Laos (2001) | Yemen (2007) | |
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 | 19 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Abyan, 'Adan, Ad Dali', Al Bayda', Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf, Al Mahrah, Al Mahwit, 'Amran, Dhamar, Hadramawt, Hajjah, Ibb, Lahij, Ma'rib, Sa'dah, San'a', Shabwah, Ta'izz
note: for electoral and administrative purposes, the capital city of Sanaa is treated as an additional governorate |
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: 46.3% (male 5,239,003/female 5,047,301)
15-64 years: 51.1% (male 5,781,491/female 5,585,152) 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 281,121/female 296,463) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton; tea, peanuts, rice; water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry | grain, fruits, vegetables, pulses, qat, coffee, cotton; dairy products, livestock (sheep, goats, cattle, camels), poultry; fish |
Airports | 51 (2000 est.) | 50 (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: 17
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 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: 33
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 4 (2007) |
Area | total:
236,800 sq km land: 230,800 sq km water: 6,000 sq km |
total: 527,970 sq km
land: 527,970 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Perim, Socotra, the former Yemen Arab Republic (YAR or North Yemen), and the former People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY or South Yemen) |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Utah | slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming |
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. | North Yemen became independent of the Ottoman Empire in 1918. The British, who had set up a protectorate area around the southern port of Aden in the 19th century, withdrew in 1967 from what became South Yemen. Three years later, the southern government adopted a Marxist orientation. The massive exodus of hundreds of thousands of Yemenis from the south to the north contributed to two decades of hostility between the states. The two countries were formally unified as the Republic of Yemen in 1990. A southern secessionist movement in 1994 was quickly subdued. In 2000, Saudi Arabia and Yemen agreed to a delimitation of their border. |
Birth rate | 37.84 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 42.67 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$211 million expenditures: $462 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY98/99 est.) |
revenues: $7.363 billion
expenditures: $7.199 billion (2006 est.) |
Capital | Vientiane | name: Sanaa
geographic coordinates: 15 21 N, 44 12 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April) | mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 1,906 km |
Constitution | promulgated 14 August 1991 | 16 May 1991; amended 29 September 1994 and February 2001 |
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: Republic of Yemen
conventional short form: Yemen local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah local short form: Al Yaman former: Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen] and People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen] |
Currency | kip (LAK) | - |
Death rate | 13.02 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 8.05 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $2.46 billion (1998 est.) | $5.494 billion (2006 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 Thomas C. KRAJESKI
embassy: Sa'awan Street, Sanaa mailing address: P. O. Box 22347, Sanaa telephone: [967] (1) 755-2000 ext. 2153 or 2266 FAX: [967] (1) 303-182 |
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 Abd al-Wahab Abdallah al-HAJRI
chancery: 2319 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 965-4760 FAX: [1] (202) 337-2017 |
Disputes - international | parts of the border with Thailand are indefinite | Saudi Arabia has reinforced its concrete-filled security barrier along sections of the fully demarcated border with Yemen to stem illegal cross-border activities |
Economic aid - recipient | $345 million (1999 est.) | $2.3 billion (2003-07 disbursements) |
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. | Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, reported average annual growth of 3.5% from 2000 through 2006. Its economic fortunes depend mostly on oil. Oil revenues probably increased in 2006 as a result of higher prices. Yemen was on an IMF-supported structural adjustment program designed to modernize and streamline the economy, which led to substantial foreign debt relief and restructuring. However, government dedication to the program waned in 2001 for political reasons. Yemen is struggling to control excessive spending and rampant corruption. Yemen is dependent on foreign aid to finance its budget deficits and development projects. In November, Yemen secured $4.7 billion in assistance from Arabian Gulf and Western donors. |
Electricity - consumption | 173.6 million kWh (1999) | 3.381 billion kWh (2005 est.) |
Electricity - exports | 705 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 142 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 792 million kWh (1999) | 4.456 billion kWh (2005 est.) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
2.78% hydro: 97.22% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Mekong River 70 m highest point: Phou Bia 2,817 m |
lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m
highest point: Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,760 m |
Environment - current issues | unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; a majority of the population does not have access to potable water | very limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; overgrazing; soil erosion; 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, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, 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% | predominantly Arab; but also Afro-Arab, South Asians, Europeans |
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) | Yemeni rials per US dollar - 197.18 (2006), 192.67 (2005), 184.78 (2004), 183.45 (2003), 175.63 (2002) |
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 Ali Abdallah SALIH (since 22 May 1990, the former president of North Yemen, assumed office upon the merger of North and South Yemen); Vice President Maj. Gen. Abd al-Rab Mansur al-HADI (since 3 October 1994)
head of government: Prime Minister Ali Muhammad MUJAWWAR (since 31 March 2007); Deputy Prime Minister Rashad Muhammad al-ALIMI cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 20 September 2006 (next to be held in September 2013); vice president appointed by the president; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Ali Abdallah SALIH elected president; percent of vote - Ali Abdallah SALIH 77.2%, Faysal BIN SHAMLAN 21.8% |
Exports | $323 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 320,600 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | wood products, garments, electricity, coffee, tin | crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish |
Exports - partners | Vietnam, Thailand, Germany, France, Belgium | China 31.4%, India 17.4%, Thailand 16.7%, South Korea 7%, US 6.7%, UAE 4.1% (2006) |
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 | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black; similar to the flag of Syria, which has two green stars, and of Iraq, which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription), in a horizontal line centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt, which has a heraldic eagle centered in the white band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $9 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
51% industry: 22% services: 27% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 12.4%
