Laos (2002) | Kiribati (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 | 3 units; Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands; note - in addition, there are 6 districts (Banaba, Central Gilberts, Line Islands, Northern Gilberts, Southern Gilberts, Tarawa) and 21 island councils - one for each of the inhabited islands (Abaiang, Abemama, Aranuka, Arorae, Banaba, Beru, Butaritari, Kanton, Kiritimati, Kuria, Maiana, Makin, Marakei, Nikunau, Nonouti, Onotoa, Tabiteuea, Tabuaeran, Tamana, Tarawa, Teraina) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 42.5% (male 1,233,659; female 1,219,872)
15-64 years: 54.2% (male 1,543,246; female 1,591,419) 65 years and over: 3.3% (male 86,375; female 102,609) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 38.2% (male 20,886/female 20,322)
15-64 years: 58.4% (male 31,083/female 31,884) 65 years and over: 3.4% (male 1,554/female 2,088) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton; tea, peanuts, rice; water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry | copra, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; fish |
Airports | 51 (2001) | 19 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 9
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2002) |
total: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 42
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 26 (2002) |
total: 15
914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 4 (2007) |
Area | total: 236,800 sq km
land: 230,800 sq km water: 6,000 sq km |
total: 811 sq km
land: 811 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes three island groups - Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Utah | four 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. | The Gilbert Islands were granted self-rule by the UK in 1971 and complete independence in 1979 under the new name of Kiribati. The US relinquished all claims to the sparsely inhabited Phoenix and Line Island groups in a 1979 treaty of friendship with Kiribati. |
Birth rate | 37.39 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 30.48 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $211 million
expenditures: $462 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY98/99 est.) |
revenues: $55.52 million
expenditures: $59.71 million (FY05) |
Capital | Vientiane | name: Tarawa
geographic coordinates: 1 19 N, 172 58 E time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April) | tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 1,143 km |
Constitution | promulgated 14 August 1991 | 12 July 1979 |
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 Kiribati
conventional short form: Kiribati local long form: Republic of Kiribati local short form: Kiribati note: pronounced keer-ree-bahss former: Gilbert Islands |
Currency | kip (LAK) | - |
Death rate | 12.71 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 8.12 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $2.53 billion (1999) | $10 million (1999 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Douglas A. HARTWICK
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 Kiribati; the ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Kiribati |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador PHANTHONG Phommahaxay
chancery: 2222 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-6416 FAX: [1] (202) 332-4923 |
Kiribati does not have an embassy in the US; there is an honorary consulate in Honolulu |
Disputes - international | demarcation of boundaries with Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam is nearing completion, but with Thailand, several areas including Mekong River islets, remain in dispute; ongoing disputes with Thailand and Vietnam over squatters | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $345 million (1999 est.) | $27.84 million largely from UK and Japan (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% in 1988-2001 except during the short-lived drop caused by the Asian financial crisis beginning in 1997. Despite this high growth rate, Laos remains a country with a primitive infrastructure; it 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. The economy will continue to benefit from aid from the IMF and other international sources and from new foreign investment in food-processing and mining. | A remote country of 33 scattered coral atolls, Kiribati has few natural resources. Commercially viable phosphate deposits were exhausted at the time of independence from the UK in 1979. Copra and fish now represent the bulk of production and exports. The economy has fluctuated widely in recent years. Economic development is constrained by a shortage of skilled workers, weak infrastructure, and remoteness from international markets. Tourism provides more than one-fifth of GDP. Private sector initiatives and a financial sector are in the early stages of development. Foreign financial aid from UK, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and China equals more than 10% of GDP. Remittances from seamen on merchant ships abroad account for more than $5 million each year. Kiribati receives around $15 million annually for the government budget from an Australian trust fund. |
Electricity - consumption | 690.6 million kWh (2000) | 8.37 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 400 million kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 142 million kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 1.02 billion kWh (2000) | 9 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 2%
hydro: 98% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
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 on Banaba 81 m |
