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Compare Laos (2001) - Tuvalu (2003)
Compare Laos (2001) z Tuvalu (2003)
| Laos (2001) | Tuvalu (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 |
| 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: 31.9% (male 1,838; female 1,772)
15-64 years: 63% (male 3,432; female 3,687) 65 years and over: 5.1% (male 231; female 345) (2003 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton; tea, peanuts, rice; water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry | coconuts; fish |
| Airports | 51 (2000 est.) | 1 (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.) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
| Area | total:
236,800 sq km land: 230,800 sq km water: 6,000 sq km |
total: 26 sq km
land: 26 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly larger than Utah | 0.1 times the size of 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. | In 1974, ethnic differences within the British colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands caused the Polynesians of the Ellice Islands to vote for separation from the Micronesians of the Gilbert Islands. The following year, the Ellice Islands became the separate British colony of Tuvalu. Independence was granted in 1978. In 2000, Tuvalu negotiated a contract leasing its Internet domain name ".tv" for $50 million in royalties over the next dozen years. |
| Birth rate | 37.84 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 21.58 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Budget | revenues:
$211 million expenditures: $462 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY98/99 est.) |
revenues: $22.5 million
expenditures: $11.2 million, including capital expenditures of $4.2 million (2000 est.) |
| Capital | Vientiane | Funafuti |
| Climate | tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April) | tropical; moderated by easterly trade winds (March to November); westerly gales and heavy rain (November to March) |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 24 km |
| Constitution | promulgated 14 August 1991 | 1 October 1978 |
| 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: Tuvalu former: Ellice Islands note: "Tuvalu" means "group of eight," referring to the country's eight traditionally inhabited islands |
| Currency | kip (LAK) | Australian dollar (AUD); note - there is also a Tuvaluan dollar |
| Death rate | 13.02 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 7.34 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 Tuvalu; the US ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Tuvalu |
| 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 |
Tuvalu does not have an embassy in the US - the country's only diplomatic post is in Fiji - Tuvalu does, however, have a UN office located at 800 2nd Avenue, Suite 400D, New York, New York 10017, telephone: [1] (212) 490-0534 |
| Disputes - international | parts of the border with Thailand are indefinite | none |
| Economic aid - recipient | $345 million (1999 est.) | $13 million ; note - major donors are Australia, Japan, and the US (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. | Tuvalu consists of a densely populated, scattered group of nine coral atolls with poor soil. The country has no known mineral resources and few exports. Subsistence farming and fishing are the primary economic activities. Fewer than 1,000 tourists, on average, visit Tuvalu annually. Government revenues largely come from the sale of stamps and coins and worker remittances. About 1,000 Tuvaluans work in Nauru in the phosphate mining industry. Nauru has begun repatriating Tuvaluans, however, as phosphate resources decline. Substantial income is received annually from an international trust fund established in 1987 by Australia, NZ, and the UK and supported also by Japan and South Korea. Thanks to wise investments and conservative withdrawals, this Fund has grown from an initial $17 million to over $35 million in 1999. The US government is also a major revenue source for Tuvalu, because of payments from a 1988 treaty on fisheries. In an effort to reduce its dependence on foreign aid, the government is pursuing public sector reforms, including privatization of some government functions and personnel cuts of up to 7%. In 1998, Tuvalu began deriving revenue from use of its area code for "900" lines and in 2000, from the lease of its ".tv" Internet domain name. Royalties from these new technology sources could increase substantially over the next decade. With merchandise exports only a fraction of merchandise imports, continued reliance must be placed on fishing and telecommunications license fees, remittances from overseas workers, official transfers, and investment income from overseas assets. |
| Electricity - consumption | 173.6 million kWh (1999) | - |
| Electricity - exports | 705 million kWh (1999) | - |
| Electricity - imports | 142 million kWh (1999) | - |
| Electricity - production | 792 million kWh (1999) | - |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
2.78% hydro: 97.22% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: NA%
hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Mekong River 70 m highest point: Phou Bia 2,817 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
| Environment - current issues | unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; a majority of the population does not have access to potable water | since there are no streams or rivers and groundwater is not potable, most water needs must be met by catchment systems with storage facilities (the Japanese Government has built one desalination plant and plans to build one other); beachhead erosion because of the use of sand for building materials; excessive clearance of forest undergrowth for use as fuel; damage to coral reefs from the spread of the Crown of Thorns starfish; Tuvalu is very concerned about global increases in greenhouse gas emissions and their effect on rising sea levels, which threaten the country's underground water table; in 2000, the government appealed to Australia and New Zealand to take in Tuvaluans if rising sea levels should make evacuation necessary |
| 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: Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity, 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% | Polynesian 96%, Micronesian 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) | Tuvaluan dollars or Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.8406 (2002), 1.9320 (2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888 (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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Faimalaga LUKA (since 9 September 2003)
head of government: Prime Minister Saufatu SOPOANGA (since 2 August 2002) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; prime minister and deputy prime minister elected by and from the members of Parliament; election last held 2 August 2002 (next to be held NA) election results: Saufatu SOPOANGA elected prime minister; Parliamentary vote - Saufatu SOPOANGA 8, Amasone KILEI 7 |
