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Compare Laos (2001) - Western Sahara (2005)
Compare Laos (2001) z Western Sahara (2005)
| Laos (2001) | Western Sahara (2005) | |
 |  | |
| 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 (under de facto control of Morocco) |
| 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: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA |
| Agriculture - products | sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton; tea, peanuts, rice; water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry | fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads) |
| Airports | 51 (2000 est.) | 11 (2004 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: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (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: 8
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
| Area | total:
236,800 sq km land: 230,800 sq km water: 6,000 sq km |
total: 266,000 sq km
land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| 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. | Morocco virtually annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara) in 1976, and the rest of the territory in 1979, following Mauritania's withdrawal. A guerrilla war with the Polisario Front contesting Rabat's sovereignty ended in a 1991 UN-brokered cease-fire; a UN-organized referendum on final status has been repeatedly postponed. |
| Birth rate | 37.84 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | NA births/1,000 population |
| Budget | revenues:
$211 million expenditures: $462 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY98/99 est.) |
revenues: NA
expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA |
| Capital | Vientiane | none |
| Climate | tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April) | hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 1,110 km |
| Constitution | promulgated 14 August 1991 | - |
| 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: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara |
| Currency | kip (LAK) | - |
| Death rate | 13.02 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 population |
| 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 |
none |
| 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 |
| Disputes - international | parts of the border with Thailand are indefinite | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, whose sovereignty remains unresolved - UN-administered cease-fire has remained in effect since September 1991, administered by the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), but attempts to hold a referendum have failed and parties thus far have rejected all brokered proposals |
| Economic aid - recipient | $345 million (1999 est.) | NA |
| 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. | Western Sahara depends on pastoral nomadism, fishing, and phosphate mining as the principal sources of income for the population. The territory lacks sufficient rainfall for sustainable agricultural production, and most of the food for the urban population must be imported. All trade and other economic activities are controlled by the Moroccan Government. Moroccan energy interests in 2001 signed contracts to explore for oil off the coast of Western Sahara, which has angered the Polisario. Incomes and standards of living in Western Sahara are substantially below the Moroccan level. |
| Electricity - consumption | 173.6 million kWh (1999) | 83.7 million kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - exports | 705 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - imports | 142 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - production | 792 million kWh (1999) | 90 million kWh (2002) |
| 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: Sebjet Tah -55 m
highest point: unnamed location 463 m |
| Environment - current issues | unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; a majority of the population does not have access to potable water | sparse water and lack of arable land |
| 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: none of the selected agreements
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% | Arab, Berber |
| 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) | Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 8.868 (2004), 9.5744 (2003), 11.0206 (2002), 11.303 (2001), 10.6256 (2000) |
| 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% |
none |
| Exports | $323 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA |
| Exports - commodities | wood products, garments, electricity, coffee, tin | phosphates 62% |
| Exports - partners | Vietnam, Thailand, Germany, France, Belgium | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts |
| 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 | - |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $9 billion (2000 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
51% industry: 22% services: 27% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: 40% (1996 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - NA |
| GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2000 est.) | NA |
| Geographic coordinates | 18 00 N, 105 00 E | 24 30 N, 13 00 W |
| Geography - note | landlocked | the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas |
| Highways | total:
14,000 km paved: 3,360 km unpaved: 10,640 km (1991) |
total: 6,200 km
paved: 1,350 km unpaved: 4,850 km (1991 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.) | NA |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel | fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs |
| Imports - partners | Thailand, Japan, Vietnam, China, Singapore, Hong Kong | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts |
| Independence | 19 July 1949 (from France) | - |
| Industrial production growth rate | 7.5% (1999 est.) | NA |
| Industries | tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism | phosphate mining, handicrafts |
| Infant mortality rate | 92.89 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
| 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) | none |
| 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.) |
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) | - |
| Labor force | 1 million - 1.5 million | 12,000 |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 80% (1997 est.) | animal husbandry and subsistence farming 50% |
| 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: 2,046 km
border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km |
| Land use | arable land:
3% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 3% forests and woodland: 54% other: 40% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 0.02%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.98% (2001) |
| Languages | Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages | Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic |
| Legal system | based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and Socialist practice | - |
| 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 |
- |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population:
53.48 years male: 51.58 years female: 55.44 years (2001 est.) |
total population: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years |
| 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 | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco |
| Map references | Southeast Asia | Africa |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue |
| 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 | - |
| 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.) |
- |
| 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) | - |
| Nationality | noun:
Lao(s) or Laotian(s) adjective: Lao or Laotian |
noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)
adjective: Sahrawi, Sahrawian, Sahraouian |
| Natural hazards | floods, droughts, and blight | hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting visibility |
| Natural resources | timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones | phosphates, iron ore |
| Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | - |
| Pipelines | petroleum products 136 km | - |
| Political parties and leaders | Lao People's Revolutionary Party or LPRP [KHAMTAI Siphandon, party president]; other parties proscribed | - |
| 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.) | 273,008 (July 2005 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 46.1% (1993 est.) | NA |
| Population growth rate | 2.48% (2001 est.) | NA |
| Ports and harbors | none | Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, Laayoune (El Aaiun) |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) |
| Radios | 730,000 (1997) | - |
| Railways | 0 km | - |
| Religions | Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% | Muslim |
| 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.) |
NA |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | none; a UN-sponsored voter identification campaign not yet completed |
| 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: sparse and limited system
domestic: NA international: country code - 212; tied into Morocco's system by microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, and satellite; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) linked to Rabat, Morocco |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 25,000 (1997) | about 2,000 (1999 est.) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 4,915 (1997) | 0 (1999) |
| Television broadcast stations | 4 (1999) | NA |
| Terrain | mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus | mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast |
| Total fertility rate | 5.12 children born/woman (2001 est.) | NA children born/woman |
| 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 |
- |
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