Laos (2005) | Canada (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, Louangphrabang, Oudomxai, Phongsali, Salavan, Savannakhet, Viangchan (Vientiane)*, Viangchan, Xaignabouli, Xaisomboun**, Xekong, Xiangkhoang | 10 provinces and 3 territories*; Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Northwest Territories*, Nova Scotia, Nunavut*, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Yukon Territory* |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 41.6% (male 1,300,094/female 1,289,227)
15-64 years: 55.2% (male 1,693,494/female 1,737,196) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 88,744/female 108,386) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years:
18.95% (male 3,067,102; female 2,918,839) 15-64 years: 68.28% (male 10,846,151; female 10,725,800) 65 years and over: 12.77% (male 1,715,071; female 2,319,842) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton, tea, peanuts, rice, water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry | wheat, barley, oilseed, tobacco, fruits, vegetables; dairy products; forest products; fish |
Airports | 44 (2004 est.) | 1,417 (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 (2004 est.) |
total:
517 over 3,047 m: 18 2,438 to 3,047 m: 15 1,524 to 2,437 m: 151 914 to 1,523 m: 244 under 914 m: 89 (2000 est.) |
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:
900 1,524 to 2,437 m: 74 914 to 1,523 m: 362 under 914 m: 464 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 236,800 sq km
land: 230,800 sq km water: 6,000 sq km |
total:
9,976,140 sq km land: 9,220,970 sq km water: 755,170 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Utah | slightly larger than the US |
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. | A land of vast distances and rich natural resources, Canada became a self-governing dominion in 1867 while retaining ties to the British crown. Economically and technologically the nation has developed in parallel with the US, its neighbor to the south across an unfortified border. Its paramount political problem continues to be the relationship of the province of Quebec, with its French-speaking residents and unique culture, to the remainder of the country. |
Birth rate | 35.99 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 11.21 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $284.3 million
expenditures: $416.5 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
revenues:
$126.1 billion expenditures: $125.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $14.8 billion (2000) |
Capital | Vientiane | Ottawa |
Climate | tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April) | varies from temperate in south to subarctic and arctic in north |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 243,791 km |
Constitution | promulgated 14 August 1991 | 17 April 1982 (Constitution Act); originally, the machinery of the government was set up in the British North America Act of 1867; charter of rights and unwritten customs |
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:
none conventional short form: Canada |
Currency | - | Canadian dollar (CAD) |
Death rate | 11.83 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 7.47 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $2.49 billion (2001) | $1.9 billion (2000) |
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 Gordon D. GIFFIN embassy: 490 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 1G8 mailing address: P. O. Box 5000, Ogdensburg, NY 13669-0430 telephone: [1] (613) 238-5335, 4470 FAX: [1] (613) 238-5720 consulate(s) general: Calgary, Halifax, Montreal, Quebec, Toronto, and Vancouver |
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 Michael KERGIN chancery: 501 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001 telephone: [1] (202) 682-1740 FAX: [1] (202) 682-7726 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, and Seattle consulate(s): Miami, Princeton, San Francisco, and San Jose |
Disputes - international | Southeast Asian states have enhanced border surveillance to check the spread of avian flu; Laos and Thailand pledge to complete demarcation of boundaries in 2005, while ongoing disputes over squatters and boundary encroachment by Thailand including Mekong River islets persist; in 2004 Cambodian-Laotian boundary commission agrees to re-erect missing markers in two adjoining provinces; concern among Mekong Commission members that China's construction of dams on the Mekong River will affect water levels | maritime boundary disputes with the US (Dixon Entrance, Beaufort Sea, Strait of Juan de Fuca, Machias Seal Island) |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $1.3 billion (1999) |
Economic aid - recipient | $243 million (2001 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 6% in 1988-2004 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. The government has sponsored major improvements in the road system. 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. In late 2004, Laos gained Normal Trade Relations status with the US, allowing Laos-based producers to face lower tariffs on their exports; this may help spur growth. | As an affluent, high-tech industrial society, Canada today closely resembles the US in its market-oriented economic system, pattern of production, and high living standards. Since World War II, the impressive growth of the manufacturing, mining, and service sectors has transformed the nation from a largely rural economy into one primarily industrial and urban. Real rates of growth have averaged nearly 3.0% since 1993. Unemployment is falling and government budget surpluses are being partially devoted to reducing the large public sector debt. The 1989 US-Canada Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) (which included Mexico) have touched off a dramatic increase in trade and economic integration with the US. With its great natural resources, skilled labor force, and modern capital plant Canada enjoys solid economic prospects. Two shadows loom, the first being the continuing constitutional impasse between English- and French-speaking areas, which has been raising the possibility of a split in the federation. Another long-term concern is the flow south to the US of professional persons lured by higher pay, lower taxes, and the immense high-tech infrastructure. |
Electricity - consumption | 3.036 billion kWh (2002) | 497.532 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 400 million kWh (2002) | 42.911 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 125 million kWh (2002) | 12.953 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 3.56 billion kWh (2002) | 567.193 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
