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Compare Laos (2002) - Nauru (2003)
Compare Laos (2002) z Nauru (2003)
| Laos (2002) | Nauru (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 | 14 districts; Aiwo, Anabar, Anetan, Anibare, Baiti, Boe, Buada, Denigomodu, Ewa, Ijuw, Meneng, Nibok, Uaboe, Yaren |
| 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: 38.9% (male 2,517; female 2,368)
15-64 years: 59.3% (male 3,681; female 3,779) 65 years and over: 1.8% (male 116; female 109) (2003 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton; tea, peanuts, rice; water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry | coconuts |
| Airports | 51 (2001) | 1 (2002) |
| 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: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 42
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 26 (2002) |
- |
| Area | total: 236,800 sq km
land: 230,800 sq km water: 6,000 sq km |
total: 21 sq km
land: 21 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly larger than Utah | about 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. | Nauru's phosphate deposits began to be mined early in the 20th century by a German-British consortium; the island was occupied by Australian forces in World War I. Nauru achieved independence in 1968 and joined the UN in 1999. Nauru is the world's smallest independent republic. |
| Birth rate | 37.39 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 26.09 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $211 million
expenditures: $462 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY98/99 est.) |
revenues: $23.4 million
expenditures: $64.8 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY 95/96) |
| Capital | Vientiane | no official capital; government offices in Yaren District |
| Climate | tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April) | tropical; monsoonal; rainy season (November to February) |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 30 km |
| Constitution | promulgated 14 August 1991 | 29 January 1968 |
| 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 Nauru
conventional short form: Nauru former: Pleasant Island |
| Currency | kip (LAK) | Australian dollar (AUD) |
| Death rate | 12.71 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 7.08 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Debt - external | $2.53 billion (1999) | $33.3 million |
| 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 Nauru; the US Ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Nauru |
| 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 |
Nauru does not have an embassy in the US, but does have a UN office at 800 2nd Avenue, Suite 400 D, New York, New York 10017; telephone: (212) 937-0074
consulate(s): Hagatna (Guam) |
| 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.) | $2.25 million from Australia (FY96/97 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% 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. | Revenues of this tiny island have come from exports of phosphates, but reserves are expected to be exhausted within a few years. Phosphate production has declined since 1989, as demand has fallen in traditional markets and as the marginal cost of extracting the remaining phosphate increases, making it less internationally competitive. While phosphates have given Nauruans one of the highest per capita incomes in the Third World, few other resources exist with most necessities being imported, including fresh water from Australia. The rehabilitation of mined land and the replacement of income from phosphates are serious long-term problems. In anticipation of the exhaustion of Nauru's phosphate deposits, substantial amounts of phosphate income have been invested in trust funds to help cushion the transition and provide for Nauru's economic future. The government has been borrowing heavily from the trusts to finance fiscal deficits. To cut costs the government has called for a freeze on wages, a reduction of over-staffed public service departments, privatization of numerous government agencies, and closure of some overseas consulates. In recent years Nauru has encouraged the registration of offshore banks and corporations. Tens of billions of dollars have been channeled through their accounts. Few comprehensive statistics on the Nauru economy exist, with estimates of Nauru's GDP varying widely. |
| Electricity - consumption | 690.6 million kWh (2000) | 27.9 million kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - exports | 400 million kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - imports | 142 million kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production | 1.02 billion kWh (2000) | 30 million kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 2%
hydro: 98% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
| 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 along plateau rim 61 m |
| Environment - current issues | unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; a majority of the population does not have access to potable water | limited natural fresh water resources, roof storage tanks collect rainwater, but mostly dependent on a single, aging desalination plant; intensive phosphate mining during the past 90 years - mainly by a UK, Australia, and NZ consortium - has left the central 90% of Nauru a wasteland and threatens limited remaining land resources |
| 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
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% | Nauruan 58%, other Pacific Islander 26%, Chinese 8%, European 8% |
| 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 - 1.2641 (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 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 Rene HARRIS (since 8 August 2003) note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Rene HARRIS (since 8 August 2003) note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of Parliament elections: president elected by Parliament for a three-year term; election last held 29 May 2003 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: Ludwig SCOTTY elected president 29 May 2003; Ludwig SCOTTY 10 parliamentary votes, Kinza CLODUMAR 7 note: Ludwig SCOTTY was removed from the presidency in a no-confidence vote 8 August 2003; Rene HARRIS became president |
| Exports | $325 million (2001 est.) | NA (2001) |
| Exports - commodities | wood products, garments, electricity, coffee, tin | phosphates |
| Exports - partners | Thailand 20%, France 7.5%, Germany 5.9%, UK 4.1%, Belgium 4% (2000) | India 46.1%, South Korea 18.3%, Australia 10.6%, New Zealand 7.8%, Netherlands 5.6% (2002) |
| Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | 1 July - 30 June |
