Uzbek 9.2%, Russian 6.7%, Kazakh 2%, other 5.1% (1995)
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) Turkmen manats per US dollar - 5,200 (January 2001), 5,200 (January 2000), 5,350 (January 1999), 4,070 (January 1997), 2,400 (January 1996)
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 and Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Saparmurat NIYAZOV (since 27 October 1990, when the first direct presidential election occurred); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

head of government:
President and Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Saparmurat NIYAZOV (since 27 October 1990, when the first direct presidential election occurred); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

cabinet:
Council of Ministers appointed by the president

note:
NIYAZOV's term in office was extended indefinitely on 28 December 1999 by the Assembly (Majlis) during a session of the People's Council (Halk Maslahaty)

elections:
president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 21 June 1992 (next scheduled to be held NA); note - President NIYAZOV was unanimously approved as president for life by the Assembly on 28 December 1999); deputy chairmen of the cabinet of ministers are appointed by the president

election results:
Saparmurat NIYAZOV elected president without opposition; percent of vote - Saparmurat NIYAZOV 99.5%
Exports $323 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) $2.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Exports - commodities wood products, garments, electricity, coffee, tin gas 33%, oil 30%, cotton fiber 18%, textiles 8% (1999)
Exports - partners Vietnam, Thailand, Germany, France, Belgium Ukraine, Iran, Turkey, Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan
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 green field with a vertical red stripe near the hoist side, containing five carpet guls (designs used in producing rugs) stacked above two crossed olive branches similar to the olive branches on the UN flag; a white crescent moon and five white stars appear in the upper corner of the field just to the fly side of the red stripe
GDP purchasing power parity - $9 billion (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $19.6 billion (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture:
51%

industry:
22%

services:
27% (1999 est.)
agriculture:
25%

industry:
43%

services:
32% (1999 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $4,300 (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 4% (2000 est.) 16% (2000 est.)
Geographic coordinates 18 00 N, 105 00 E 40 00 N, 60 00 E
Geography - note landlocked landlocked
Highways total:
14,000 km

paved:
3,360 km

unpaved:
10,640 km (1991)
total:
22,000 km

paved:
18,000 km (these roads are said to be hard-surfaced, and include, in addition to conventionally paved roads, some that are surfaced with gravel or other coarse aggregate, making them trafficable in all weather)

unpaved:
4,000 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1996)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%:
4.2%

highest 10%:
26.4% (1992)
lowest 10%:
2.6%

highest 10%:
31.7% (1998)
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 limited illicit cultivator of opium poppy, mostly for domestic consumption; limited government eradication program; increasingly used as transshipment point for illicit drugs from Southwest Asia to Russia and Western Europe; also a transshipment point for acetic anhydride destined for Afghanistan
Imports $540 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) $1.65 billion (c.i.f., 2000 est.)
Imports - commodities machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel machinery and equipment 60%, foodstuffs 15% (1999)
Imports - partners Thailand, Japan, Vietnam, China, Singapore, Hong Kong Ukraine, Turkey, Russia, Germany, US, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan
Independence 19 July 1949 (from France) 27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate 7.5% (1999 est.) 18% (2000 est.)
Industries tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing
Infant mortality rate 92.89 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) 73.25 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 33% (2000 est.) 14% (2000 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) AsDB, CCC, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDB, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 1 (2000) NA
Irrigated land 1,250 sq km (1993 est.)

