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Compare Laos (2004) - Sierra Leone (2008)

Compare Laos (2004) z Sierra Leone (2008)

 Laos (2004)Sierra Leone (2008)
 LaosSierra Leone
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 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western*
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: 44.8% (male 1,349,878/female 1,400,297)


15-64 years: 52% (male 1,531,763/female 1,664,996)


65 years and over: 3.2% (male 92,360/female 105,268) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton, tea, peanuts, rice, water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish
Airports 46 (2003 est.) 10 (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


over 3,047 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.)
total: 9


914 to 1,523 m: 7


under 914 m: 2 (2007)
Area total: 236,800 sq km


land: 230,800 sq km


water: 6,000 sq km
total: 71,740 sq km


land: 71,620 sq km


water: 120 sq km
Area - comparative slightly larger than Utah slightly smaller than South Carolina
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. Democracy is slowly being reestablished after the civil war from 1991 to 2002 that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (about one-third of the population). The military, which took over full responsibility for security following the departure of UN peacekeepers at the end of 2005, is increasingly developing as a guarantor of the country's stability. The armed forces remained on the sideline during the 2007 presidential election, but still look to the UN Integrated Office in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL) - a civilian UN mission - to support efforts to consolidate peace. The new government's priorities include furthering development, creating jobs, and stamping out endemic corruption.
Birth rate 36.47 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) 45.41 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget revenues: $298.5 million


expenditures: $429.9 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.)
revenues: $96 million


expenditures: $351 million (2000 est.)
Capital Vientiane name: Freetown


geographic coordinates: 8 30 N, 13 15 W


time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April) tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April)
Coastline 0 km (landlocked) 402 km
Constitution promulgated 14 August 1991 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times
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 Sierra Leone


conventional short form: Sierra Leone


local long form: Republic of Sierra Leone


local short form: Sierra Leone
Currency kip (LAK) -
Death rate 12.1 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) 22.64 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external $2.49 billion (2001) $1.61 billion (2003 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
chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas N. HULL


embassy: Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown


mailing address: use embassy street address


telephone: [232] (22) 515 000 or [232] (76) 515 000


FAX: [232] (22) 225471
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 (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Hassan M. CONTECH


chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009


telephone: [1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263


FAX: [1] (202) 483-1793
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 as domestic fighting among disparate ethnic groups, rebel groups, warlords, and youth gangs in Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone gradually abate, the number of refugees in border areas has begun to slowly dwindle; UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) has maintained over 4,000 peacekeepers in Sierra Leone since 1999; Sierra Leone considers excessive Guinea's definition of the flood plain limits to define the left bank boundary of the Makona and Moa rivers and protests Guinea's continued occupation of these lands including the hamlet of Yenga occupied since 1998
Economic aid - recipient $243 million (2001 est.) $343.4 million (2005 est.)
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. Sierra Leone is an extremely poor nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. While it possesses substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources, its physical and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development. Nearly half of the working-age population engages in subsistence agriculture. Manufacturing consists mainly of the processing of raw materials and of light manufacturing for the domestic market. Alluvial diamond mining remains the major source of hard currency earnings accounting for nearly half of Sierra Leone's exports. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad, which is essential to offset the severe trade imbalance and supplement government revenues. The IMF has completed a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility program that helped stabilize economic growth and reduce inflation. A recent increase in political stability has led to a revival of economic activity such as the rehabilitation of bauxite and rutile mining.
Electricity - consumption 824.7 million kWh (2001) 227.9 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) 245 million kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Mekong River 70 m


highest point: Phou Bia 2,817 m
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m


highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m
Environment - current issues unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; most of the population does not have access to potable water rapid population growth pressuring the environment; overharvesting of timber, expansion of cattle grazing, and slash-and-burn agriculture have resulted in deforestation and soil exhaustion; civil war depleted natural resources; overfishing
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, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands


signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification
Ethnic groups Lao Loum (lowland) 68%, Lao Theung (upland) 22%, Lao Soung (highland) including the Hmong and the Yao 9%, ethnic Vietnamese/Chinese 1% 20 African ethnic groups 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole (Krio) 10% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century), refugees from Liberia's recent civil war, small numbers of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians
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) leones per US dollar - NA (2007), 2,961.7 (2006), 2,889.6 (2005), 2,701.3 (2004), 2,347.9 (2003)
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 Ernest Bai KOROMA (since 17 September 2007); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government


head of government: President Ernest Bai KOROMA (since 17 September 2007)


cabinet: Ministers of State appointed by the president with the approval of the House of Representatives; the cabinet is responsible to the president


elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 11 August 2007 and 8 September 2007 (next to be held in 2012)


election results: second round results; percent of vote - Ernest Bai KOROMA 54.6%, Solomon BEREWA 45.4%
Exports NA (2001) 431.1 bbl/day (2004)
Exports - commodities garments, wood products, coffee, electricity, tin diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish
Exports - partners Thailand 20.7%, Vietnam 15.9%, France 7.3%, Germany 5.3%, Belgium 4% (2003) Belgium 52.1%, US 19.1%, Netherlands 6.8% (2006)
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 three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue
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: 49%


