Compare Laos (2005) - Saint Kitts and Nevis (2002)

Compare Laos (2005) z Saint Kitts and Nevis (2002)

	Laos (2005)	Saint Kitts and Nevis (2002)

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	14 parishes; Christ Church Nichola Town, Saint Anne Sandy Point, Saint George Basseterre, Saint George Gingerland, Saint James Windward, Saint John Capesterre, Saint John Figtree, Saint Mary Cayon, Saint Paul Capesterre, Saint Paul Charlestown, Saint Peter Basseterre, Saint Thomas Lowland, Saint Thomas Middle Island, Trinity Palmetto Point
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: 29.4% (male 5,827; female 5,571) 15-64 years: 61.9% (male 11,980; female 12,005) 65 years and over: 8.7% (male 1,383; female 1,970) (2002 est.)
Agriculture - products	sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton, tea, peanuts, rice, water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry	sugarcane, rice, yams, vegetables, bananas; fish
Airports	44 (2004 est.)	2 (2001)
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: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002)
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: 261 sq km (Saint Kitts 168 sq km; Nevis 93 sq km) land: 261 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly larger than Utah	1.5 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.	First settled by the British in 1623, the islands became an associated state with full internal autonomy in 1967. The island of Anguilla rebelled and was allowed to secede in 1971. Saint Kitts and Nevis achieved independence in 1983. In 1998, a vote in Nevis on a referendum to separate from Saint Kitts fell short of the two-thirds majority needed.
Birth rate	35.99 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)	18.61 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Budget	revenues: $284.3 million expenditures: $416.5 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)	revenues: $85.7 million expenditures: $95.6 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)
Capital	Vientiane	Basseterre
Climate	tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April)	tropical tempered by constant sea breezes; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November)
Coastline	0 km (landlocked)	135 km
Constitution	promulgated 14 August 1991	19 September 1983
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: Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis conventional short form: Saint Kitts and Nevis former: Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis
Currency	-	East Caribbean dollar (XCD)
Death rate	11.83 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)	9.04 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Debt - external	$2.49 billion (2001)	$140 million (2000) (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	the US does not have an embassy in Saint Kitts and Nevis; the US Ambassador in Barbados is accredited to Saint Kitts and Nevis
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 Osbert LIBURD chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 686-2636 FAX: [1] (202) 686-5740 consulate(s) general: New York
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.)	$5.5 million (1995) (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.	Sugar was the traditional mainstay of the St. Kitts economy until the 1970s. Although the crop still dominates the agricultural sector, activities such as tourism, export-oriented manufacturing, and offshore banking have assumed larger roles in the economy. As tourism revenues are now the chief source of the islands' foreign exchange, a decline in stopover tourist arrivals following the September 11 terrorist attacks has eroded government finances. The government revised estimates of 2001 growth down to 1% and faces dim recovery prospects in 2002, given the depressed state of the tourism industry, low sugar prices, and a growing budget deficit.
Electricity - consumption	3.036 billion kWh (2002)	88.35 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports	400 million kWh (2002)	0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports	125 million kWh (2002)	0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - production	3.56 billion kWh (2002)	95 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source	-	fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Mekong River 70 m highest point: Phou Bia 2,817 m	lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Liamuiga 1,156 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	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling 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%	predominantly black some British, Portuguese, and Lebanese
Exchange rates	kips per US dollar - 10,820 (2004), 10,569 (2003), 10,056.3 (2002), 8,954.6 (2001), 7,887.6 (2000)	East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976)
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 Cuthbert Montraville SEBASTIAN (since 1 January 1996) head of government: Prime Minister Dr. Denzil DOUGLAS (since 6 July 1995) and Deputy Prime Minister Sam CONDOR (since 6 July 1995) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general in consultation with the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the governor general is appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general
Exports	NA	$51.7 million (2000 est.)
Exports - commodities	garments, wood products, coffee, electricity, tin	machinery, food, electronics, beverages, tobacco
Exports - partners	Thailand 19.3%, Vietnam 13.4%, France 8%, Germany 5.3%, UK 5% (2004)	US 68.5%, UK 22.3%, Caricom countries 5.5% (1995 est.)
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	divided diagonally from the lower hoist side by a broad black band bearing two white, five-pointed stars; the black band is edged in yellow; the upper triangle is green, the lower triangle is red
GDP	-	purchasing power parity - $339 million (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 49.5% industry: 27.5% services: 23% (2004 est.)	agriculture: 4% industry: 26% services: 71% (2001) (2001)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $1,900 (2004 est.)	purchasing power parity - $8,700 (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	6% (2004 est.)	1% (2001 est.)
