Compare Laos (2004) - Libya (2003)

Compare Laos (2004) z Libya (2003)

	Laos (2004)	Libya (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, Louangphrabang, 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Murzuq, Sabha, Sawfajjin, Surt, Tarabulus, Tarhunah, Tubruq, Yafran, Zlitan; note - the 25 municipalities may have been replaced by 13 regions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: 41.9% (male 1,277,152; female 1,265,761) 15-64 years: 54.9% (male 1,642,895; female 1,688,175) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 87,995; female 106,139) (2004 est.)	0-14 years: 34.5% (male 970,026; female 929,174) 15-64 years: 61.4% (male 1,744,992; female 1,630,399) 65 years and over: 4.1% (male 109,262; female 115,221) (2003 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	46 (2003 est.)	136 (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 (2004 est.)	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 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 35 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.)	total: 78 over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 39 under 914 m: 18 (2002)
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	Laos was under the control of Siam (Thailand) from the late 18th century until the late 19th century when it became part of French Indochina. The Franco-Siamese Treaty of 1907 defined the current Lao border with Thailand. 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.	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	36.47 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)	27.43 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Budget	revenues: $298.5 million expenditures: $429.9 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.)	revenues: $13.7 billion expenditures: $8.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 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	12.1 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)	3.49 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Debt - external	$2.49 billion (2001)	$4.4 billion (2001 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Patricia M. HASLACH 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 largely complete, but with Thailand several areas including Mekong River islets remain in dispute; ongoing disputes with Thailand and Vietnam over squatters; concern among Mekong Commission members that China's construction of dams on the Mekong River will affect water levels	Libya has claimed more than 32,000 sq km in southeastern Algeria and about 25,000 sq km in Niger in currently dormant disputes; various Chadian rebels from the Aozou region reside in southern Libya
Economic aid - recipient	$243 million (2001 est.)	$15 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.	The socialist-oriented economy depends primarily upon revenues from the oil sector, which contribute 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. 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. Higher oil prices in the last three years led to an increase in export revenues, which has improved macroeconomic balances but has done little to stimulate broad-based economic growth. Libya is making slow progress toward economic liberalization and the upgrading of economic infrastructure, but truly market-based reforms will be slow in coming.
Electricity - consumption	824.7 million kWh (2001)	18.77 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	400 million kWh (2001)	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2001)	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	1.317 billion kWh (2001)	20.18 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source	-	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: Sabkhat Ghuzayyil -47 m highest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 m
Environment - current issues	unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; most 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban
Ethnic groups	Lao Loum (lowland) 68%, Lao Theung (upland) 22%, Lao Soung (highland) including the Hmong and the Yao 9%, ethnic Vietnamese/Chinese 1%	Berber and Arab 97%, Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, Tunisians
Exchange rates	kips per US dollar - 10,443 (2003), 10,056.3 (2002), 8,954.58 (2001), 7,887.64 (2000), 7,102.02 (1999)	Libyan dinars per US dollar - 1.2 (2003), 0.6 (2002), 0.51 (2001), 0.5 (2000), 0.39 (1999)
Executive branch	chief of state: President Gen. KHAMTAI Siphadon (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 Bouasone BOUPHAVANH (since 3 October 2003) Deputy Prime Minister Maj. Gen. ASANG Laoli (since 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 in 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	NA (2001)	NA (2001)
Exports - commodities	garments, wood products, coffee, electricity, tin	crude oil, refined petroleum products (1999)
Exports - partners	Thailand 20.7%, Vietnam 15.9%, France 7.3%, Germany 5.3%, Belgium 4% (2003)	Italy 42.6%, Germany 14.1%, Spain 13.6%, Turkey 6.9%, Switzerland 4.4% (2002)
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 - $10.32 billion (2003 est.)	purchasing power parity - $33.36 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 49.4% industry: 24.5% services: 26.1% (2003 est.)	agriculture: 9% industry: 45% services: 46% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2003 est.)	purchasing power parity - $6,200 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	5.5% (2003 est.)	1.2% (2002 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 River forms a large part of the western boundary with Thailand	more than 90% of the country is desert or semidesert