industry: 31%


services: 21% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2003 est.) -
GDP - real growth rate 5.5% (2003 est.) 6.8% (2007 est.)
Geographic coordinates 18 00 N, 105 00 E 8 30 N, 11 30 W
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 rainfall along the coast can reach 495 cm (195 inches) a year, making it one of the wettest places along coastal, western Africa
Heliports - 2 (2007)
Highways total: 21,716 km


paved: 9,664 km


unpaved: 12,052 km (1999 est.)
-
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: 3.2%


highest 10%: 30.6% (1997)
lowest 10%: 0.5%


highest 10%: 43.6% (1989)
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) 8,864 bbl/day (2004)
Imports - commodities machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel, consumer goods foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals
Imports - partners Thailand 59.4%, China 12.8%, Vietnam 10.2% (2003) Cote d'Ivoire 9.3%, US 7.7%, China 7.7%, Brazil 6.9%, UK 6.7%, Netherlands 5.5%, South Africa 4.5%, India 4.3%, France 4.2% (2006)
Independence 19 July 1949 (from France) 27 April 1961 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate 9.7% (2001 est.) NA%
Industries tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism diamond mining; small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining, small commercial ship repair
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: 158.27 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 175.39 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 140.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 15.3% (2003 est.) 1% (2002 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) ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIT, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Irrigated land 1,640 sq km


note: rainy season irrigation - 2,169 sq km; dry season irrigation - 750 sq km (1998 est.)
300 sq km (2003)
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; Appeals Court; High Court
Labor force 2.6 million (2001 est.) 1.369 million (1981 est.)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 80% (1997 est.) agriculture: NA%


industry: NA%


services: 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
total: 958 km


border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km
Land use arable land: 3.8%


permanent crops: 0.35%


other: 95.85% (2001)
arable land: 7.95%


permanent crops: 1.05%


other: 91% (2005)
Languages Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%)
Legal system based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and socialist practice based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; 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 Parliament (124 seats; 112 members elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; to serve five-year terms)


elections: last held on 11 August 2007 (next to be held in 2012)


election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - APC 59, SLPP 43, PMDC 10
Life expectancy at birth total population: 54.69 years


male: 52.71 years


female: 56.75 years (2004 est.)
total population: 40.58 years


male: 38.36 years


female: 42.87 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: age 15 and over can read and write English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic


total population: 35.1%


male: 46.9%


female: 24.4% (2004 est.)
Location Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia
Map references Southeast Asia Africa
Maritime claims none (landlocked) territorial sea: 12 nm


contiguous zone: 24 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm


continental shelf: 200 nm
Merchant marine total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 2,370 GRT/3,110 DWT


by type: cargo 1 (2004 est.)
total: 113 ships (1000 GRT or over) 314,549 GRT/419,409 DWT


by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 85, chemical tanker 4, combination ore/oil 1, container 4, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 7, roll on/roll off 4


foreign-owned: 47 (Belgium 1, China 8, Greece 1, Romania 2, Russia 5, Syria 8, Turkey 7, Ukraine 8, UAE 7) (2007)
Military branches Lao People's Army (LPA; including Riverine Force), Air Force Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF): Army (includes Air Wing, Navy (Maritime Wing)) (2007)
Military expenditures - dollar figure $10.9 million (2003) -
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 0.5% (2003) 2.3% (2006)
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, 27 April (1961)
Nationality noun: Lao(s) or Laotian(s)


adjective: Lao or Laotian
noun: Sierra Leonean(s)


adjective: Sierra Leonean
Natural hazards floods, droughts dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms
Natural resources timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite
Net migration rate 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) 0.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population


note: refugees currently in surrounding countries are slowly returning (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 All People's Congress or APC [Ernest Bai KOROMA]; Peace and Liberation Party or PLP [Darlington MORRISON]; People's Movement for Democratic Change or PMDC [Charles MARGAI]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [Solomon BEREWA]; numerous others
Political pressure groups and leaders noncommunist political groups proscribed; most opposition leaders fled the country in 1975 trade unions and student unions
Population 6,068,117 (July 2004 est.) 6,144,562 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line 40% (2002 est.) 70.2% (2004)
Population growth rate 2.44% (2004 est.) 2.292% (2007 est.)
Ports and harbors none -
Radio broadcast stations AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 4 (1998) AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (2001)
Religions Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% (including various Christian denominations 1.5%) Muslim 60%, Christian 10%, indigenous beliefs 30%
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: 1.03 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 0.964 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.877 male(s)/female


total population: 0.938 male(s)/female (2007 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: country code - 856; satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region)
general assessment: marginal telephone service


domestic: the national microwave radio relay trunk system connects Freetown to Bo and Kenema


international: country code - 232; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2000)
Telephones - main lines in use 61,900 (2002) 24,000 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular 55,200 (2002) 113,200 (2003)
Television broadcast stations 4 (1999) 2 (1999)
Terrain mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east
Total fertility rate 4.86 children born/woman (2004 est.) 6.01 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate 5.7% (1997 est.) NA%
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)
800 km (600 km year round) (2005)
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