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Compare Laos (2003) - Burundi (2004)

Compare Laos (2003) z Burundi (2004)

 Laos (2003)Burundi (2004)
 LaosBurundi
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 16 provinces; Bubanza, Bujumbura, Bururi, Cankuzo, Cibitoke, Gitega, Karuzi, Kayanza, Kirundo, Makamba, Muramvya, Muyinga, Mwaro, Ngozi, Rutana, Ruyigi
Age structure 0-14 years: 42.2% (male 1,255,172; female 1,242,823)


15-64 years: 54.6% (male 1,592,697; female 1,639,431)


65 years and over: 3.2% (male 87,192; female 104,230) (2003 est.)
0-14 years: 46.4% (male 1,459,251; female 1,430,332)


15-64 years: 50.9% (male 1,566,274; female 1,607,705)


65 years and over: 2.7% (male 66,306; female 101,353) (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton; tea, peanuts, rice; water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry coffee, cotton, tea, corn, sorghum, sweet potatoes, bananas, manioc (tapioca); beef, milk, hides
Airports 51 (2002) 8 (2003 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


over 3,047 m: 1 (2004 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: 7


914 to 1,523 m: 4


under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.)
Area total: 236,800 sq km


land: 230,800 sq km


water: 6,000 sq km
total: 27,830 sq km


land: 25,650 sq km


water: 2,180 sq km
Area - comparative slightly larger than Utah slightly smaller than Maryland
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, a liberalization of foreign investment laws, and the admission into ASEAN in 1997. Burundi's first democratically elected president was assassinated in October 1993 after only one hundred days in office. Since then, some 200,000 Burundians have perished in widespread, often intense ethnic violence between Hutu and Tutsi factions. Hundreds of thousands have been internally displaced or have become refugees in neighboring countries. Burundi troops, seeking to secure their borders, briefly intervened in the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1998. A new transitional government, inaugurated on 1 November 2001, signed a power-sharing agreement with the largest rebel faction in December 2003 and set in place a provisional constitution in October 2004. Implementation of the agreement has been problematic, however, as one remaining rebel group refuses to sign on and elections have been repeatedly delayed, clouding prospects for a sustainable peace.
Birth rate 36.93 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) 39.68 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Budget revenues: $211 million


expenditures: $462 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY98/99 est. est.)
revenues: $179.4 million


expenditures: $209 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2003)
Capital Vientiane Bujumbura
Climate tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April) equatorial; high plateau with considerable altitude variation (772 m to 2,670 m above sea level); average annual temperature varies with altitude from 23 to 17 degrees centigrade but is generally moderate as the average altitude is about 1,700 m; average annual rainfall is about 150 cm; wet seasons from February to May and September to November, and dry seasons from June to August and December to January
Coastline 0 km (landlocked) 0 km (landlocked)
Constitution promulgated 14 August 1991 13 March 1992; provided for establishment of a plural political system; supplanted on 20 October 2004 by a provisional constitution approved by the parliament, which extended the transition, set ethnic quotas for government positions, and tentatively scheduled elections for February-April 2005
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 Burundi


conventional short form: Burundi


local long form: Republika y'u Burundi


local short form: Burundi


former: Urundi
Currency kip (LAK) Burundi franc (BIF)
Death rate 12.39 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) 17.61 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Debt - external $2.53 billion (1999) $1.133 billion (2002)
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
chief of mission: Ambassador James Howard YELLIN


embassy: Avenue des Etats-Unis, Bujumbura


mailing address: B. P. 1720, Bujumbura


telephone: [257] 223454


FAX: [257] 222926
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
chief of mission: Ambassador Antoine NTAMOBWA


chancery: Suite 212, 2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007


telephone: [1] (202) 342-2574


FAX: [1] (202) 342-2578
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 Tutsi, Hutu, and other conflicting ethnic groups, associated political rebels, armed gangs, and various government forces continue fighting in the Great Lakes region, transcending the boundaries of Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda to gain control over populated and natural resource areas; government heads pledge to end conflict, but localized violence continues despite UN peacekeeping efforts
Economic aid - recipient $345 million (1999 est.) $92.7 million (2000)
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. Burundi is a landlocked, resource-poor country with an underdeveloped manufacturing sector. The economy is predominantly agricultural with roughly 90% of the population dependent on subsistence agriculture. Economic growth depends on coffee and tea exports, which account for 90% of foreign exchange earnings. The ability to pay for imports, therefore, rests primarily on weather conditions and international coffee and tea prices. The Tutsi minority, 14% of the population, dominates the government and the coffee trade at the expense of the Hutu majority, 85% of the population. Since October 1993 an ethnic-based war has resulted in more than 200,000 deaths, forced 800,000 refugees into Tanzania, and displaced 525,000 others internally. Doubts about the prospects for sustainable peace continue to impede development. Only one in two children go to school, and approximately one in ten adults has HIV/AIDS. Food, medicine, and electricity remain in short supply.
Electricity - consumption 824.7 million kWh (2001) 177.5 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports 400 million kWh (2001) 0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2001) 33 million kWh; note - supplied by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2001)
Electricity - production 1.317 billion kWh (2001) 155.4 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel: 1.4%


