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Compare Laos (2005) - French Guiana (2004)
Compare Laos (2005) z French Guiana (2004)
| Laos (2005) | French Guiana (2004) | |
 |  | |
| 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 | none (overseas department of France) |
| 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: 29.6% (male 28,959; female 27,657)
15-64 years: 64.5% (male 66,388; female 57,020) 65 years and over: 5.9% (male 5,736; female 5,549) (2004 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton, tea, peanuts, rice, water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry | corn, rice, manioc (tapioca), sugar, cocoa, vegetables, bananas; cattle, pigs, poultry |
| Airports | 44 (2004 est.) | 11 (2003 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: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2004 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: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 5 (2004 est.) |
| Area | total: 236,800 sq km
land: 230,800 sq km water: 6,000 sq km |
total: 91,000 sq km
land: 89,150 sq km water: 1,850 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly larger than Utah | slightly smaller than Indiana |
| 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. | First settled by the French in 1604, French Guiana was the site of notorious penal settlements until 1951. The European Space Agency launches its communication satellites from Kourou. |
| Birth rate | 35.99 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 21 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $284.3 million
expenditures: $416.5 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
revenues: $225 million
expenditures: $390 million, including capital expenditures of $105 million (1996) |
| Capital | Vientiane | Cayenne |
| Climate | tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April) | tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variation |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 378 km |
| Constitution | promulgated 14 August 1991 | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) |
| 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: Department of Guiana
conventional short form: French Guiana local long form: none local short form: Guyane |
| Currency | - | euro (EUR) |
| Death rate | 11.83 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 4.82 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Debt - external | $2.49 billion (2001) | $1.2 billion (1988) |
| Dependency status | - | overseas department of France |
| 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 |
none (overseas department of France) |
| 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 |
none (overseas department of France) |
| 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 | Suriname claims area between Riviere Litani and Riviere Marouini (both headwaters of the Lawa) |
| Economic aid - recipient | $243 million (2001 est.) | NA (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 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. | The economy is tied closely to the larger French economy through subsidies and imports. Besides the French space center at Kourou (which accounts for 25% of GDP), fishing and forestry are the most important economic activities. Forest and woodland cover 90% of the country. The large reserves of tropical hardwoods, not fully exploited, support an expanding sawmill industry that provides sawn logs for export. Cultivation of crops is limited to the coastal area, where the population is largely concentrated; rice and manioc are the major crops. French Guiana is heavily dependent on imports of food and energy. Unemployment is a serious problem, particularly among younger workers. |
| Electricity - consumption | 3.036 billion kWh (2002) | 423.2 million kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - exports | 400 million kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - imports | 125 million kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production | 3.56 billion kWh (2002) | 455 million kWh (2001) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Mekong River 70 m
highest point: Phou Bia 2,817 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Bellevue de l'Inini 851 m |
| Environment - current issues | unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; most of the population does not have access to potable water | NA |
| 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 |
- |
| Ethnic groups | Lao Loum (lowland) 68%, Lao Theung (upland) 22%, Lao Soung (highland) including the Hmong and the Yao 9%, ethnic Vietnamese/Chinese 1% | black or mulatto 66%, white 12%, East Indian, Chinese, Amerindian 12%, other 10% |
| Exchange rates | kips per US dollar - 10,820 (2004), 10,569 (2003), 10,056.3 (2002), 8,954.6 (2001), 7,887.6 (2000) | Euros per US dollar - 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (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 Siphadon elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - NA% |
chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Ange MANCINI (since 31 July 2002)
head of government: President of the General Council Joseph HO-TEN-YOU (since 26 March 2001); President of the Regional Council Antoine KARAM (since 22 March 1992) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; presidents of the General and Regional Councils are appointed by the members of those councils |
| Exports | NA | NA (2001) |
| Exports - commodities | garments, wood products, coffee, electricity, tin | shrimp, timber, gold, rum, rosewood essence, clothing |
| Exports - partners | Thailand 19.3%, Vietnam 13.4%, France 8%, Germany 5.3%, UK 5% (2004) | France 62%, Switzerland 7%, US 2% (2001) |
| 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 | the flag of France is used |
| GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $1.551 billion (2003 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 49.5%
industry: 27.5% services: 23% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA (2001 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,900 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $8,300 (2001 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 6% (2004 est.) | NA |
| Geographic coordinates | 18 00 N, 105 00 E | 4 00 N, 53 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 | mostly an unsettled wilderness; the only non-independent portion of the South American continent |
| Highways | total: 21,716 km
paved: 9,664 km unpaved: 12,052 km (1999 est.) |
total: 722 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA 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 | 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) | small amount of marijuana grown for local consumption; minor transshipment point to Europe |
| Imports | NA | NA (2001) |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel, consumer goods | food (grains, processed meat), machinery and transport equipment, fuels and chemicals |