| Flag description | three horizontal bands of red (top), blue (double width), and red with a large white disk centered in the blue band | blue with a narrow, horizontal, yellow stripe across the center and a large white 12-pointed star below the stripe on the hoist side; the star indicates the country's location in relation to the Equator (the yellow stripe) and the 12 points symbolize the 12 original tribes of Nauru |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $9.2 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $60 million (2001 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 53%
industry: 22% services: 25% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,630 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2001 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2001 est.) | NA% |
| Geographic coordinates | 18 00 N, 105 00 E | 0 32 S, 166 55 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 | Nauru is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean - the others are Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati and Makatea in French Polynesia; only 53 km south of Equator |
| Highways | total: 14,000 km
paved: 3,360 km unpaved: 10,640 km (1991) |
total: 30 km
paved: 24 km unpaved: 6 km (1999 est.) |
| 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 | broad-based money-laundering center |
| Imports | $540 million f.o.b. (2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel | food, fuel, manufactures, building materials, machinery |
| Imports - partners | Thailand 52%, Singapore 3.9%, Japan 1.6%, Hong Kong 1.5%, China 0.8% (2000) | Australia 59.3%, US 10.1%, Ireland 7.6%, Malaysia 6% (2002) |
| Independence | 19 July 1949 (from France) | 31 January 1968 (from the Australia-, NZ-, and UK-administered UN trusteeship) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 7.5% (1999 est.) | NA% |
| Industries | tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism | phosphate mining, offshore banking, coconut products |
| Infant mortality rate | 90.98 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 10.33 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 13 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 10% (2001 est.) | -3.6% (1993) |
| 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, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, ICAO, ICCt, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO |
| 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.) |
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) | Supreme Court |
| Labor force | 2.4 million (1999) | - |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 80% (1997 est.) | employed in mining phosphates, public administration, education, and transportation |
| 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: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.) |
| Languages | Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages | Nauruan (official, a distinct Pacific Island language), English widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and commercial purposes |
| Legal system | based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and Socialist practice | acts of the Nauru Parliament and British common law |
| 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 Parliament (18 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 3 May 2003 (next to be held not later than May 2006) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - Nauru First Party 3, independents 15 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 53.88 years
male: 51.95 years female: 55.87 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 61.95 years
male: 58.41 years female: 65.66 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 in the South Pacific Ocean, south of the Marshall Islands |
| 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/3,110 DWT
ships by type: cargo 1 (2002 est.) |
none (2002 est.) |
| Military - note | - | Nauru maintains no defense forces; under an informal agreement, defense is the responsibility of Australia |
| Military branches | Lao People's Army (LPA; including Riverine Force), Air Force, National Police Department | no regular military forces; Nauru Police Force |
| 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: 1,365,027 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 3,190 (2003 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 734,945 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,762 (2003 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, 31 January (1968) |
| Nationality | noun: Lao(s) or Laotian(s)
adjective: Lao or Laotian |
noun: Nauruan(s)
adjective: Nauruan |
| Natural hazards | floods, droughts | periodic droughts |
| Natural resources | timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones | phosphates, fish |
| Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 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 | loose multiparty system; Democratic Party [Kennan ADEANG]; Nauru Party (informal) [leader NA]; Naoero Amo (Nauru First) Party [leader NA] |
| 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.) | 12,570 (July 2003 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 40% (2001 est.) | NA% |
| Population growth rate | 2.47% (2002 est.) | 1.9% (2003 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | none | Nauru |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) |
| Radios | 730,000 (1997) | - |
| Railways | 0 km (2001) | total: 5 km
note: gauge unknown; used to haul phosphates from the center of the island to processing facilities on the southwest coast (2001) |
| Religions | Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% (including various Christian denominations 1.5%) | Christian (two-thirds Protestant, one-third Roman Catholic) |
| 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: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.06 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 20 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: adequate local and international radiotelephone communication provided via Australian facilities
domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 25,000 (1997) | 2,000 (1996) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 4,915 (1997) | 450 (1994) |
| Television broadcast stations | 4 (1999) | 1 (1997) |
| Terrain | mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus | sandy beach rises to fertile ring around raised coral reefs with phosphate plateau in center |
| Total fertility rate | 5.03 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 3.4 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 5.7% (1997 est.) | 0% |
| 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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