Compare Laos (2005) - Jersey (2007)

Compare Laos (2005) z Jersey (2007)

	Laos (2005)	Jersey (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 (Vientiane), Viangchan, Xaignabouli, Xaisomboun*, Xekong, Xiangkhoang	none (British crown dependency); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 12 parishes including Grouville, Saint Brelade, Saint Clement, Saint Helier, Saint John, Saint Lawrence, Saint Martin, Saint Mary, Saint Quen, Saint Peter, Saint Saviour, and Trinity
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: 16.9% (male 8,003/female 7,428) 15-64 years: 67.3% (male 30,586/female 30,853) 65 years and over: 15.8% (male 6,388/female 8,063) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton, tea, peanuts, rice, water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry	potatoes, cauliflower, tomatoes; beef, dairy products
Airports	44 (2004 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.)	-
Area	total: 236,800 sq km land: 230,800 sq km water: 6,000 sq km	total: 116 sq km land: 116 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly larger than Utah	about two-thirds 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.	Jersey and the other Channel Islands represent the last remnants of the medieval Dukedom of Normandy that held sway in both France and England. These islands were the only British soil occupied by German troops in World War II. Jersey is a British crown dependency, but is not part of the UK. However, the UK Government is constitutionally responsible for its defense and international representation.
Birth rate	35.99 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)	9.02 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $284.3 million expenditures: $416.5 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)	revenues: $829 million expenditures: $851 million (2005)
Capital	Vientiane	name: Saint Helier geographic coordinates: 49 11 N, 2 06 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Climate	tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April)	temperate; mild winters and cool summers
Coastline	0 km (landlocked)	70 km
Constitution	promulgated 14 August 1991	unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice
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: Bailiwick of Jersey conventional short form: Jersey
Death rate	11.83 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)	9.32 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	$2.49 billion (2001)	$NA
Dependency status	-	British crown dependency
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 (British crown dependency)
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 (British crown dependency)
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	none
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.	Jersey's economy is based on international financial services, agriculture, and tourism. In 2005 the finance sector accounted for about 50% of the island's output. Potatoes, cauliflower, tomatoes, and especially flowers are important export crops, shipped mostly to the UK. The Jersey breed of dairy cattle is known worldwide and represents an important export income earner. Milk products go to the UK and other EU countries. Tourism accounts for one-quarter of GDP. In recent years, the government has encouraged light industry to locate in Jersey, with the result that an electronics industry has developed alongside the traditional manufacturing of knitwear. All raw material and energy requirements are imported, as well as a large share of Jersey's food needs. Light taxes and death duties make the island a popular tax haven. Living standards come close to those of the UK.
Electricity - consumption	3.036 billion kWh (2002)	630.1 million kWh (2004 est.)
Electricity - exports	400 million kWh (2002)	-
Electricity - imports	125 million kWh (2002)	NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by France
Electricity - production	3.56 billion kWh (2002)	-
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Mekong River 70 m highest point: Phou Bia 2,817 m	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 143 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%	Jersey 51.1%, Britons 34.8%, Irish, French, and other white 6.6%, Portuguese/Madeiran 6.4%, other 1.1% (2001 census)
Exchange rates	kips per US dollar - 10,820 (2004), 10,569 (2003), 10,056.3 (2002), 8,954.6 (2001), 7,887.6 (2000)	Jersey pounds per US dollar - 0.5418 (2006), 0.5493 (2005), 0.5462 (2004), 0.6125 (2003), 0.6672 (2002) note: the Jersey pound is at par with the British pound
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 Lieutenant Governor Andrew RIDGEWAY (since 14 June 2006) head of government: Chief Minister Frank WALKER (since December 2005); Bailiff Philip Martin BAILHACHE (since February 1995) cabinet: Cabinet (since December 2005) elections: ministers of the Cabinet including the chief minister are elected by the Assembly of States; the monarch is hereditary; lieutenant governor and bailiff appointed by the monarch
Exports	NA	$NA
Exports - commodities	garments, wood products, coffee, electricity, tin	light industrial and electrical goods, foodstuffs, textiles
Exports - partners	Thailand 19.3%, Vietnam 13.4%, France 8%, Germany 5.3%, UK 5% (2004)	UK (2006)
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	white with a diagonal red cross extending to the corners of the flag; in the upper quadrant, surmounted by a yellow crown, a red shield with the three lions of England in yellow