| Imports - partners | Thailand 60.5%, China 10.3%, Vietnam 7.1%, Singapore 4% (2004) | France 63%, US, Trinidad and Tobago, Italy (2002 est.) |
| Independence | 19 July 1949 (from France) | none (overseas department of France) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 9.7% (2001 est.) | NA |
| Industries | tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism | construction, shrimp processing, forestry products, rum, gold mining |
| 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.) |
total: 12.46 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 13.3 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.58 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 12.3% (2004 est.) | 1.5% (2002 est.) |
| 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) | UPU, WCL, WFTU |
| Irrigated land | 1,640 sq km
note: rainy season irrigation - 2,169 sq km; dry season irrigation - 750 sq km (1998 est.) |
20 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) | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel (highest local court based in Martinique with jurisdiction over Martinique, Guadeloupe, and French Guiana) |
| Labor force | 2.6 million (2001 est.) | 58,800 (1997) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 80% (1997 est.) | agriculture 18.2%, industry 21.2%, services, government, and commerce 60.6% (1980) |
| 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: 1,183 km
border countries: Brazil 673 km, Suriname 510 km |
| Land use | arable land: 3.8%
permanent crops: 0.35% other: 95.85% (2001) |
arable land: 0.14%
permanent crops: 0.05% other: 99.81% (90% forest, 10% other) (2001) |
| Languages | Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages | French |
| Legal system | based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and socialist practice | French legal system |
| 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 Council or Conseil General (19 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council or Conseil Regional (31 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held NA March 2000 (next to be held NA 2006); Regional Council - last held 15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PSG 5, various left-wing parties 5, independents 7, other 2; Regional Council - percent of vote by party - PS 28.28%, various left parties 22.56%, RPR 15.91%, independents 8.6%, Walwari Committee 6%; seats by party - PS 11, various left parties 9, RPR 6, independents 3, Walwari Committee 2 note: one seat was elected to the French Senate on 27 September 1998 (next to be held NA September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; 2 seats were elected to the French National Assembly on 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP/RPR 1, Walwari Committee 1 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 55.08 years
male: 53.07 years female: 57.17 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 76.89 years
male: 73.57 years female: 80.38 years (2004 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: 83% male: 84% female: 82% (1982 est.) |
| Location | Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam | Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Brazil and Suriname |
| Map references | Southeast Asia | South America |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
| Merchant marine | total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) 2,370 GRT/3,110 DWT
by type: cargo 1 (2005) |
- |
| 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) | defense is the responsibility of France |
| Military branches | Lao People's Army (LPA; includes Riverine Force), Air Force | no regular military forces; Gendarmerie |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $10.7 million (2004) | NA |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.5% (2004) | NA |
| Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 52,294 (2004 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 33,914 (2004 est.) |
| National holiday | Republic Day, 2 December (1975) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
| Nationality | noun: Lao(s) or Laotian(s)
adjective: Lao or Laotian |
noun: French Guianese (singular and plural)
adjective: French Guianese |
| Natural hazards | floods, droughts | high frequency of heavy showers and severe thunderstorms; flooding |
| Natural resources | timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones | bauxite, timber, gold (widely scattered), petroleum, kaolin, fish, niobium, tantalum, clay |
| Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 6.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Pipelines | refined products 540 km (2004) | - |
| Political parties and leaders | Lao People's Revolutionary Party or LPRP [KHAMTAI Siphadon, party president]; other parties proscribed | Guyanese Democratic Action or ADG [Andre LECANTE]; Guyanese Socialist Party or PSG [Marie-Claude VERDAN]; Guyana Democratic Forces or FDG [Georges OTHILY]; Popular National Guyanese Party or PNPG [Jose DORCY]; Socialist Party or PS [Paul DEBRIETTE]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP [Muriel ICARE]; Walwari Committee (aligned with the PRG in France) [Christine TAUBIRA-DELANON] |
| 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.) | 191,309 (July 2004 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 40% (2002 est.) | NA |
| Population growth rate | 2.42% (2005 est.) | 2.25% (2004 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | - | Cayenne, Degrad des Cannes, Saint-Laurent du Maroni |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 2, FM 14 (including 6 repeaters), shortwave 6 (including 5 repeaters) (1998) |
| Religions | Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% (including various Christian denominations 1.5%) | Roman Catholic |
| 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: 1.16 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.03 male(s)/female total population: 1.12 male(s)/female (2004 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: NA
domestic: fair open-wire and microwave radio relay system international: country code - 594; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 61,900 (2002) | 51,000 (2001) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 55,200 (2002) | 138,200 (2002) |
| Television broadcast stations | 4 (1999) | 3 (plus eight low-power repeaters) (1997) |
| Terrain | mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus | low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small mountains |
| Total fertility rate | 4.77 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 3.05 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 5.7% (1997 est.) | 22% (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) |
3,760 km
note: 460 km navigable by small oceangoing vessels and coastal and river steamers, 3,300 km by native craft (2004) |
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