Laos (2004) | Nauru (2007) | |
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 | 14 districts; Aiwo, Anabar, Anetan, Anibare, Baiti, Boe, Buada, Denigomodu, Ewa, Ijuw, Meneng, Nibok, Uaboe, Yaren |
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: 36.4% (male 2,508/female 2,410)
15-64 years: 61.6% (male 4,111/female 4,224) 65 years and over: 2% (male 144/female 131) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton, tea, peanuts, rice, water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry | coconuts |
Airports | 46 (2003 est.) | 1 (2007) |
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: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
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.) |
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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 | 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. | The exact origins of the Nauruans are unclear, since their language does not resemble any other in the Pacific. The island was annexed by Germany in 1888 and its phosphate deposits began to be mined early in the 20th century by a German-British consortium. Nauru was occupied by Australian forces in World War I and subsequently became a League of Nations mandate. After the Second World War - and a brutal occupation by Japan - Nauru became a UN trust territory. It achieved its independence in 1968 and joined the UN in 1999 as the world's smallest independent republic. |
Birth rate | 36.47 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 24.47 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $298.5 million
expenditures: $429.9 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
revenues: $13.5 million
expenditures: $13.5 million (2005) |
Capital | Vientiane | no official capital; government offices in Yaren District
time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April) | tropical with a monsoonal pattern; rainy season (November to February) |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 30 km |
Constitution | promulgated 14 August 1991 | 29 January 1968; amended 17 May 1968 (Constitution Day) |
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 local long form: Republic of Nauru local short form: Nauru former: Pleasant Island |
Currency | kip (LAK) | - |
Death rate | 12.1 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 6.65 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $2.49 billion (2001) | $33.3 million (2002) |
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 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Vinci Niel CLODUMAR
chancery: 800 2nd Avenue, Suite 400 D, New York, NY 10017 telephone: [1] (212) 937-0074 FAX: [1] (212) 937-0079 consulate(s): Agana (Guam) |
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 | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $243 million (2001 est.) | $20 million mostly from Australia (2005) |
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 traditionally come from exports of phosphates, now significantly depleted. An Australian company in 2005 entered into an agreement intended to exploit remaining supplies. Few other resources exist with most necessities being imported, mainly from Australia, its former occupier and later major source of support. 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 were invested in trust funds to help cushion the transition and provide for Nauru's economic future. As a result of heavy spending from the trust funds, the government faces virtual bankruptcy. To cut costs the government has frozen wages and reduced overstaffed public service departments. In 2005, the deterioration in housing, hospitals, and other capital plant continued, and the cost to Australia of keeping the government and economy afloat continued to climb. Few comprehensive statistics on the Nauru economy exist, with estimates of Nauru's GDP varying widely. |
Electricity - consumption | 824.7 million kWh (2001) | 27.9 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 400 million kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 1.317 billion kWh (2001) | 30 million kWh (2005) |
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; most 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, 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling
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 and the Yao 9%, ethnic Vietnamese/Chinese 1% | Nauruan 58%, other Pacific Islander 26%, Chinese 8%, European 8% |
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) | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002) |
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: President Ludwig SCOTTY (since 22 June 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Ludwig SCOTTY (since 22 June 2004) 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 28 August 2007 (next to be held in 2010) election results: Ludwig SCOTTY 14, Marcos STEVEN 3 |
Exports | NA (2001) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | garments, wood products, coffee, electricity, tin | phosphates |
Exports - partners | Thailand 20.7%, Vietnam 15.9%, France 7.3%, Germany 5.3%, Belgium 4% (2003) | South Africa 63.7%, South Korea 7.6%, Canada 6.6% (2006) |
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 - $10.32 billion (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 49.4%
industry: 24.5% services: 26.1% (2003 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.5% (2003 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 River 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: 21,716 km
paved: 9,664 km unpaved: 12,052 km (1999 est.) |
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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 bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel, consumer goods | food, fuel, manufactures, building materials, machinery |
Imports - partners | Thailand 59.4%, China 12.8%, Vietnam 10.2% (2003) | South Korea 43.8%, Australia 36.2%, US 5.9%, Germany 4.3% (2006) |
Independence | 19 July 1949 (from France) | 31 January 1968 (from the Australia-, NZ-, and UK-administered UN trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | 9.7% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Industries | tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism | phosphate mining, offshore banking, coconut products |
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: 9.6 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 12.07 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.02 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 15.3% (2003 est.) | -3.6% (1993) |
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) | ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, ICAO, ICCt, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO |
Irrigated land | 1,640 sq km
note: rainy season irrigation - 2,169 sq km; dry season irrigation - 750 sq km (1998 est.) |
NA |
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.) | - |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 80% (1997 est.) | note: employed in mining phosphates, public administration, education, and transportation (1992) |
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: 3.8%
permanent crops: 0.35% other: 95.85% (2001) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
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; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations |
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 Parliament (18 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 25 August 2007 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - independents 18; note - 15 of 18 incumbents reelected |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 54.69 years
male: 52.71 years female: 56.75 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 63.44 years
male: 59.85 years female: 67.21 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 66.4% male: 77.4% female: 55.5% (2002) |
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) | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 2,370 GRT/3,110 DWT
by type: cargo 1 (2004 est.) |
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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 | no regular military forces; Nauru Police Force (2007) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $10.9 million (2003) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.5% (2003) | NA |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,456,500 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 783,800 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 68,563 (2004 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 (2004 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | refined products 540 km (2004) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Lao People's Revolutionary Party or LPRP [KHAMTAI Siphandon, party president]; other parties proscribed | Democratic Party [Kennan ADEANG]; Nauru Party (informal); Nauru First (Naoero Amo) Party; note - loose multiparty system |
Political pressure groups and leaders | noncommunist political groups proscribed; most opposition leaders fled the country in 1975 | NA |
Population | 6,068,117 (July 2004 est.) | 13,528 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 40% (2002 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.44% (2004 est.) | 1.781% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) |
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: 1.04 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: 1.041 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.973 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.099 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2007 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: country code - 856; satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) |
general assessment: adequate local and international radiotelephone communication provided via Australian facilities
domestic: NA international: country code - 674; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 61,900 (2002) | 1,900 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 55,200 (2002) | 1,500 (2002) |
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 | 4.86 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 3.02 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 5.7% (1997 est.) | 90% (2004 est.) |
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) |
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