##ciekawa_strona##
Compare Laos (2003) - Congo, Republic of the (2001)
Compare Laos (2003) z Congo, Republic of the (2001)
| Laos (2003) | Congo, Republic of the (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 | 9 regions (regions, singular - region) and 1 commune*; Bouenza, Brazzaville*, Cuvette, Kouilou, Lekoumou, Likouala, Niari, Plateaux, Pool, Sangha |
| 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:
42.43% (male 618,411; female 609,633) 15-64 years: 54.23% (male 765,501; female 804,125) 65 years and over: 3.34% (male 38,772; female 57,894) (2001 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton; tea, peanuts, rice; water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry | cassava (tapioca), sugar, rice, corn, peanuts, vegetables, coffee, cocoa; forest products |
| Airports | 51 (2002) | 33 (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:
4 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (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:
29 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 10 (2000 est.) |
| Area | total: 236,800 sq km
land: 230,800 sq km water: 6,000 sq km |
total:
342,000 sq km land: 341,500 sq km water: 500 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly larger than Utah | slightly smaller than Montana |
| 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. | Upon independence in 1960, the former French region of Middle Congo became the Republic of the Congo. A quarter century of experimentation with Marxism was abandoned in 1990 and a democratically elected government installed in 1992. A brief civil war in 1997 restored former Marxist President SASSOU-NGUESSO. |
| Birth rate | 36.93 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 38.24 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $211 million
expenditures: $462 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY98/99 est. est.) |
revenues:
$870 million expenditures: $970 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.) |
| Capital | Vientiane | Brazzaville |
| Climate | tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April) | tropical; rainy season (March to June); dry season (June to October); constantly high temperatures and humidity; particularly enervating climate astride the Equator |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 169 km |
| Constitution | promulgated 14 August 1991 | Draft constitution approved by transitional parliament in September 2000 |
| 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 the Congo conventional short form: none local long form: Republique du Congo local short form: none former: Middle Congo, Congo/Brazzaville, Congo |
| Currency | kip (LAK) | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States |
| Death rate | 12.39 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 16.22 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Debt - external | $2.53 billion (1999) | $5 billion (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 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador David H. KAEUPER embassy: NA mailing address: NA telephone: [243] (88) 43608 FAX: [243] (88) 41036 note: the embassy is temporarily collocated with the US Embassy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (US Embassy Kinshasa, 310 Avenue des Aviateurs, Kinshasa) |
| 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:
(vacant); Charge d'Affaires ad interim Serge MOMBOULI chancery: 4891 Colorado Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20011 telephone: [1] (202) 726-5500 FAX: [1] (202) 726-1860 |
| 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 | most of the Congo river boundary with the Democratic Republic of the Congo is indefinite (no agreement has been reached on the division of the river or its islands, except in the Stanley Pool/Pool Malebo area) |
| Economic aid - recipient | $345 million (1999 est.) | $159.1 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 economy is a mixture of village agriculture and handicrafts, an industrial sector based largely on oil, support services, and a government characterized by budget problems and overstaffing. Oil has supplanted forestry as the mainstay of the economy, providing a major share of government revenues and exports. In the early 1980s, rapidly rising oil revenues enabled the government to finance large-scale development projects with GDP growth averaging 5% annually, one of the highest rates in Africa. Moreover, the government has mortgaged a substantial portion of its oil earnings, contributing to the government's shortage of revenues. The 12 January 1994 devaluation of Franc Zone currencies by 50% resulted in inflation of 61% in 1994, but inflation has subsided since. Economic reform efforts continued with the support of international organizations, notably the World Bank and the IMF. The reform program came to a halt in June 1997 when civil war erupted. Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO, who returned to power when the war ended in October 1997, publicly expressed interest in moving forward on economic reforms and privatization and in renewing cooperation with international financial institutions. However, economic progress was badly hurt by slumping oil prices and the resumption of armed conflict in December 1998, which worsened the Republic of the Congo's budget deficit. Even with the IMF's renewed confidence and high world oil prices, Congo is unlikely to realize growth of more than 5% in 2001-02. With the return to fragile peace, the IMF approved a $14 million credit in November 2000 to aid post-conflict reconstruction. |