hydro: 98.6%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2001)
-
Elevation extremes lowest point: Mekong River 70 m


highest point: Phou Bia 2,817 m
lowest point: Lake Tanganyika 772 m


highest point: Mount Heha 2,670 m
Environment - current issues unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; a majority of the population does not have access to potable water soil erosion as a result of overgrazing and the expansion of agriculture into marginal lands; deforestation (little forested land remains because of uncontrolled cutting of trees for fuel); habitat loss threatens wildlife populations
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, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection


signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
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% Hutu (Bantu) 85%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 14%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%, Europeans 3,000, South Asians 2,000
Exchange rates kips per US dollar - 7,562 (2002), 8,954.58 (2001), 7,887.64 (2000), 7,102.02 (1999), 3,298.33 (1998) Burundi francs per US dollar - 1,082.62 (2003), 930.75 (2002), 830.35 (2001), 720.67 (2000), 563.56 (1999)
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 Domitien NDAYIZEYE (since 30 April 2003); note - NDAYIZEYE, a Hutu, was sworn in as president for the second half of the three-year transitional government inaugurated on 1 November 2001; Vice President Frederic NGENZEBUHORO (since 11 November 2004)


head of government: President Domitien NDAYIZEYE (since 30 April 2003); note - NDAYIZEYE, a Hutu, was sworn in as president for the second half of the three-year transitional government inaugurated on 1 November 2001; Vice President Frederic NGENZEBUHORO (since 11 November 2004)


cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by president


elections: NA; current president assumed power on 30 April 2003 as part of the transitional government established by the 2000 Arusha Accord
Exports NA (2001) NA (2001)
Exports - commodities wood products, garments, electricity, coffee, tin coffee, tea, sugar, cotton, hides
Exports - partners Vietnam 25.7%, Thailand 19%, France 7.5%, Germany 5.3% (2002) Switzerland 31.6%, UK 15.8%, Netherlands 5.3%, Rwanda 5.3% (2003)
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 divided by a white diagonal cross into red panels (top and bottom) and green panels (hoist side and outer side) with a white disk superimposed at the center bearing three red six-pointed stars outlined in green arranged in a triangular design (one star above, two stars below)
GDP purchasing power parity - $10.4 billion (2002 est.) purchasing power parity - $3.78 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 53%


industry: 23%


services: 24% (2001 est.)
agriculture: 47.4%


industry: 19.3%


services: 33.3% (2003 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $1,800 (2002 est.) purchasing power parity - $600 (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 5.7% (2002 est.) -1.3% (2003 est.)
Geographic coordinates 18 00 N, 105 00 E 3 30 S, 30 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 landlocked; straddles crest of the Nile-Congo watershed; the Kagera, which drains into Lake Victoria, is the most remote headstream of the White Nile
Highways total: 21,716 km


paved: 9,664 km


unpaved: 12,052 km (1999 est.)
total: 14,480 km


paved: 1,028 km


unpaved: 13,452 km (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: 3.2%


highest 10%: 30.6% (1997)
lowest 10%: 1.8%


highest 10%: 32.9% (1998)
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 NA (2001) NA (2001)
Imports - commodities machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel, consumer goods capital goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs
Imports - partners Thailand 58.9%, Vietnam 12.3%, China 7.9% (2002) Kenya 14.6%, Tanzania 11.5%, Uganda 5.7%, France 5.1%, Zambia 5.1%, China 4.5%, India 4.5%, Japan 4.5% (2003)
Independence 19 July 1949 (from France) 1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration)
Industrial production growth rate 7.5% (1999 est.) 18% (2001)
Industries tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism light consumer goods such as blankets, shoes, soap; assembly of imported components; public works construction; food processing
Infant mortality rate total: 88.94 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 99.1 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 78.41 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
total: 70.4 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 77.15 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 63.45 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 10% (2002 est.) 10.7% (2003 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) ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, CEPGL, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
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.)
740 sq km (1998 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 or Cour Supreme; Constitutional Court; Courts of Appeal (there are three in separate locations); Tribunals of First Instance (17 at the province level and 123 small local tribunals)
Labor force 2.4 million (1999) 2.99 million (2002)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 80% (1997 est.) agriculture 93.6%, industry 2.3%, services 4.1% (2002 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: 974 km


border countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 233 km, Rwanda 290 km, Tanzania 451 km
Land use arable land: 3.47%


permanent crops: 0.23%


other: 96.3% (1998 est.)
arable land: 35.05%


permanent crops: 14.02%


other: 50.93% (2001)
Languages Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area)
Legal system based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and socialist practice based on German and Belgian civil codes and customary law; 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
bicameral, consists of a National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (expanded from 121 to approximately 140 seats under the transitional government inaugurated 1 November 2001; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and a Senate (54 seats; term length is undefined, the current senators will likely serve out the three-year transition period)


elections: last held 29 June 1993 (next was scheduled to be held in 1998, but was suspended by presidential decree in 1996; elections are planned to follow the completion of the three-year transitional government)


election results: percent of vote by party - FRODEBU 71.04%, UPRONA 21.4%, other 7.56%; seats by party - FRODEBU 65, UPRONA 16, civilians 27, other parties 13
Life expectancy at birth total population: 54.3 years


male: 52.34 years


female: 56.33 years (2003 est.)
total population: 43.36 years


male: 42.73 years


female: 44 years (2004 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 52.8%


male: 67.5%


female: 38.1% (2003 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 51.6%


male: 58.5%


female: 45.2% (2003 est.)
Location Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo
Map references Southeast Asia Africa
Maritime claims none (landlocked) none (landlocked)
Merchant marine total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 2,370 GRT/3,110 DWT


ships by type: cargo 1 (2002 est.)
-
Military branches Lao People's Army (LPA; including Riverine Force), Air Force, National Police Department Army (including Naval Detachment and Air Wing), National Gendarmerie
Military expenditures - dollar figure $55 million (FY98) $33.3 million (2003)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 4.2% (FY96) 6% (2003)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49: 1,411,042 (2003 est.) males age 15-49: 1,419,755 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49: 759,499 (2003 est.) males age 15-49: 747,400 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - military age 18 years of age (2003 est.) -
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males: 67,260 (2003 est.) males: 81,862 (2004 est.)
National holiday Republic Day, 2 December (1975) Independence Day, 1 July (1962)
Nationality noun: Lao(s) or Laotian(s)


adjective: Lao or Laotian
noun: Burundian(s)


adjective: Burundian
Natural hazards floods, droughts flooding, landslides, drought
Natural resources timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones nickel, uranium, rare earth oxides, peat, cobalt, copper, platinum (not yet exploited), vanadium, arable land, hydropower
Net migration rate 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) -0.06 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Pipelines refined products 540 km (2003) -
Political parties and leaders Lao People's Revolutionary Party or LPRP [KHAMTAI Siphandon, party president]; other parties proscribed the two national, mainstream, governing parties are: Unity for National Progress or UPRONA [Alphonse KADEGE, president]; Burundi Democratic Front or FRODEBU [Jean MINANI, president]


note: a multiparty system was introduced after 1998, included are: Burundi African Alliance for the Salvation or ABASA [Terrence NSANZE]; Rally for Democracy and Economic and Social Development or RADDES [Joseph NZEYIMANA]; Party for National Redress or PARENA [Jean-Baptiste BAGAZA]; People's Reconciliation Party or PRP [Mathias HITIMANA]
Political pressure groups and leaders noncommunist political groups proscribed; most opposition leaders fled the country in 1975 loosely organized Hutu and Tutsi militias, often affiliated with Hutu and Tutsi extremist parties or subordinate to government security forces
Population 5,921,545 (July 2003 est.) 6,231,221


note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line 40% (2002 est.) 68% (2002 est.)
Population growth rate 2.45% (2003 est.) 2.2% (2004 est.)
Ports and harbors none Bujumbura
Radio broadcast stations AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 4 (1998) AM 0, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2001)
Railways 0 km -
Religions Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% (including various Christian denominations 1.5%) Christian 67% (Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%), indigenous beliefs 23%, Muslim 10%
Sex ratio at birth: 1.04 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 (2003 est.)
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.65 male(s)/female


total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal NA years of age; universal adult
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: primitive system


domestic: sparse system of open-wire, radiotelephone communications, and low-capacity microwave radio relay


international: country code - 257; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use 25,000 (1997) 23,900 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular 4,915 (1997) 64,000 (2003)
Television broadcast stations 4 (1999) 1 (2001)
Terrain mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus hilly and mountainous, dropping to a plateau in east, some plains
Total fertility rate 4.94 children born/woman (2003 est.) 5.9 children born/woman (2004 est.)
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
mainly on Lake Tanganyika (2004)
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