Environment - current issues | unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; a majority of the population does not have access to potable water | heavy pollution in lagoon of south Tarawa atoll due to heavy migration mixed with traditional practices such as lagoon latrines and open-pit dumping; ground water at risk |
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, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling
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% | Micronesian 98.8%, other 1.2% (2000 census) |
Exchange rates | kips per US dollar - 9,467.00 (December 2001), 8,954.58 (2001), 7,887.64 (2000), 7,102.03 (1999), 3,298.33 (1998), 1,259.98 (1997) | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.2137 (2007), 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Gen. KHAMTAI Siphandon (since 26 February 1998) and Vice President Lt. Gen. CHOUMMALI Saignason (since 27 March 2001)
head of government: Prime Minister BOUNGNANG Volachit (since 27 March 2001); First Deputy Prime Minister Maj. Gen. ASANG Laoli (since NA May 2002), Deputy Prime Minister THONGLOUN Sisolit (since 27 March 2001), and Deputy Prime Minister 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 24 February 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); 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 Anote TONG (since 10 July 2003); Vice President Teima ONORIO; note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Anote TONG (since 10 July 2003); Vice President Teima ONORIO cabinet: 12-member cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of the House of Parliament elections: the House of Parliament chooses the presidential candidates from among its members and then those candidates compete in a general election; president is elected by popular vote for a four-year term (eligible for two more terms); election last held 17 October 2007 (next to be held in 2011); vice president appointed by the president election results: Anote TONG 63.7%, Nabuti MWEMWENIKARAWA 32.9% |
Exports | $325 million (2001 est.) | 0 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | wood products, garments, electricity, coffee, tin | copra 62%, coconuts, seaweed, fish |
Exports - partners | Thailand 20%, France 7.5%, Germany 5.9%, UK 4.1%, Belgium 4% (2000) | US 22.8%, Belgium 21.5%, Japan 14.3%, Samoa 7.8%, Australia 7.5%, Malaysia 6.7%, Taiwan 5.6%, Denmark 4.6% (2006) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | NA |
Flag description | three horizontal bands of red (top), blue (double width), and red with a large white disk centered in the blue band | the upper half is red with a yellow frigate bird flying over a yellow rising sun, and the lower half is blue with three horizontal wavy white stripes to represent the ocean |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $9.2 billion (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 53%
industry: 22% services: 25% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 8.9%
industry: 24.2% services: 66.8% (2004) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,630 (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2001 est.) | 0.3% (2005) |
Geographic coordinates | 18 00 N, 105 00 E | 1 25 N, 173 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; most of the country is mountainous and thickly forested; the Mekong forms a large part of the western boundary with Thailand | 21 of the 33 islands are inhabited; Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean - the others are Makatea in French Polynesia, and Nauru |
Highways | total: 14,000 km
paved: 3,360 km unpaved: 10,640 km (1991) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 31% (1997) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | world's third-largest illicit opium producer (estimated cultivation in 2002 - 23,200 hectares, a 5% increase over 2001; estimated potential production in 2002 - 180 metric tons, a 10% decrease from 2001); potential heroin producer; transshipment point for heroin and methamphetamine produced in Burma; illicit producer of cannabis; growing methamphetamine abuse problem | - |
Imports | $540 million f.o.b. (2000 est.) | 216.4 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel |
Imports - partners | Thailand 52%, Singapore 3.9%, Japan 1.6%, Hong Kong 1.5%, China 0.8% (2000) | Australia 33%, Fiji 27.1%, Japan 18.1%, NZ 6.9% (2006) |
Independence | 19 July 1949 (from France) | 12 July 1979 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7.5% (1999 est.) | 0.7% (1991 est.) |
Industries | tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism | fishing, handicrafts |
Infant mortality rate | 90.98 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 46.02 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 51.03 deaths/1,000 live births female: 40.75 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 10% (2001 est.) | 0.5% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) | ACP, ADB, C, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, ITU, ITUC, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 1,640 sq km
note: rainy season irrigation - 2,169 sq km; dry season irrigation - 750 sq km (1998 est.) |
NA |
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) | Court of Appeal; High Court; 26 Magistrates' courts; judges at all levels are appointed by the president |
Labor force | 2.4 million (1999) | 7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 80% (1997 est.) | agriculture: 2.7%
industry: 32% services: 65.3% (2000) |
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: 3.47%
permanent crops: 0.23% other: 96.3% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 2.74%
permanent crops: 47.95% other: 49.31% (2005) |
Languages | Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages | I-Kiribati, English (official) |