note:
rainy season irrigation - 2,169 sq km; dry season irrigation - 750 sq km (1998 est.)
13,000 sq km (1993 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) Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president)
Labor force 1 million - 1.5 million 2.34 million (1996)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 80% (1997 est.) agriculture 44%, industry 19%, services 37% (1996)
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:
3,736 km

border countries:
Afghanistan 744 km, Iran 992 km, Kazakhstan 379 km, Uzbekistan 1,621 km
Land use arable land:
3%

permanent crops:
0%

permanent pastures:
3%

forests and woodland:
54%

other:
40% (1993 est.)
arable land:
3%

permanent crops:
0%

permanent pastures:
63%

forests and woodland:
8%

other:
26% (1993 est.)
Languages Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7%
Legal system based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and Socialist practice based on civil law 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
under the 1992 constitution, there are two parliamentary bodies, a unicameral People's Council or Halk Maslahaty (more than 100 seats, some of which are elected by popular vote and some of which are appointed; meets infrequently) and a unicameral Assembly or Majlis (50 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)

elections:
People's Council - NA; Assembly - last held 12 December 1999 (next to be held NA 2004)

election results:
Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; note - all 50 elected officials preapproved by President NIYAZOV; most are from the DPT
Life expectancy at birth total population:
53.48 years

male:
51.58 years

female:
55.44 years (2001 est.)
total population:
61 years

male:
57.43 years

female:
64.76 years (2001 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:
98%

male:
99%

female:
97% (1989 est.)
Location Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan
Map references Southeast Asia Commonwealth of Independent States
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.)
total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,459 GRT/8,865 DWT

ships by type:
container 1 (2000 est.)
Military branches Lao People's Army (LPA; includes riverine element), Air Force, National Police Department Ministry of Defense (Army, Air and Air Defense, Navy, Border Troops, and Internal Troops), National Guard
Military expenditures - dollar figure $55 million (FY98) $90 million (FY99)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 4.2% (FY96/97) 3.4% (FY99)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49:
1,319,537 (2001 est.)
males age 15-49:
1,173,500 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49:
710,627 (2001 est.)
males age 15-49:
952,218 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - military age 18 years of age 18 years of age
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males:
64,437 (2001 est.)
males:
48,292 (2001 est.)
National holiday Republic Day, 2 December (1975) Independence Day, 27 October (1991)
Nationality noun:
Lao(s) or Laotian(s)

adjective:
Lao or Laotian
noun:
Turkmen(s)

adjective:
Turkmen
Natural hazards floods, droughts, and blight NA
Natural resources timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones petroleum, natural gas, coal, sulfur, salt
Net migration rate 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) -1.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Pipelines petroleum products 136 km crude oil 250 km; natural gas 4,400 km
Political parties and leaders Lao People's Revolutionary Party or LPRP [KHAMTAI Siphandon, party president]; other parties proscribed Democratic Party of Turkmenistan or DPT [Saparmurat NIYAZOV]

note:
formal opposition parties are outlawed; unofficial, small opposition movements exist underground or in foreign countries
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.) 4,603,244 (July 2001 est.)
Population below poverty line 46.1% (1993 est.) 58% (1999 est.)
Population growth rate 2.48% (2001 est.) 1.85% (2001 est.)
Ports and harbors none Turkmenbashi
Radio broadcast stations AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 4 (1998) AM 16, FM 8, shortwave 2 (1998)
Radios 730,000 (1997) 1.225 million (1997)
Railways 0 km total:
2,187 km

broad gauge:
2,187 km 1.520-m gauge (1996 est.)
Religions Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2%
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:
0.62 male(s)/female

total population:
0.98 male(s)/female (2001 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:
poorly developed

domestic:
NA

international:
linked by cable and microwave radio relay to other CIS republics and to other countries by leased connections to the Moscow international gateway switch; a new telephone link from Ashgabat to Iran has been established; a new exchange in Ashgabat switches international traffic through Turkey via Intelsat; satellite earth stations - 1 Orbita and 1 Intelsat
Telephones - main lines in use 25,000 (1997) 363,000 (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular 4,915 (1997) 4,300 (1998)
Television broadcast stations 4 (1999) 3 (much programming relayed from Russia and Turkey) (1997)
Terrain mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes rising to mountains in the south; low mountains along border with Iran; borders Caspian Sea in west
Total fertility rate 5.12 children born/woman (2001 est.) 3.58 children born/woman (2001 est.)
Unemployment rate 5.7% (1997 est.) NA%
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
the Amu Darya is an important inland waterway for Turkmenistan
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