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Compare Laos (2005) - Micronesia, Federated States of (2001)
Compare Laos (2005) z Micronesia, Federated States of (2001)
| Laos (2005) | Micronesia, Federated States of (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 | 4 states; Chuuk (Truk), Kosrae, Pohnpei, Yap |
| 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:
NA% 15-64 years: NA% 65 years and over: NA% |
| Agriculture - products | sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton, tea, peanuts, rice, water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry | black pepper, tropical fruits and vegetables, coconuts, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes; pigs, chickens |
| Airports | 44 (2004 est.) | 7 (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:
6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (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:
1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
| Area | total: 236,800 sq km
land: 230,800 sq km water: 6,000 sq km |
total:
702 sq km land: 702 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Pohnpei (Ponape), Truk (Chuuk) Islands, Yap Islands, and Kosrae |
| Area - comparative | slightly larger than Utah | four 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. | In 1979 the Federated States of Micronesia, a UN Trust Territory under US administration, adopted a constitution. In 1986 independence was attained under a Compact of Free Association with the United States. Present concerns include large-scale unemployment, overfishing, and overdependence on US aid. |
| Birth rate | 35.99 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | - |
| Budget | revenues: $284.3 million
expenditures: $416.5 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
revenues:
$161 million ($69 million less grants) expenditures: $160 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.) |
| Capital | Vientiane | Palikir |
| Climate | tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April) | tropical; heavy year-round rainfall, especially in the eastern islands; located on southern edge of the typhoon belt with occasionally severe damage |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 6,112 km |
| Constitution | promulgated 14 August 1991 | 10 May 1979 |
| 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:
Federated States of Micronesia conventional short form: none former: Ponape, Truk, and Yap Districts (Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands) abbreviation: FSM |
| Currency | - | US dollar (USD) |
| Death rate | 11.83 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | - |
| Debt - external | $2.49 billion (2001) | $111 million (1997 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 Diane E. WATSON embassy: address NA, Kolonia mailing address: P. O. Box 1286, Kolonia, Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia 96941 telephone: [691] 320-2187 FAX: [691] 320-2186 |
| 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 Jesse Bibiano MAREHALAU chancery: 1725 N Street NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 223-4383 FAX: [1] (202) 223-4391 consulate(s) general: Honolulu and Tamuning (Guam) |
| 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.) | under terms of the Compact of Free Association, the US will provide $1.3 billion in grant aid during the period 1986-2001 |
| 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. | Economic activity consists primarily of subsistence farming and fishing. The islands have few mineral deposits worth exploiting, except for high-grade phosphate. The potential for a tourist industry exists, but the remoteness of the location and a lack of adequate facilities hinder development. In 1996, the country experienced a 20% reduction in revenues from the Compact of Free Association - the agreement between the US and Micronesia in which Micronesia receives $1.3 billion in financial and technical assistance over a 15-year period until 2001 - as a result of the second step-down under the agreement. Since these revenues accounted for 57% of consolidated government revenues, reduced Compact funding resulted in a severe depression. While Micronesia's economy appears to have bottomed out in 1999, the country's medium-term economic outlook remains fragile due to likely further reductions in external grants made under the US Compact funding. Geographical isolation and a poorly developed infrastructure remain major impediments to long-term growth. |
| Electricity - consumption | 3.036 billion kWh (2002) | NA kWh |
| Electricity - exports | 400 million kWh (2002) | - |
| Electricity - imports | 125 million kWh (2002) | - |
| Electricity - production | 3.56 billion kWh (2002) | NA kWh |
| Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Mekong River 70 m
highest point: Phou Bia 2,817 m |
lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Totolom 791 m |
| Environment - current issues | unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; most of the population does not have access to potable water | 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, Hazardous Wastes, 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% | nine ethnic Micronesian and Polynesian groups |
| Exchange rates | kips per US dollar - 10,820 (2004), 10,569 (2003), 10,056.3 (2002), 8,954.6 (2001), 7,887.6 (2000) | the US dollar is used |
| 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 Leo A. FALCAM (since 21 July 1999); Vice President Redley KILLION (since 21 July 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Leo A. FALCAM (since 21 July 1999); Vice President Redley KILLION (since 21 July 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet elections: president and vice president elected by Congress from among the four senators-at-large for four-year terms; election last held NA May 1999 (next to be held NA May 2003) election results: Leo A. FALCAM elected president; percent of Congress vote - NA%; Redley KILLION elected vice president; percent of Congress vote - NA% |
| Exports | NA | $73 million (f.o.b., 1996 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | garments, wood products, coffee, electricity, tin | fish, garments, bananas, black pepper |
| Exports - partners | Thailand 19.3%, Vietnam 13.4%, France 8%, Germany 5.3%, UK 5% (2004) | Japan, US, Guam |
| Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | 1 October - 30 September |
| Flag description | three horizontal bands of red (top), blue (double width), and red with a large white disk centered in the blue band | light blue with four white five-pointed stars centered; the stars are arranged in a diamond pattern |
| GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $263 million (1999 est.)