| Exports | $323 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $276,000 f.o.b. (1997) |
| Exports - commodities | wood products, garments, electricity, coffee, tin | copra, fish |
| Exports - partners | Vietnam, Thailand, Germany, France, Belgium | UK 58.3%, Italy 16.7%, Denmark 8.3%, Fiji 8.3% (2002) |
| 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 | light blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the outer half of the flag represents a map of the country with nine yellow five-pointed stars symbolizing the nine islands |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $9 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $12.2 million (2000 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 - $1,100 (2000 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2000 est.) | 3% (2000 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 18 00 N, 105 00 E | 8 00 S, 178 00 E |
| Geography - note | landlocked | one of the smallest and most remote countries on Earth; six of the coral atolls - Nanumea, Nui, Vaitupu, Nukufetau, Funafuti, and Nukulaelae - have lagoons open to the ocean; Nanumaya and Niutao have landlocked lagoons; Niulakita does not have a lagoon |
| Highways | total:
14,000 km paved: 3,360 km unpaved: 10,640 km (1991) |
total: 8 km
paved: 0 km unpaved: 8 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.) | $7.2 million c.i.f. (1998) |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel | food, animals, mineral fuels, machinery, manufactured goods |
| Imports - partners | Thailand, Japan, Vietnam, China, Singapore, Hong Kong | Hungary 68.2%, Japan 12.9%, Fiji 11.9% (2002) |
| Independence | 19 July 1949 (from France) | 1 October 1978 (from UK) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 7.5% (1999 est.) | NA% |
| Industries | tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism | fishing, tourism, copra |
| Infant mortality rate | 92.89 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 21.34 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 24.35 deaths/1,000 live births female: 18.18 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 33% (2000 est.) | 5% (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) | ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, IFRCS (associate), ITU, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WTrO (applicant) |
| 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.) |
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) | High Court (a chief justice visits twice a year to preside over its sessions; its rulings can be appealed to the Court of Appeal in Fiji); eight Island Courts (with limited jurisdiction) |
| Labor force | 1 million - 1.5 million | 7,000 (2001 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 80% (1997 est.) | people make a living mainly through exploitation of the sea, reefs, and atolls and from wages sent home by those abroad (mostly workers in the phosphate industry and sailors) |
| 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: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.) |
| Languages | Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages | Tuvaluan, English, Samoan, Kiribati (on the island of Nui) |
| Legal system | based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and Socialist practice | NA |
| 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 Parliament or Fale I Fono, also called House of Assembly (15 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 25 July 2002 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 15 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population:
53.48 years male: 51.58 years female: 55.44 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 67.32 years
male: 65.15 years female: 69.59 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: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
| Location | Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam | Oceania, island group consisting of nine coral atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia |
| Map references | Southeast Asia | Oceania |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | contiguous zone: 24 NM
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.) |
total: 4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 33,199 GRT/56,187 DWT
ships by type: cargo 2, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Germany 5 (2002 est.) |
| Military branches | Lao People's Army (LPA; includes riverine element), Air Force, National Police Department | no regular military forces; Police Force (includes Maritime Surveillance Unit for search and rescue missions and surveillance operations) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $55 million (FY98) | $NA |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.2% (FY96/97) | NA% |
| 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, 1 October (1978) |
| Nationality | noun:
Lao(s) or Laotian(s) adjective: Lao or Laotian |
noun: Tuvaluan(s)
adjective: Tuvaluan |
| Natural hazards | floods, droughts, and blight | severe tropical storms are usually rare, but, in 1997, there were three cyclones; low level of islands make them very sensitive to changes in sea level |
| Natural resources | timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones | fish |
| 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 | there are no political parties but members of Parliament usually align themselves in informal groupings |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | noncommunist political groups proscribed; most opposition leaders fled the country in 1975 | none |
| Population | 5,635,967 (July 2001 est.) | 11,305 (July 2003 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 46.1% (1993 est.) | NA% |
| Population growth rate | 2.48% (2001 est.) | 1.42% (2003 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | none | Funafuti, Nukufetau |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1999) |
| Radios | 730,000 (1997) | - |
| Railways | 0 km | 0 km |
| Religions | Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% | Church of Tuvalu (Congregationalist) 97%, Seventh-Day Adventist 1.4%, Baha'i 1%, other 0.6% |
| 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: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 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: serves particular needs for internal communications
domestic: radiotelephone communications between islands international: NA |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 25,000 (1997) | 1,000 (1997) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 4,915 (1997) | 0 (1994) |
| Television broadcast stations | 4 (1999) | 0 (1997) |
| Terrain | mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus | very low-lying and narrow coral atolls |
| Total fertility rate | 5.12 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.05 children born/woman (2003 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 |
none |
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