26.38% hydro: 60% nuclear: 12.31% other: 1.31% (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 Logan 5,959 m |
Environment - current issues | unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; most of the population does not have access to potable water | air pollution and resulting acid rain severely affecting lakes and damaging forests; metal smelting, coal-burning utilities, and vehicle emissions impacting on agricultural and forest productivity; ocean waters becoming contaminated due to agricultural, industrial, mining, and forestry activities |
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:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | Lao Loum (lowland) 68%, Lao Theung (upland) 22%, Lao Soung (highland) including the Hmong and the Yao 9%, ethnic Vietnamese/Chinese 1% | British Isles origin 28%, French origin 23%, other European 15%, Amerindian 2%, other, mostly Asian, African, Arab 6%, mixed background 26% |
Exchange rates | kips per US dollar - 10,820 (2004), 10,569 (2003), 10,056.3 (2002), 8,954.6 (2001), 7,887.6 (2000) | Canadian dollars per US dollar - 1.5032 (January 2001), 1.4851 (2000), 1.4857 (1999), 1.4835 (1998), 1.3846 (1997), 1.3635 (1996) |
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 Siphadon elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - NA% |
chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Adrienne CLARKSON (since 7 October 1999) head of government: Prime Minister Jean CHRETIEN (since 4 November 1993) cabinet: Federal Ministry chosen by the prime minister from among the members of his own party sitting in Parliament elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister for a five-year term; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party in the House of Commons is automatically designated by the governor general to become prime minister |
Exports | NA | $272.3 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | garments, wood products, coffee, electricity, tin | motor vehicles and parts, newsprint, wood pulp, timber, crude petroleum, machinery, natural gas, aluminum, telecommunications equipment, electricity |
Exports - partners | Thailand 19.3%, Vietnam 13.4%, France 8%, Germany 5.3%, UK 5% (2004) | US 86%, Japan 3%, UK, Germany, South Korea, Netherlands, China (1999) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | three horizontal bands of red (top), blue (double width), and red with a large white disk centered in the blue band | three vertical bands of red (hoist side), white (double width, square), and red with a red maple leaf centered in the white band |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $774.7 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 49.5%
industry: 27.5% services: 23% (2004 est.) |
agriculture:
3% industry: 31% services: 66% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,900 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $24,800 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6% (2004 est.) | 4.3% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 18 00 N, 105 00 E | 60 00 N, 95 00 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 | second-largest country in world (after Russia); strategic location between Russia and US via north polar route; approximately 85% of the population is concentrated within 300 km of the US/Canada border |
Heliports | - | 18 (2000 est.) |
Highways | total: 21,716 km
paved: 9,664 km unpaved: 12,052 km (1999 est.) |
total:
901,902 km paved: 318,371 km (including 16,571 km of expressways) unpaved: 583,531 km (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3.2%
highest 10%: 30.6% (1997) |
lowest 10%:
2.8% highest 10%: 23.8% (1994) |
Illicit drugs | estimated cultivation in 2004 - 10,000 hectares, a 45% decrease from 2003; estimated potential production in 2004 - 49 metric tons, a significant decrease from 200 metric tons in 2003 (2005) | illicit producer of cannabis for the domestic drug market; use of hydroponics technology permits growers to plant large quantities of high-quality marijuana indoors; transit point for heroin and cocaine entering the US market |
Imports | NA | $238.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel, consumer goods | machinery and equipment, crude oil, chemicals, motor vehicles and parts, durable consumer goods, electricity |
Imports - partners | Thailand 60.5%, China 10.3%, Vietnam 7.1%, Singapore 4% (2004) | US 76%, Japan 3%, UK, Germany, France, Mexico, Taiwan, South Korea (1999) |
Independence | 19 July 1949 (from France) | 1 July 1867 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 9.7% (2001 est.) | 4.5% (2000 est.) |
Industries | tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism | processed and unprocessed minerals, food products, wood and paper products, transportation equipment, chemicals, fish products, petroleum and natural gas |
Infant mortality rate | total: 85.22 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 95.04 deaths/1,000 live births female: 75.01 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
5.02 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 12.3% (2004 est.) | 2.6% (2000) |
International organization participation | ACCT, APT, 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, ACCT, AfDB, APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, C, CCC, CDB (non-regional), CE (observer), EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, ESA (cooperating state), FAO, G- 7, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURCA, MIPONUH, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNTAET, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 760 (2000 est.) |
Irrigated land | 1,640 sq km
note: rainy season irrigation - 2,169 sq km; dry season irrigation - 750 sq km (1998 est.) |
7,100 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 of Canada (judges are appointed by the prime minister through the governor general); Federal Court of Canada; Federal Court of Appeal; Provincial Courts (these are named variously Court of Appeal, Court of Queens Bench, Superior Court, Supreme Court, and Court of Justice) |
Labor force | 2.6 million (2001 est.) | 16.1 million (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 80% (1997 est.) | services 74%, manufacturing 15%, construction 5%, agriculture 3%, other 3% (2000) |
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:
8,893 km border countries: US 8,893 km (includes 2,477 km with Alaska) |
Land use | arable land: 3.8%
permanent crops: 0.35% other: 95.85% (2001) |
arable land:
5% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 3% forests and woodland: 54% other: 38% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages | English 59.3% (official), French 23.2% (official), other 17.5% |