note: GDP is supplemented by grant aid, averaging perhaps $100 million annually |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 49.5%
industry: 27.5% services: 23% (2004 est.) |
agriculture:
19% industry: 4% services: 77% (1996 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,900 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,000 (1999 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 6% (2004 est.) | 0.3% (1999 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 18 00 N, 105 00 E | 6 55 N, 158 15 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 | four major island groups totaling 607 islands |
| Highways | total: 21,716 km
paved: 9,664 km unpaved: 12,052 km (1999 est.) |
total:
240 km paved: 42 km unpaved: 198 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) | - |
| Imports | NA | $168 million (c.i.f., 1996 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel, consumer goods | food, manufactured goods, machinery and equipment, beverages |
| Imports - partners | Thailand 60.5%, China 10.3%, Vietnam 7.1%, Singapore 4% (2004) | US, Japan, Australia |
| Independence | 19 July 1949 (from France) | 3 November 1986 (from the US-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 | tourism, construction, fish processing, craft items from shell, wood, and pearls |
| 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.) |
- |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 12.3% (2004 est.) | 2.6% (FY98/99) |
| 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) | ACP, AsDB, ESCAP, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFC, IMF, Intelsat, IOC, ITU, OPCW, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, WHO, WMO |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
| Irrigated land | 1,640 sq km
note: rainy season irrigation - 2,169 sq km; dry season irrigation - 750 sq km (1998 est.) |
NA sq km |
| 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.) | NA |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 80% (1997 est.) | two-thirds are government employees |
| 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:
NA% permanent crops: NA% permanent pastures: NA% forests and woodland: NA% other: NA% |
| Languages | Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages | English (official and common language), Trukese, Pohnpeian, Yapese, Kosrean |
| Legal system | based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and socialist practice | based on adapted Trust Territory laws, acts of the legislature, municipal, common, and customary laws |
| 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 Congress (14 seats; members elected by popular vote; four - one elected from each of state - to serve four-year terms and 10 - elected from single-member districts delineated by population - to serve two-year terms)
elections: elections for four-year term seats last held 2 March 1999 (next to be held NA March 2003); elections for two-year term seats last held 6 March 2001 (next to be held NA March 2003) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 14 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 55.08 years
male: 53.07 years female: 57.17 years (2005 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: 89% male: 91% female: 88% (1980 est.) |
| Location | Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam | Oceania, island group in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to Indonesia |
| Map references | Southeast Asia | Oceania |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | 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) |
none (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) | Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) is a sovereign, self-governing state in free association with the US; FSM is totally dependent on the US for its defense |
| 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) | Constitution Day, 10 May (1979) |
| Nationality | noun: Lao(s) or Laotian(s)
adjective: Lao or Laotian |
noun:
Micronesian(s) adjective: Micronesian; Kosrae(s), Pohnpeian(s), Trukese, Yapese |
| Natural hazards | floods, droughts | typhoons (June to December) |
| Natural resources | timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones | forests, marine products, deep-seabed minerals |
| Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 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 | no formal parties |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | noncommunist political groups proscribed; most opposition leaders fled the country in 1975 | - |
| Population | 6,217,141 (July 2005 est.) | 134,597 (July 2001 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 40% (2002 est.) | NA% |
| Population growth rate | 2.42% (2005 est.) | - |
| Ports and harbors | - | Colonia (Yap), Kolonia (Pohnpei), Lele, Moen |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 5, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) |
| Radios | - | NA |
| Railways | - | 0 km |
| Religions | Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% (including various Christian denominations 1.5%) | Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 47%, other and none 3% |
| 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.) |
- |
| 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:
adequate system domestic: islands interconnected by shortwave radiotelephone (used mostly for government purposes) international: satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 61,900 (2002) | 11,000 (2001) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 55,200 (2002) | NA |
| Television broadcast stations | 4 (1999) | 2 (1997) |
| Terrain | mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus | islands vary geologically from high mountainous islands to low, coral atolls; volcanic outcroppings on Pohnpei, Kosrae, and Truk |
| Total fertility rate | 4.77 children born/woman (2005 est.) | - |
| Unemployment rate | 5.7% (1997 est.) | 16% (1999 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) |
none |
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