| Electricity - consumption | 824.7 million kWh (2001) | 406.9 million kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - exports | 400 million kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 126 million kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - production | 1.317 billion kWh (2001) | 302 million kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 1.4%
hydro: 98.6% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
fossil fuel:
0.66% hydro: 99.34% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Mekong River 70 m
highest point: Phou Bia 2,817 m |
lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Berongou 903 m |
| Environment - current issues | unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; a majority of the population does not have access to potable water | air pollution from vehicle emissions; water pollution from the dumping of raw sewage; tap water is not potable; deforestation |
| 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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands 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% | Kongo 48%, Sangha 20%, M'Bochi 12%, Teke 17%, Europeans NA%; note - Europeans estimated at 8,500, mostly French, before the 1997 civil war; may be half that of 1998, following the widespread destruction of foreign businesses in 1997 |
| 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) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 699.21 (January 2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996); note - from 1 January 1999, the XAF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XAF per euro |
| 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 Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO (since 25 October 1997, following the civil war in which he toppled elected president Pascal LISSOUBA); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO (since 25 October 1997, following the civil war in which he toppled elected president Pascal LISSOUBA); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 16 August 1992 (next was to be held 27 July 1997 but will be delayed for several years pending the drafting of a new constitution) election results: Pascal LISSOUBA elected president in 1992; percent of vote - Pascal LISSOUBA 61.3%, Bernard KOLELAS 38.7%; note - LISSOUBA was deposed in 1997, replaced by Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO |
| Exports | NA (2001) | $2.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
| Exports - commodities | wood products, garments, electricity, coffee, tin | petroleum 50%, lumber, plywood, sugar, cocoa, coffee, diamonds |
| Exports - partners | Vietnam 25.7%, Thailand 19%, France 7.5%, Germany 5.3% (2002) | US 23%, Benelux 14%, Germany, Italy, Taiwan, China (1998) |
| 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 diagonally from the lower hoist side by a yellow band; the upper triangle (hoist side) is green and the lower triangle is red; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $10.4 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3.1 billion (2000 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 53%
industry: 23% services: 24% (2001 est.) |
agriculture:
10% industry: 48% services: 42% (1999 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,800 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2000 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 5.7% (2002 est.) | 3.8% (2000 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 18 00 N, 105 00 E | 1 00 S, 15 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 | about 70% of the population lives in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, or along the railroad between them |
| Highways | total: 21,716 km
paved: 9,664 km unpaved: 12,052 km (1999 est.) |
total:
12,800 km paved: 1,242 km unpaved: 11,558 km (1996) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3.2%
highest 10%: 30.6% (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 | NA (2001) | $870 million (f.o.b., 2000) |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel, consumer goods | petroleum products, capital equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs |
| Imports - partners | Thailand 58.9%, Vietnam 12.3%, China 7.9% (2002) | France 23%, US 9%, Belgium 8%, UK 7%, Italy (1997 est.) |
| Independence | 19 July 1949 (from France) | 15 August 1960 (from France) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 7.5% (1999 est.) | NA% |
| Industries | tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism | petroleum extraction, cement kilning, lumbering, brewing, sugar milling, palm oil, soap, flour, cigarette making |
| 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.) |
99.73 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 10% (2002 est.) | 3.5% (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) | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CCC, CEEAC, CEMAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
| 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.) |
10 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 or Cour Supreme |
| Labor force | 2.4 million (1999) | NA |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 80% (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:
5,504 km border countries: Angola 201 km, Cameroon 523 km, Central African Republic 467 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 2,410 km, Gabon 1,903 km |
| Land use | arable land: 3.47%
permanent crops: 0.23% other: 96.3% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 29% forests and woodland: 62% other: 9% (1993 est.) |
| Languages | Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages | French (official), Lingala and Monokutuba (lingua franca trade languages), many local languages and dialects (of which Kikongo has the most users) |
