Laos (2002) | Libya (2001) | |
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 | 25 municipalities (baladiyat, singular - baladiyah); Ajdabiya, Al 'Aziziyah, Al Fatih, Al Jabal al Akhdar, Al Jufrah, Al Khums, Al Kufrah, An Nuqat al Khams, Ash Shati', Awbari, Az Zawiyah, Banghazi, Darnah, Ghadamis, Gharyan, Misratah, Murzuq, Sabha, Sawfajjin, Surt, Tarabulus, Tarhunah, Tubruq, Yafran, Zlitan; note - the 25 municipalities may have been replaced by 13 regions |
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:
35.41% (male 947,645; female 907,854) 15-64 years: 60.64% (male 1,645,085; female 1,533,066) 65 years and over: 3.95% (male 101,701; female 105,248) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton; tea, peanuts, rice; water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry | wheat, barley, olives, dates, citrus, vegetables, peanuts, soybeans; cattle |
Airports | 51 (2001) | 136 (2000 est.) |
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:
58 over 3,047 m: 23 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 22 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
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:
78 over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 40 under 914 m: 18 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 236,800 sq km
land: 230,800 sq km water: 6,000 sq km |
total:
1,759,540 sq km land: 1,759,540 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Utah | slightly larger than Alaska |
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. | Since he took power in a 1969 military coup, Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI has espoused his own political system - a combination of socialism and Islam - which he calls the Third International Theory. Viewing himself as a revolutionary leader, he used oil funds during the 1970s and 1980s to promote his ideology outside Libya, even supporting subversives and terrorists abroad to hasten the end of Marxism and capitalism. Libyan military adventures failed, e.g., the prolonged foray of Libyan troops into the Aozou Strip in northern Chad was finally repulsed in 1987. Libyan support for terrorism decreased after UN sanctions were imposed in 1992. Those sanctions were suspended in April 1999. |
Birth rate | 37.39 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 27.67 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $211 million
expenditures: $462 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY98/99 est.) |
revenues:
$6.85 billion expenditures: $4.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Vientiane | Tripoli |
Climate | tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April) | Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 1,770 km |
Constitution | promulgated 14 August 1991 | 11 December 1969, amended 2 March 1977 |
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:
Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya conventional short form: Libya local long form: Al Jumahiriyah al Arabiyah al Libiyah ash Shabiyah al Ishtirakiyah al Uzma local short form: none |
Currency | kip (LAK) | Libyan dinar (LYD) |
Death rate | 12.71 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 3.51 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $2.53 billion (1999) | $4.1 billion (2000 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 suspended all embassy activities in Tripoli on 2 May 1980 |
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 |
Libya does not have an embassy in the US |
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 | Libya claims about 19,400 sq km in northern Niger and also a part of southeastern Algeria |
Economic aid - recipient | $345 million (1999 est.) | $8.4 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% 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. | The socialist-oriented economy depends primarily upon revenues from the oil sector, which contributes practically all export earnings and about one-quarter of GDP. These oil revenues and a small population give Libya one of the highest per capita GDPs in Africa, but little of this income flows down to the lower orders of society. In this statist society, import restrictions and inefficient resource allocations have led to periodic shortages of basic goods and foodstuffs. The nonoil manufacturing and construction sectors, which account for about 20% of GDP, have expanded from processing mostly agricultural products to include the production of petrochemicals, iron, steel, and aluminum. Climatic conditions and poor soils severely limit agricultural output, and Libya imports about 75% of its food requirements. Higher oil prices in 1999 and 2000 led to an increase in export revenues, which improved macroeconomic balances and helped to stimulate the economy. Following the suspension of UN sanctions in 1999, Libya has been trying to increase its attractiveness to foreign investors, and several foreign companies have visited in search of contracts. |
Electricity - consumption | 690.6 million kWh (2000) | 17.577 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 400 million kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 142 million kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 1.02 billion kWh (2000) | 18.9 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 2%
hydro: 98% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Mekong River 70 m
highest point: Phou Bia 2,817 m |
lowest point:
Sabkhat Ghuzayyil -47 m highest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 m |
Environment - current issues | unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; a majority of the population does not have access to potable water | desertification; very limited natural fresh water resources; the Great Manmade River Project, the largest water development scheme in the world, is being built to bring water from large aquifers under the Sahara to coastal cities |
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, Desertification, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban |
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% | Berber and Arab 97%, Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, Tunisians |
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) | Libyan dinars per US dollar - 0.5101 (January 2001), 0.5081 (2000), 0.4616 (1999), 0.3785 (1998), 0.3891 (1997), 0.3651 (1996)
note: Libya currently has two rates for foreign trade; one for government operations and foreign companies and one for Libyan individuals (0.45 dinars per US dollar in December 1998) |
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:
Revolutionary Leader Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI (since 1 September 1969); note - holds no official title, but is de facto chief of state head of government: Secretary of the General People's Committee (Premier) Mubarak al-SHAMEKH (since 2 March 2000) cabinet: General People's Committee established by the General People's Congress elections: national elections are indirect through a hierarchy of people's committees; head of government elected by the General People's Congress; election last held 2 March 2000 (next to be held NA) election results: Mubarak al-SHAMEKH elected premier; percent of General People's Congress vote - NA% |
Exports | $325 million (2001 est.) | $13.9 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | wood products, garments, electricity, coffee, tin | crude oil, refined petroleum products |
Exports - partners | Thailand 20%, France 7.5%, Germany 5.9%, UK 4.1%, Belgium 4% (2000) | Italy 33%, Germany 24%, Spain 10%, France 5%, Turkey 4%, Tunisia 4% (1999) |
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 | plain green; green is the traditional color of Islam (the state religion) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $9.2 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $45.4 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 53%
industry: 22% services: 25% (2000 est.) |
agriculture:
7% industry: 47% services: 46% (1997 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,630 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $8,900 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2001 est.) | 6.5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 18 00 N, 105 00 E | 25 00 N, 17 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 | - |
Highways | total: 14,000 km
paved: 3,360 km unpaved: 10,640 km (1991) |
total:
24,484 km paved: 6,800 km unpaved: 17,684 km (1996) |
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.) | $7.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel | machinery, transport equipment, food, manufactured goods |
Imports - partners | Thailand 52%, Singapore 3.9%, Japan 1.6%, Hong Kong 1.5%, China 0.8% (2000) | Italy 24%, Germany 12%, Tunisia 9%, UK 7%, France 6%, South Korea 5% (1999) |
Independence | 19 July 1949 (from France) | 24 December 1951 (from Italy) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7.5% (1999 est.) | NA% |
Industries | tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism | petroleum, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement |
Infant mortality rate | 90.98 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 28.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 10% (2001 est.) | 18.5% (2000 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) | ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, CAEU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM, OAPEC, OAU, OIC, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 1,640 sq km
note: rainy season irrigation - 2,169 sq km; dry season irrigation - 750 sq km (1998 est.) |
4,700 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 |
Labor force | 2.4 million (1999) | 1.5 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 80% (1997 est.) | services and government 54%, industry 29%, agriculture 17% (1997 est.) |
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:
4,383 km border countries: Algeria 982 km, Chad 1,055 km, Egypt 1,150 km, Niger 354 km, Sudan 383 km, Tunisia 459 km |
Land use | arable land: 3.47%
permanent crops: 0.23% other: 96.3% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
1% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 8% forests and woodland: 0% other: 91% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages | Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities |
Legal system | based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and Socialist practice | based on Italian civil law system and Islamic law; separate religious courts; no constitutional provision for judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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 General People's Congress (NA seats; members elected indirectly through a hierarchy of people's committees) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 53.88 years
male: 51.95 years female: 55.87 years (2002 est.) |
total population:
75.65 years male: 73.53 years female: 77.88 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: 76.2% male: 87.9% female: 63% (1995 est.) |
Location | Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Tunisia |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Africa |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea:
12 NM note: Gulf of Sidra closing line - 32 degrees, 30 minutes north |
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:
28 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 399,725 GRT/654,843 DWT ships by type: cargo 10, chemical tanker 1, liquefied gas 3, petroleum tanker 6, roll on/roll off 4, short-sea passenger 4 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Lao People's Army (LPA; including Riverine Force), Air Force, National Police Department | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Command |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $55 million (FY98) | $1.3 billion (FY99/00) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.2% (FY96/97) | 3.9% (FY99/00) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,365,027 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
1,459,400 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 734,945 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
866,012 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | 17 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 64,437 (2002 est.) | males:
61,694 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Republic Day, 2 December (1975) | Revolution Day, 1 September (1969) |
Nationality | noun: Lao(s) or Laotian(s)
adjective: Lao or Laotian |
noun:
Libyan(s) adjective: Libyan |
Natural hazards | floods, droughts | hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall; dust storms, sandstorms |
Natural resources | timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones | petroleum, natural gas, gypsum |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | petroleum products 136 km | crude oil 4,383 km; petroleum products 443 km (includes liquefied petroleum gas or LPG 256 km); natural gas 1,947 km |
Political parties and leaders | Lao People's Revolutionary Party or LPRP [KHAMTAI Siphandon, party president]; other parties proscribed | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | noncommunist political groups proscribed; most opposition leaders fled the country in 1975 | various Arab nationalist movements with almost negligible memberships may be functioning clandestinely, as well as some Islamic elements |
Population | 5,777,180 (July 2002 est.) | 5,240,599
note: includes 662,669 non-nationals, of which an estimated 500,000 or more are Africans living in Libya (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 40% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.47% (2002 est.) | 2.42% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Al Khums, Banghazi, Darnah, Marsa al Burayqah, Misratah, Ra's Lanuf, Tobruk, Tripoli, Zuwarah |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 17, FM 4, shortwave 3 (1998) |
Radios | 730,000 (1997) | 1.35 million (1997) |
Railways | 0 km (2001) | note:
Libya has had no railroad in operation since 1965, all previous systems having been dismantled; current plans are to construct a 1.435-m standard gauge line from the Tunisian frontier to Tripoli and Misratah, then inland to Sabha, center of a mineral-rich area, but there has been little progress; other plans made jointly with Egypt would establish a rail line from As Sallum, Egypt, to Tobruk with completion originally set for mid-1994; Libya signed contracts with two private companies - Bahne of Egypt and Jez Sistemas Ferroviarios of Spain - in 1998 for the supply of crossings and pointwork (1001) |
Religions | Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% (including various Christian denominations 1.5%) | Sunni Muslim 97% |
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: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
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:
telecommunications system is being modernized; mobile cellular telephone system became operational in 1996 domestic: microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, cellular, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations international: satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat, NA Arabsat, and NA Intersputnik; submarine cables to France and Italy; microwave radio relay to Tunisia and Egypt; tropospheric scatter to Greece; participant in Medarabtel (1999) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 25,000 (1997) | 380,000 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 4,915 (1997) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (1999) | 12 (plus one low-power repeater) (1998) |
Terrain | mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus | mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions |
Total fertility rate | 5.03 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 3.64 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 5.7% (1997 est.) | 30% (2000 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 |
none |