Legal system | based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and socialist practice | based on English common law, except in Quebec, where civil law system based on French law prevails; 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 |
bicameral Parliament or Parlement consists of the Senate or Senat (a body whose members are appointed to serve until reaching 75 years of age by the governor general and selected on the advice of the prime minister; its normal limit is 104 senators) and the House of Commons or Chambre des Communes (301 seats; members elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Commons - last held 27 November 2000 (next to be held 2005) election results: percent of vote by party as of January 2001 - Liberal Party 42%, Canadian Alliance 22%, Bloc Quebecois 13%, New Democratic Party 4%, Progressive Conservative Party 4%; seats by party as of January 2001 - Liberal Party 172, Canadian Alliance 66, Bloc Quebecois 38, New Democratic Party 13, Progressive Conservative Party 12 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 55.08 years
male: 53.07 years female: 57.17 years (2005 est.) |
total population:
79.56 years male: 76.16 years female: 83.13 years (2001 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: 97% (1986 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam | Northern North America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and North Pacific Ocean, north of the conterminous US |
Map references | Southeast Asia | North America |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) 2,370 GRT/3,110 DWT
by type: cargo 1 (2005) |
total:
121 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,767,259 GRT/2,633,290 DWT ships by type: barge carrier 1, bulk 67, cargo 13, chemical tanker 5, combination bulk 1, passenger 3, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 17, railcar carrier 2, roll on/roll off 7, short-sea passenger 3, specialized tanker 1 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | Laos is one of the world's least developed countries; the Lao People's Armed Forces are small, poorly funded, and ineffectively resourced; there is little political will to allocate sparse funding to the military, and the armed forces' gradual degradation is likely to continue; the massive drug production and trafficking industry centered in the Golden Triangle makes Laos an important narcotics transit country, and armed Wa and Chinese smugglers are active on the Lao-Burma border (2005) | - |
Military branches | Lao People's Army (LPA; includes Riverine Force), Air Force | Canadian Forces (includes Land Forces Command or LC, Maritime Command or MC, Air Command or AC, Communications Command or CC, Training Command or TC), Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $10.7 million (2004) | $7.5 billion (FY00/01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.5% (2004) | 1.3% (FY00/01) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
8,325,084 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
7,114,851 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 17 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
215,627 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Republic Day, 2 December (1975) | Independence Day/Canada Day, 1 July (1867) |
Nationality | noun: Lao(s) or Laotian(s)
adjective: Lao or Laotian |
noun:
Canadian(s) adjective: Canadian |
Natural hazards | floods, droughts | continuous permafrost in north is a serious obstacle to development; cyclonic storms form east of the Rocky Mountains, a result of the mixing of air masses from the Arctic, Pacific, and North American interior, and produce most of the country's rain and snow |
Natural resources | timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones | iron ore, nickel, zinc, copper, gold, lead, molybdenum, potash, silver, fish, timber, wildlife, coal, petroleum, natural gas, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 6.13 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | refined products 540 km (2004) | crude and refined oil 23,564 km; natural gas 74,980 km |
Political parties and leaders | Lao People's Revolutionary Party or LPRP [KHAMTAI Siphadon, party president]; other parties proscribed | Bloc Quebecois [Gilles DUCEPPE]; Canadian Alliance [Stockwell DAY]; Liberal Party [Jean CHRETIEN]; New Democratic Party [Alexa MCDONOUGH]; Progressive Conservative Party [Joe CLARK] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | noncommunist political groups proscribed; most opposition leaders fled the country in 1975 | NA |
Population | 6,217,141 (July 2005 est.) | 31,592,805 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 40% (2002 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.42% (2005 est.) | 0.99% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Becancour (Quebec), Churchill, Halifax, Hamilton, Montreal, New Westminster, Prince Rupert, Quebec, Saint John (New Brunswick), St. John's (Newfoundland), Sept Isles, Sydney, Trois-Rivieres, Thunder Bay, Toronto, Vancouver, Windsor |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 535, FM 53, shortwave 6 (1998) |
Radios | - | 32.3 million (1997) |
Railways | - | total:
36,114 km; note - there are two major transcontinental freight railway systems: Canadian National (privatized November 1995) and Canadian Pacific Railway; passenger service provided by government-operated firm VIA, which has no trackage of its own standard gauge: 36,114 km 1.435-m gauge (156 km electrified) (1998) |
Religions | Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% (including various Christian denominations 1.5%) | Roman Catholic 42%, Protestant 40%, other 18% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 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: country code - 856; satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) |
general assessment:
excellent service provided by modern technology domestic: domestic satellite system with about 300 earth stations international: 5 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean) and 2 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 61,900 (2002) | 18.5 million (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 55,200 (2002) | 4.207 million (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (1999) | 80 (plus many repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus | mostly plains with mountains in west and lowlands in southeast |
Total fertility rate | 4.77 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 1.6 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 5.7% (1997 est.) | 6.8% (2000 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) |
3,000 km (including Saint Lawrence Seaway) |