industry: 42.2% services: 45.4% (2006 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2000 est.) | 2.6% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 18 00 N, 105 00 E | 15 00 N, 48 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked | strategic location on Bab el Mandeb, the strait linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, one of world's most active shipping lanes |
Highways | total:
14,000 km paved: 3,360 km unpaved: 10,640 km (1991) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
4.2% highest 10%: 26.4% (1992) |
lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 25.9% (2003) |
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 bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel | food and live animals, machinery and equipment, chemicals |
Imports - partners | Thailand, Japan, Vietnam, China, Singapore, Hong Kong | UAE 16.4%, China 12.8%, Saudi Arabia 7.7%, Kuwait 5.8%, Brazil 4.5%, Malaysia 4.2%, US 4% (2006) |
Independence | 19 July 1949 (from France) | 22 May 1990 (Republic of Yemen established with the merger of the Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen] and the Marxist-dominated People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen]); note - previously North Yemen had become independent in November 1918 (from the Ottoman Empire) and South Yemen became independent on 30 November 1967 (from the UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7.5% (1999 est.) | 3% (2003 est.) |
Industries | tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism | crude oil production and petroleum refining; small-scale production of cotton textiles and leather goods; food processing; handicrafts; small aluminum products factory; cement; commercial ship repair |
Infant mortality rate | 92.89 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 57.88 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 62.48 deaths/1,000 live births female: 53.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 33% (2000 est.) | 20.8% (2006 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) | AFESD, AMF, CAEU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) |
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.) |
5,500 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) | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 1 million - 1.5 million | 5.972 million (2006 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 80% (1997 est.) | note: most people are employed in agriculture and herding; services, construction, industry, and commerce account for less than one-fourth of the labor force |
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: 1,746 km
border countries: Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km |
Land use | arable land:
3% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 3% forests and woodland: 54% other: 40% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 2.91%
permanent crops: 0.25% other: 96.84% (2005) |
Languages | Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages | Arabic |
Legal system | based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and Socialist practice | based on Islamic law, Turkish law, English common law, and local tribal customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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 |
a bicameral legislature consisting of a Shura Council (111 seats; members appointed by the president) and a House of Representatives (301 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: last held on 27 April 2003 (next to be held in April 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - GPC 228, Islah 47, YSP 7, Nasserite Unionist Party 3, National Arab Socialist Ba'th Party 2, independents 14 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
53.48 years male: 51.58 years female: 55.44 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 62.52 years
male: 60.61 years female: 64.54 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: 50.2% male: 70.5% female: 30% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam | Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Middle East |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
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 (1000 GRT or over) 15,474 GRT/18,072 DWT
by type: cargo 1, chemical tanker 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1 registered in other countries: 12 (Bolivia 1, Cambodia 3, North Korea 2, Panama 5, St Kitts and Nevis 1) (2007) |
Military - note | - | a Coast Guard was established in 2002 |
Military branches | Lao People's Army (LPA; includes riverine element), Air Force, National Police Department | Army (includes Republican Guard), Navy (includes Marines), Yemen Air Force (includes Air Defense Force) (2007) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $55 million (FY98) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.2% (FY96/97) | 6.6% (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.) |
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National holiday | Republic Day, 2 December (1975) | Unification Day, 22 May (1990) |
Nationality | noun:
Lao(s) or Laotian(s) adjective: Lao or Laotian |
noun: Yemeni(s)
adjective: Yemeni |
Natural hazards | floods, droughts, and blight | sandstorms and dust storms in summer |
Natural resources | timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones | petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble; small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper; fertile soil in west |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | petroleum products 136 km | gas 71 km; liquid petroleum gas 22 km; oil 1,284 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | Lao People's Revolutionary Party or LPRP [KHAMTAI Siphandon, party president]; other parties proscribed | General People's Congress or GPC [Abdul-Kader BAJAMMAL]; Islamic Reform Grouping or Islah [Shaykh Abdallah bin Husayn al-AHMAR]; Nasserite Unionist Party [Abdal Malik al-MAKHLAFI]; National Arab Socialist Ba'th Party [Dr. Qasim SALAM]; Yemeni Socialist Party or YSP [Ali Salih MUQBIL]; note - there are at least seven more active political parties |
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.) | 22,230,531 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 46.1% (1993 est.) | 45.2% (2003) |
Population growth rate | 2.48% (2001 est.) | 3.461% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 6, FM 1, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | 730,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% | Muslim including Shaf'i (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shi'a), small numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindu |
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: 1.038 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.035 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.948 male(s)/female total population: 1.034 male(s)/female (2007 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: since unification in 1990, efforts have been made to create a national telecommunications network
domestic: the national network consists of microwave radio relay, cable, tropospheric scatter, and GSM cellular mobile telephone systems international: country code - 967; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 2 Arabsat; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia and Djibouti |
Telephones - main lines in use | 25,000 (1997) | 968,400 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 4,915 (1997) | 2 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (1999) | 7 (plus several repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus | narrow coastal plain backed by flat-topped hills and rugged mountains; dissected upland desert plains in center slope into the desert interior of the Arabian Peninsula |
Total fertility rate | 5.12 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 6.49 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 5.7% (1997 est.) | 35% (2003 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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