Legal system | based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and Socialist practice | NA |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly (109 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms; note - total number of seats increased from 99 to 109 for the 2002 election)
elections: last held 24 February 2002 (next to be held NA 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - LPRP or LPRP-approved (independent, non-party members) 109 |
unicameral House of Parliament or Maneaba Ni Maungatabu (46 seats; 44 members elected by popular vote, 1 ex officio member - the attorney general, 1 nominated by the Rabi Council of Leaders (representing Banaba Island); to serve four-year terms)
elections: legislative elections were held in two rounds - the first round on 22 August 2007 and the second round on 30 August 2007 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA, other 2 (includes attorney general) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 53.88 years
male: 51.95 years female: 55.87 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 62.45 years
male: 59.41 years female: 65.63 years (2007 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, group of 33 coral atolls in the Pacific Ocean, straddling the Equator; the capital Tarawa is about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia; note - on 1 January 1995, Kiribati proclaimed that all of its territory lies in the same time zone as its Gilbert Islands group (UTC +12) even though the Phoenix Islands and the Line Islands under its jurisdiction lie on the other side of the International Date Line |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Oceania |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,370 GRT/3,110 DWT
ships by type: cargo 1 (2002 est.) |
total: 7 ships (1000 GRT or over) 28,435 GRT/42,682 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 3, passenger/cargo 1, refrigerated cargo 2 foreign-owned: 3 (Malaysia 1, Singapore 1, Turkey 1) (2007) |
Military - note | - | Kiribati does not have military forces; defense assistance is provided by Australia and NZ |
Military branches | Lao People's Army (LPA; including Riverine Force), Air Force, National Police Department | no regular military forces; Police Force (carries out law enforcement functions and paramilitary duties; small police posts are on all islands) (2007) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $55 million (FY98) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.2% (FY96/97) | NA |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,365,027 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 734,945 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 64,437 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Republic Day, 2 December (1975) | Independence Day, 12 July (1979) |
Nationality | noun: Lao(s) or Laotian(s)
adjective: Lao or Laotian |
noun: I-Kiribati (singular and plural)
adjective: I-Kiribati |
Natural hazards | floods, droughts | typhoons can occur any time, but usually November to March; occasional tornadoes; low level of some of the islands make them very sensitive to changes in sea level |
Natural resources | timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones | phosphate (production discontinued in 1979) |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 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 | Boutokaan Te Koaua Party or BTK [Taberannang TIMEON]; Maneaban Te Mauri Party or MTM [Teburoro TITO]; Maurin Kiribati Pati or MKP; National Progressive Party or NPP [Dr. Harry TONG]
note: there is no tradition of formally organized political parties in Kiribati; they more closely resemble factions or interest groups because they have no party headquarters, formal platforms, or party structures |
Political pressure groups and leaders | noncommunist political groups proscribed; most opposition leaders fled the country in 1975 | NA |
Population | 5,777,180 (July 2002 est.) | 107,817 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 40% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.47% (2002 est.) | 2.235% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (may be inactive) (2002) |
Radios | 730,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km (2001) | - |
Religions | Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% (including various Christian denominations 1.5%) | Roman Catholic 52%, Protestant (Congregational) 40%, other (includes Seventh-Day Adventist, Muslim, Baha'i, Latter-day Saints, Church of God) 8% (1999) |
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: 0.84 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.028 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.975 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.744 male(s)/female total population: 0.986 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: generally good quality national and international service
domestic: wire line service available on Tarawa and Kiritimati (Christmas Island); connections to outer islands by HF/VHF radiotelephone; wireless service available in Tarawa since 1999 international: country code - 686; Kiribati is being linked to the Pacific Ocean Cooperative Telecommunications Network, which should improve telephone service; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 25,000 (1997) | 4,500 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 4,915 (1997) | 600 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (1999) | 1 (possibly inactive) (2002) |
Terrain | mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus | mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs |
Total fertility rate | 5.03 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 4.12 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 5.7% (1997 est.) | 2% official rate; underemployment 70% (1992 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 |
5 km (small network of canals in Line Islands) (2007) |