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 49.5% industry: 27.5% services: 23% (2004 est.)	agriculture: 1% industry: 2% services: 97% (2005)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $1,900 (2004 est.)	-
GDP - real growth rate	6% (2004 est.)	NA%
Geographic coordinates	18 00 N, 105 00 E	49 15 N, 2 10 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	largest and southernmost of Channel Islands; about 30% of population concentrated in Saint Helier
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%: 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)	-
Imports	NA	$NA
Imports - commodities	machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel, consumer goods	machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, foodstuffs, mineral fuels, chemicals
Imports - partners	Thailand 60.5%, China 10.3%, Vietnam 7.1%, Singapore 4% (2004)	UK (2006)
Independence	19 July 1949 (from France)	none (British crown dependency)
Industrial production growth rate	9.7% (2001 est.)	NA%
Industries	tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism	tourism, banking and finance, dairy, electronics
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: 5.08 deaths/1,000 live births male: 5.44 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	12.3% (2004 est.)	3.7% (December 2006)
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)	-
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)	Royal Court (judges elected by an electoral college and the bailiff)
Labor force	2.6 million (2001 est.)	53,560 (June 2006)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 80% (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	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	English 94.5% (official), Portuguese 4.6%, other 0.9% (2001 census)
Legal system	based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and socialist practice	the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply and local statutes; justice is administered by the Royal Court
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 Assembly of the States of Jersey (58 seats; 55 are voting members, of which 12 are senators elected for six-year terms, 12 are constables or heads of parishes elected for three-year terms, 29 are deputies elected for three-year terms, the bailiff and the deputy bailiff, and 3 non-voting members includes the Dean of Jersey, the Attorney General, and the Solicitor General appointed by the monarch) elections: last held 19 October 2005 for senators and 23 November 2005 for deputies (next to be held in 2008) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - independents 55
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 55.08 years male: 53.07 years female: 57.17 years (2005 est.)	total population: 79.51 years male: 77.02 years female: 82.2 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	Western Europe, island in the English Channel, northwest of France
Map references	Southeast Asia	Europe
Maritime claims	none (landlocked)	territorial sea: 3 nm exclusive fishing zone: 12 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 the UK
Military branches	Lao People's Army (LPA; includes Riverine Force), Air Force	-
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$10.7 million (2004)	-
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	0.5% (2004)	-
National holiday	Republic Day, 2 December (1975)	Liberation Day, 9 May (1945)
Nationality	noun: Lao(s) or Laotian(s) adjective: Lao or Laotian	noun: Channel Islander(s) adjective: Channel Islander
Natural hazards	floods, droughts	NA
Natural resources	timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones	arable land
Net migration rate	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)	2.74 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 Siphadon, party president]; other parties proscribed	two declared parties: Centre Party; Jersey Democratic Alliance note: all senators and deputies elected in 2005 were independents
Political pressure groups and leaders	noncommunist political groups proscribed; most opposition leaders fled the country in 1975	none
Population	6,217,141 (July 2005 est.)	91,321 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	40% (2002 est.)	NA%
Population growth rate	2.42% (2005 est.)	0.244% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 4 (1998)	AM NA, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998)
Religions	Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% (including various Christian denominations 1.5%)	Anglican, Roman Catholic, Baptist, Congregational New Church, Methodist, Presbyterian
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: 1.08 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.077 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.991 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.792 male(s)/female total population: 0.971 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: NA domestic: NA international: submarine cable connectivity to Guernsey and UK
Telephones - main lines in use	61,900 (2002)	73,900 (2001)
Telephones - mobile cellular	55,200 (2002)	83,900 (2004)
Television broadcast stations	4 (1999)	2 (1997)
Terrain	mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus	gently rolling plain with low, rugged hills along north coast
Total fertility rate	4.77 children born/woman (2005 est.)	1.58 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	5.7% (1997 est.)	2.2% (2006 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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