| Legal system | based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and socialist practice | based on French civil law system and customary 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 National Transitional Council (75 seats, members elected by reconciliation forum of 1,420 delegates on NA January 1998); note - the National Transitional Council replaced the bicameral Parliament
elections: National Transitional Council - last held NA January 1998 (next to be held NA 2001); note - at that election the National Transitional Council is to be replaced by a bicameral assembly election results: National Transitional Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 54.3 years
male: 52.34 years female: 56.33 years (2003 est.) |
total population:
47.57 years male: 44.38 years female: 50.85 years (2001 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: 74.9% male: 83.1% female: 67.2% (1995 est.) |
| Location | Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam | Western Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and Gabon |
| Map references | Southeast Asia | Africa |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea:
200 NM |
| 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, Air Force, Navy, Gendarmerie |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $55 million (FY98) | $110 million (FY93) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.2% (FY96) | 3.8% (FY93) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,411,042 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49:
684,922 (2001 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 759,499 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49:
347,946 (2001 est.) |
| Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2003 est.) | 20 years of age |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 67,260 (2003 est.) | males:
32,350 (2001 est.) |
| National holiday | Republic Day, 2 December (1975) | Independence Day, 15 August (1960) |
| Nationality | noun: Lao(s) or Laotian(s)
adjective: Lao or Laotian |
noun:
Congolese (singular and plural) adjective: Congolese or Congo |
| Natural hazards | floods, droughts | seasonal flooding |
| Natural resources | timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones | petroleum, timber, potash, lead, zinc, uranium, copper, phosphates, natural gas, hydropower |
| Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Pipelines | refined products 540 km (2003) | crude oil 25 km |
| Political parties and leaders | Lao People's Revolutionary Party or LPRP [KHAMTAI Siphandon, party president]; other parties proscribed | the most important of the many parties are the Democratic and Patriotic Forces or FDP (an alliance of Convention for Alternative Democracy, Congolese Labor Party or PCT, Liberal Republican Party, National Union for Democracy and Progress, Patriotic Union for the National Reconstruction, and Union for the National Renewal) [Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO, president]; Association for Democracy and Social Progress or RDPS [Jean-Pierre Thystere TCHICAYA, president]; Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development or MCDDI [Michel MAMPOUYA]; Pan-African Union for Social Development or UPADS [Martin MBERI]; Union of Democratic Forces or UFD [Sebastian EBAO] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | noncommunist political groups proscribed; most opposition leaders fled the country in 1975 | Congolese Trade Union Congress or CSC; General Union of Congolese Pupils and Students or UGEEC; Revolutionary Union of Congolese Women or URFC; Union of Congolese Socialist Youth or UJSC |
| Population | 5,921,545 (July 2003 est.) | 2,894,336
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 2001 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 40% (2002 est.) | NA% |
| Population growth rate | 2.45% (2003 est.) | 2.2% (2001 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | none | Brazzaville, Impfondo, Ouesso, Oyo, Pointe-Noire |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 1 (1999) |
| Radios | - | 341,000 (1997) |
| Railways | 0 km | total:
894 km narrow gauge: 894 km 1.067-m gauge (2000) |
| Religions | Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% (including various Christian denominations 1.5%) | Christian 50%, animist 48%, Muslim 2% |
| 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: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001 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:
services barely adequate for government use; key exchanges are in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, and Loubomo; intercity lines frequently out-of-order domestic: primary network consists of microwave radio relay and coaxial cable international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 25,000 (1997) | 22,000 (1997) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 4,915 (1997) | 1,000 (1996) |
| Television broadcast stations | 4 (1999) | 1 (1999) |
| Terrain | mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus | coastal plain, southern basin, central plateau, northern basin |
| Total fertility rate | 4.94 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 5 children born/woman (2001 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 |
1,120 km
note: the Congo and Ubangi (Oubangui) rivers provide 1,120 km of commercially navigable water transport; other rivers are used for local traffic only |
Sitemap:
Compare countries listing (map site) |
Country listing (map site)
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.