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Compare Laos (2002) - Norfolk Island (2001)
Compare Laos (2002) z Norfolk Island (2001)
| Laos (2002) | Norfolk Island (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 | none (territory of Australia) |
| 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:
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 | Norfolk Island pine seed, Kentia palm seed, cereals, vegetables, fruit; cattle, poultry |
| Airports | 51 (2001) | 1 (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:
1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (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) |
- |
| Area | total: 236,800 sq km
land: 230,800 sq km water: 6,000 sq km |
total:
34.6 sq km land: 34.6 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly larger than Utah | about 0.2 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. | Two British attempts at establishing the island as a penal colony (1788-1814 and 1825-55) were ultimately abandoned. In 1856, the island was resettled by Pitcairn Islanders, descendants of the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian companions. |
| Birth rate | 37.39 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | NA births/1,000 population |
| Budget | revenues: $211 million
expenditures: $462 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY98/99 est.) |
revenues:
$4.6 million expenditures: $4.8 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY92/93) |
| Capital | Vientiane | Kingston |
| Climate | tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April) | subtropical, mild, little seasonal temperature variation |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 32 km |
| Constitution | promulgated 14 August 1991 | Norfolk Island Act of 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:
Territory of Norfolk Island conventional short form: Norfolk Island |
| Currency | kip (LAK) | Australian dollar (AUD) |
| Death rate | 12.71 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 population |
| Debt - external | $2.53 billion (1999) | $NA |
| Dependency status | - | territory of Australia; Canberra administers Commonwealth responsibilities on Norfolk Island through the Department of Environment, Sport, and Territories |
| 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 |
none (territory of Australia) |
| 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 |
none (territory of Australia) |
| 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.) | $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% 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. | Tourism, the primary economic activity, has steadily increased over the years and has brought a level of prosperity unusual among inhabitants of the Pacific islands. The agricultural sector has become self-sufficient in the production of beef, poultry, and eggs. |
| Electricity - consumption | 690.6 million kWh (2000) | NA kWh |
| Electricity - exports | 400 million kWh (2000) | - |
| Electricity - imports | 142 million kWh (2000) | - |
| Electricity - production | 1.02 billion kWh (2000) | NA kWh |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 2%
hydro: 98% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel:
NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Mekong River 70 m
highest point: Phou Bia 2,817 m |
lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Bates 319 m |
| Environment - current issues | unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; a majority of the population does not have access to potable water | NA |
| 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 |
- |
| 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% | descendants of the Bounty mutineers, Australian, New Zealander, Polynesians |
| 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 - 1.7995 (January 2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888 (1998), 1.3439 (1997), 1.2773 (1996) |
| 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:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and Australia are represented by Administrator Anthony J. MESSNER (since 4 August 1997) head of government: Assembly President and Chief Minister Ronald Coane NOBBS (since 23 February 2000) cabinet: Executive Council is made up of four of the nine members of the Legislative Assembly; the council devises government policy and acts as an advisor to the Administrator elections: the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia; chief minister elected by the Legislative Assembly for a term of not more than three years; election last held 23 February 2000 (next to be held by March 2003) election results: Ronald Coane NOBBS elected chief minister; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - NA% |
| Exports | $325 million (2001 est.) | $1.5 million (f.o.b., FY91/92) |
| Exports - commodities | wood products, garments, electricity, coffee, tin | postage stamps, seeds of the Norfolk Island pine and Kentia palm, small quantities of avocados |
| Exports - partners | Thailand 20%, France 7.5%, Germany 5.9%, UK 4.1%, Belgium 4% (2000) | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe |
| 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 | three vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green with a large green Norfolk Island pine tree centered in the slightly wider white band |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $9.2 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $NA |
| 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 - $NA |
| GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2001 est.) | NA% |
| Geographic coordinates | 18 00 N, 105 00 E | 29 02 S, 167 57 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:
80 km paved: 53 km unpaved: 27 km (2001) |
| 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.) | $17.9 million (c.i.f., FY91/92) |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel | NA |
| Imports - partners | Thailand 52%, Singapore 3.9%, Japan 1.6%, Hong Kong 1.5%, China 0.8% (2000) | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe |
| Independence | 19 July 1949 (from France) | none (territory of Australia) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 7.5% (1999 est.) | NA% |
| Industries | tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism | tourism |
| Infant mortality rate | 90.98 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 live births |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 10% (2001 est.) | NA% |
| 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) | none |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 2 (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; Court of Petty Sessions |
| Labor force | 2.4 million (1999) | 1,395 (1991 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 80% (1997 est.) | tourism NA%, subsistence agriculture NA% |
| 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% permanent pastures: 25% forests and woodland: 0% other: 75% (1993 est.) |
| Languages | Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages | English (official), Norfolk a mixture of 18th century English and ancient Tahitian |
| Legal system | based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and Socialist practice | based on the laws of Australia, local ordinances and acts; English common law applies in matters not covered by either Australian or Norfolk Island 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 Legislative Assembly (9 seats; members elected by electors who have nine equal votes each but only four votes can be given to any one candidate; members serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 23 February 2000 (next to be held by March 2003) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 9 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 53.88 years
male: 51.95 years female: 55.87 years (2002 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.) |
- |
| Location | Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia |
| Map references | Southeast Asia | Oceania |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | exclusive fishing zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 3 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 (2000 est.) |
| Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of Australia |
| Military branches | Lao People's Army (LPA; including Riverine Force), 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: 1,365,027 (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) | Pitcairners Arrival Day, 8 June (1856) |
| Nationality | noun: Lao(s) or Laotian(s)
adjective: Lao or Laotian |
noun:
Norfolk Islander(s) adjective: Norfolk Islander(s) |
| Natural hazards | floods, droughts | typhoons (especially May to July) |
| Natural resources | timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones | fish |
| Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population |
| Pipelines | petroleum products 136 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 | none |
| Population | 5,777,180 (July 2002 est.) | 1,879 (July 2001 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 40% (2001 est.) | NA% |
| Population growth rate | 2.47% (2002 est.) | -0.71% (2001 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | none | none; loading jetties at Kingston and Cascade |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 0, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998) |
| Radios | 730,000 (1997) | 2,500 (1996) |
| Railways | 0 km (2001) | 0 km |
| Religions | Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% (including various Christian denominations 1.5%) | Anglican 39%, Roman Catholic 11.7%, Uniting Church in Australia 16.4%, Seventh-Day Adventist 4.4%, none 9.2%, unknown 16.9%, other 2.4% (1986) |
| 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.) |
- |
| 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:
adequate domestic: NA international: radiotelephone service with Sydney (Australia) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 25,000 (1997) | 1,087 (1983) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 4,915 (1997) | 0 (1983) |
| Television broadcast stations | 4 (1999) | 1 (local programming station plus two repeaters that bring in Australian programs by satellite) (1998) |
| Terrain | mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus | volcanic formation with mostly rolling plains |
| Total fertility rate | 5.03 children born/woman (2002 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 |
none |
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