Heliports	-	1 (2002)
Highways	total: 21,716 km paved: 9,664 km unpaved: 12,052 km (1999 est.)	total: 83,200 km paved: 47,590 km unpaved: 35,610 km (1999 est.)
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 2003 - 18,900 hectares, a 19% decrease over 2002; estimated potential production in 2003 - 200 metric tons, a 11% increase from 2002); 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	machinery, transport equipment, food, manufactured goods (1999)
Imports - partners	Thailand 59.4%, China 12.8%, Vietnam 10.2% (2003)	Italy 25.6%, Germany 9.8%, South Korea 6.6%, UK 6.6%, Tunisia 6.5%, Japan 6.4%, France 5.7% (2002)
Independence	19 July 1949 (from France)	24 December 1951 (from Italy)
Industrial production growth rate	9.7% (2001 est.)	NA%
Industries	tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism	petroleum, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement
Infant mortality rate	total: 87.06 deaths/1,000 live births male: 97.05 deaths/1,000 live births female: 76.69 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)	total: 26.8 deaths/1,000 live births male: 29.16 deaths/1,000 live births female: 24.33 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	15.3% (2003 est.)	1% (2001 est.)
International organization participation	ACCT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer)	ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, CAEU, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OAU, OIC, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	-	1 (2002)
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 (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
Labor force	2.6 million (2001 est.)	1.5 million (2000 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 80% (1997 est.)	services 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: 4,348 km border countries: Algeria 982 km, Chad 1,055 km, Egypt 1,115 km, Niger 354 km, Sudan 383 km, Tunisia 459 km
Land use	arable land: 3.8% permanent crops: 0.35% other: 95.85% (2001)	arable land: 1.03% permanent crops: 0.17% other: 98.8% (1998 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 in 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: 54.69 years male: 52.71 years female: 56.75 years (2004 est.)	total population: 76.07 years male: 73.91 years female: 78.34 years (2003 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 66.4% male: 77.4% female: 55.5% (2002)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 82.6% male: 92.4% female: 72% (2003 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 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 2,370 GRT/3,110 DWT by type: cargo 1 (2004 est.)	total: 21 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 130,081 GRT/115,480 DWT ships by type: cargo 9, liquefied gas 3, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 4, short-sea passenger 4 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Algeria 1, Kuwait 1, UAE 1 (2002 est.)
Military branches	Lao People's Army (LPA; including Riverine Force), Air Force	Armed Peoples on Duty (Army), Navy, Air and Air Defense Command (includes Air Force)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$10.9 million (2003)	$1.3 billion (FY99)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	0.5% (2003)	3.9% (FY99)
Military manpower - availability	males age 15-49: 1,456,500 (2004 est.)	males age 15-49: 1,546,432 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	males age 15-49: 783,800 (2004 est.)	males age 15-49: 914,649 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - military age	-	17 years of age (2003 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	males: 68,563 (2004 est.)	males: 61,511 (2003 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 (2004 est.)	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Pipelines	refined products 540 km (2004)	condensate 225 km; gas 3,196 km; oil 6,872 km (2003)
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	6,068,117 (July 2004 est.)	5,499,074 note: includes 166,510 non-nationals (July 2003 est.)
Population below poverty line	40% (2002 est.)	NA%
Population growth rate	2.44% (2004 est.)	2.39% (2003 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 16, FM 3, shortwave 3 (2002)
Railways	-	0 km
Religions	Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% (including various Christian denominations 1.5%)	Sunni Muslim 97%
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: 0.83 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2004 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: 0.95 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2003 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: country code - 856; 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	61,900 (2002)	500,000 (1998)
Telephones - mobile cellular	55,200 (2002)	20,000 (1998)
Television broadcast stations	4 (1999)	12 (plus one low-power repeater) (1999)
Terrain	mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus	mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions
Total fertility rate	4.86 children born/woman (2004 est.)	3.49 children born/woman (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate	5.7% (1997 est.)	30% (2001)
Waterways	4,600 km note: primarily Mekong and tributaries; 2,897 additional km are intermittently navigable by craft drawing less than 0.5 m (2003)	none

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