Geographic coordinates	18 00 N, 105 00 E	17 20 N, 62 45 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	with coastlines in the shape of a baseball bat and ball, the two volcanic islands are separated by a three-km-wide channel called The Narrows; on the southern tip of long, baseball bat-shaped Saint Kitts lies the Great Salt Pond; Nevis Peak sits in the center of its almost circular namesake island and its ball shape complements that of its sister island
Highways	total: 21,716 km paved: 9,664 km unpaved: 12,052 km (1999 est.)	total: 320 km paved: 136 km unpaved: 184 km (2000)
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)	transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; some money-laundering activity
Imports	NA	$141.3 million (2000 est.)
Imports - commodities	machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel, consumer goods	machinery, manufactures, food, fuels
Imports - partners	Thailand 60.5%, China 10.3%, Vietnam 7.1%, Singapore 4% (2004)	US 42.4%, Caricom countries 17.2%, UK 11.3% (1995 est.)
Independence	19 July 1949 (from France)	19 September 1983 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	9.7% (2001 est.)	NA%
Industries	tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism	sugar processing, tourism, cotton, salt, copra, clothing, footwear, beverages
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.)	15.83 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	12.3% (2004 est.)	1.7% (2001 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)	ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WTrO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	-	16 (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)	Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based on Saint Lucia; one judge of the Supreme Court resides in Saint Kitts and Nevis)
Labor force	2.6 million (2001 est.)	18,172 (June 1995)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 80% (1997 est.)	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	0 km
Land use	arable land: 3.8% permanent crops: 0.35% other: 95.85% (2001)	arable land: 16.67% permanent crops: 2.78% other: 80.55% (1998 est.)
Languages	Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages	English
Legal system	based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and socialist practice	based on English common law
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 National Assembly (14 seats, 3 appointed and 11 popularly elected from single-member constituencies; members serve five-year terms) elections: last held 6 March 2000 (next to be held by July 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - SKNLP 8, CCM 2, NRP 1
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 55.08 years male: 53.07 years female: 57.17 years (2005 est.)	total population: 71.29 years male: 68.49 years female: 74.26 years (2002 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 has ever attended school total population: 97% male: 97% female: 98% (1980 est.)
Location	Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam	Caribbean, islands in the Caribbean Sea, about one-third of the way from Puerto Rico to Trinidad and Tobago
Map references	Southeast Asia	Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims	none (landlocked)	contiguous zone: 24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin 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)	none (2002 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	Saint Kitts and Nevis Defense Force (including Coast Guard), Royal Saint Kitts and Nevis Police Force (including Special Service Unit)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$10.7 million (2004)	$NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	0.5% (2004)	NA%
National holiday	Republic Day, 2 December (1975)	Independence Day, 19 September (1983)
Nationality	noun: Lao(s) or Laotian(s) adjective: Lao or Laotian	noun: Kittitian(s), Nevisian(s) adjective: Kittitian, Nevisian
Natural hazards	floods, droughts	hurricanes (July to October)
Natural resources	timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones	arable land
Net migration rate	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)	-9.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 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	Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Vance AMORY]; Nevis Reformation Party or NRP [Joseph PARRY]; People's Action Movement or PAM [Lindsey GRANT]; Saint Kitts and Nevis Labor Party or SKNLP [Dr. Denzil DOUGLAS]
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.)	38,736 (July 2002 est.)
Population below poverty line	40% (2002 est.)	NA%
Population growth rate	2.42% (2005 est.)	0.01% (2002 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Basseterre, Charlestown
Radio broadcast stations	AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 4 (1998)	AM 3, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998)
Radios	-	28,000 (1997)
Railways	-	total: 58 km narrow gauge: 58 km 0.762-m gauge on Saint Kitts to serve sugarcane plantations (2002)
Religions	Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% (including various Christian denominations 1.5%)	Anglican, other Protestant, 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: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2002 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: good interisland and international connections domestic: interisland links to Antigua and Barbuda and Saint Martin (Guadeloupe and Netherlands Antilles) are handled by VHF/UHF/SHF radiotelephone international: international calls are carried by radiotelephone to Antigua and Barbuda and switched there to submarine cable or to Intelsat; or carried to Saint Martin (Guadeloupe and Netherlands Antilles) by radiotelephone and switched to Intelsat
Telephones - main lines in use	61,900 (2002)	17,000 (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular	55,200 (2002)	205 (1997)
Television broadcast stations	4 (1999)	1 (plus three repeaters) (1997)
Terrain	mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus	volcanic with mountainous interiors
Total fertility rate	4.77 children born/woman (2005 est.)	2.39 children born/woman (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate	5.7% (1997 est.)	4.5% (1997) (1997)
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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