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Compare Laos (2005) - Sierra Leone (2001)
Compare Laos (2005) z Sierra Leone (2001)
| Laos (2005) | Sierra Leone (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 | 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western* |
| 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:
44.73% (male 1,190,207; female 1,237,326) 15-64 years: 52.12% (male 1,351,455; female 1,477,155) 65 years and over: 3.15% (male 84,364; female 86,111) (2001 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton, tea, peanuts, rice, water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry | rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish |
| Airports | 44 (2004 est.) | 11 (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:
1 over 3,047 m: 1 (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:
10 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
| Area | total: 236,800 sq km
land: 230,800 sq km water: 6,000 sq km |
total:
71,740 sq km land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly larger than Utah | slightly smaller than South Carolina |
| 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. | Since 1991, civil war between the government and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (well over one-third of the population) many of whom are now refugees in neighboring countries. A peace agreement, signed in July 1999, collapsed in May 2000 after the RUF took over 500 UN peacekeepers hostage. The RUF stepped up attacks on Guinea in December 2000, despite a cease-fire that it signed with the Freetown government one month earlier. As of late 2000, up to 13,000 UN peacekeepers were protecting the capital and key towns in the south. A UK force of 750 was helping to reinforce security and train the Sierra Leone army. |
| Birth rate | 35.99 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 45.11 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $284.3 million
expenditures: $416.5 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
revenues:
$96 million expenditures: $351 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
| Capital | Vientiane | Freetown |
| Climate | tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April) | tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April) |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 402 km |
| Constitution | promulgated 14 August 1991 | 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times |
| 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:
Republic of Sierra Leone conventional short form: Sierra Leone |
| Currency | - | leone (SLL) |
| Death rate | 11.83 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 19.19 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Debt - external | $2.49 billion (2001) | $1.28 billion (1999) |
| 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 Joseph H. MELROSE, Jr. embassy: Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [232] (22) 226481 through 226485 FAX: [232] (22) 225471 |
| 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 John Ernest LEIGH chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263 FAX: [1] (202) 483-1793 |
| 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 | civil war has engendered massive refugee movements into neighboring Guinea and Liberia |
| Economic aid - recipient | $243 million (2001 est.) | $203.7 million (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. | Sierra Leone is an extremely poor African nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. It does have substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources. However, the economic and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development. About two-thirds of the working-age population engages in subsistence agriculture. Manufacturing consists mainly of the processing of raw materials and of light manufacturing for the domestic market. Bauxite and rutile mines have been shut down by civil strife. The major source of hard currency is found in the mining of diamonds, the large majority of which are smuggled out of the country. The resurgence of internal warfare in 1999 brought another substantial drop in GDP, with GNP recovering part of the way in 2000. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad. |
| Electricity - consumption | 3.036 billion kWh (2002) | 223.2 million kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - exports | 400 million kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - imports | 125 million kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - production | 3.56 billion kWh (2002) | 240 million kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Mekong River 70 m
highest point: Phou Bia 2,817 m |
lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m |
| Environment - current issues | unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; most of the population does not have access to potable water | rapid population growth pressuring the environment; overharvesting of timber, expansion of cattle grazing, and slash-and-burn agriculture have resulted in deforestation and soil exhaustion; civil war depleting natural resources; 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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Wetlands 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% | 20 native African tribes 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole 10% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century), refugees from Liberia's recent civil war, small numbers of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians |
| Exchange rates | kips per US dollar - 10,820 (2004), 10,569 (2003), 10,056.3 (2002), 8,954.6 (2001), 7,887.6 (2000) | leones per US dollar - 1,653.39 (January 2001), 2,092.13 (2000), 1,804.20 (1999), 1,563.62 (1998), 981.48 (1997), 920.73 (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:
President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Ministers of State appointed by the president with the approval of the House of Representatives; the cabinet is responsible to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election held 26-27 February and 15 March 1996 (next to be held NA September 2001); note - president's tenure of office is limited to two five-year terms election results: Ahmad Tejan KABBAH elected president; percent of vote - Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (SLPP) 59.5%, John KAREFA-SMART (UNPP) 40.5% |
| Exports | NA | $65 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | garments, wood products, coffee, electricity, tin | diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish |
| Exports - partners | Thailand 19.3%, Vietnam 13.4%, France 8%, Germany 5.3%, UK 5% (2004) | Belgium 38%, US 6%, Italy 4%, UK 4% (1999) |
| 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 | three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue |
| GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $2.7 billion (2000 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 49.5%
industry: 27.5% services: 23% (2004 est.) |
agriculture:
43% industry: 26% services: 31% (1999) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,900 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $510 (2000 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 6% (2004 est.) | 4.2% (2000 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 18 00 N, 105 00 E | 8 30 N, 11 30 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 | - |
| Heliports | - | 1 (2000 est.) |
| Highways | total: 21,716 km
paved: 9,664 km unpaved: 12,052 km (1999 est.) |
total:
11,300 km paved: 904 km unpaved: 10,396 km (1997) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3.2%
highest 10%: 30.6% (1997) |
lowest 10%:
0.5% highest 10%: 43.6% (1989) |
| 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 | $145 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel, consumer goods | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals |
| Imports - partners | Thailand 60.5%, China 10.3%, Vietnam 7.1%, Singapore 4% (2004) | UK 34%, US 8%, Italy 7%, Nigeria 5% (1999) |
| Independence | 19 July 1949 (from France) | 27 April 1961 (from UK) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 9.7% (2001 est.) | NA% |
| Industries | tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism | mining (diamonds); small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining |
| 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.) |
146.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 12.3% (2004 est.) | 15% (2000 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, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
| 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.) |
290 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; Appeals Court; High Court |
| Labor force | 2.6 million (2001 est.) | 1.369 million (1981 est.)
note: only about 65,000 wage earners (1985) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 80% (1997 est.) | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services 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 |
total:
958 km border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km |
| Land use | arable land: 3.8%
permanent crops: 0.35% other: 95.85% (2001) |
arable land:
7% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 31% forests and woodland: 28% other: 33% (1993 est.) |
| Languages | Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages | English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%) |
| Legal system | based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and socialist practice | based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| 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 House of Representatives (80 seats - 68 elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 26-27 February 1996 (next to be held NA 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - SLPP 36.1%, UNPP 21.6%, PDP 15.3%, APC 5.7%, NUP 5.3%, DCP 4.8%, other 11.2%; seats by party - SLPP 27, UNPP 17, PDP 12, APC 5, NUP 4, DCP 3; note - first elections since the former House of Representatives was shut down by the military coup of 29 April 1992 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 55.08 years
male: 53.07 years female: 57.17 years (2005 est.) |
total population:
45.6 years male: 42.69 years female: 48.61 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 English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic total population: 31.4% male: 45.4% female: 18.2% (1995 est.) |
| Location | Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia |
| Map references | Southeast Asia | Africa |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea:
200 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
| Merchant marine | total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) 2,370 GRT/3,110 DWT
by type: cargo 1 (2005) |
total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,057 GRT/3,498 DWT ships by type: cargo 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 | Army |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $10.7 million (2004) | $46 million (FY96/97) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.5% (2004) | 2% (FY96/97) |
| Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
1,161,790 (2001 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
563,631 (2001 est.) |
| National holiday | Republic Day, 2 December (1975) | Independence Day, 27 April (1961) |
| Nationality | noun: Lao(s) or Laotian(s)
adjective: Lao or Laotian |
noun:
Sierra Leonean(s) adjective: Sierra Leonean |
| Natural hazards | floods, droughts | dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms |
| Natural resources | timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones | diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite |
| Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 10.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
note: by the end of 1999 refugees from Sierra Leone are assumed to be returning |
| Pipelines | refined products 540 km (2004) | - |
| Political parties and leaders | Lao People's Revolutionary Party or LPRP [KHAMTAI Siphadon, party president]; other parties proscribed | All People's Congress or APC [Edward Mohammed TURAY, chairman]; Democratic Centre Party or DCP [Adu Aiah KOROMA]; National Democratic Alliance or NDA [Amadu M. B. JALLOH]; National Republican Party or NRP [Sahr Stephen MAMBU]; National Unity Party or NUP [Dr. John KARIMU, chairman]; People's Democratic Party or PDP [Thaimu BANGURA, chairman]; People's Progressive Party or PPP [Abass Chernok BUNDU, chairman]; Revolutionary United Front Party or RUFP [Foday SANKOH, chairman]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH, chairman]; United National People's Party or UNPP [John KARIFA-SMART in exile, Raymond KAMARA, acting leader] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | noncommunist political groups proscribed; most opposition leaders fled the country in 1975 | Trade Unions and Student Unions |
| Population | 6,217,141 (July 2005 est.) | 5,426,618 (July 2001 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 40% (2002 est.) | 68% (1989 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 2.42% (2005 est.) | 3.61% (2001 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | - | Bonthe, Freetown, Pepel |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (1999) |
| Radios | - | 1.12 million (1997) |
| Railways | - | total:
84 km used on a limited basis because the mine at Marampa is closed narrow gauge: 84 km 1.067-m gauge |
| Religions | Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% (including various Christian denominations 1.5%) | Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10% |
| 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:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.98 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 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:
marginal telephone and telegraph service domestic: national microwave radio relay trunk system, made unserviceable by military activities, is now operating from Freetown to Bo and Kenema (April 2001) international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 61,900 (2002) | 17,000 (1997) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 55,200 (2002) | 650 (1999) |
| Television broadcast stations | 4 (1999) | 2 (1999) |
| Terrain | mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus | coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east |
| Total fertility rate | 4.77 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 6.01 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 5.7% (1997 est.) | NA% |
| 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) |
800 km (of which 600 km navigable year round) |
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