Compare Laos (2006) - Norfolk Island (2004)

Compare Laos (2006) z Norfolk Island (2004)

	Laos (2006)	Norfolk Island (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 (territory of Australia)
Age structure	0-14 years: 41.4% (male 1,324,207/female 1,313,454) 15-64 years: 55.4% (male 1,744,206/female 1,786,139) 65 years and over: 3.1% (male 89,451/female 111,024) (2006 est.)	0-14 years: 20.2% 15-64 years: 63.9% 65 years and over: 15.9% (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products	sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton, tea, peanuts, rice; water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry	Norfolk Island pine seed, Kentia palm seed, cereals, vegetables, fruit; cattle, poultry
Airports	44 (2006)	1 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 9 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2006)	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 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 (2006)	-
Area	total: 236,800 sq km land: 230,800 sq km water: 6,000 sq km	total: 34.6 sq km land: 34.6 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly larger than Utah	about 0.2 times the size of Washington, DC
Background	Modern-day Laos has its roots in the ancient Lao kingdom of Lan Xang, established in the 14th Century under King FA NGUM. For three hundred years Lan Xang included large parts of present-day Cambodia and Thailand, as well as all of what is now Laos. After centuries of gradual decline, Laos came 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 and instituting a strict socialist regime closely aligned to Vietnam. A gradual return to private enterprise and the liberalization of foreign investment laws began in 1986. Laos became a member of ASEAN in 1997.	Two British attempts at establishing the island as a penal colony (1788-1814 and 1825-55) were ultimately abandoned. In 1856, the island was resettled by Pitcairn Islanders, descendants of the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian companions.
Birth rate	35.49 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)	NA births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Budget	revenues: $319.3 million expenditures: $434.6 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)	revenues: $4.6 million expenditures: $4.8 million, including capital expenditures of NA (FY92/93)
Capital	name: Vientiane geographic coordinates: 17 58 N, 102 36 E time difference: UTC+7 (12 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	Kingston
Climate	tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April)	subtropical; mild, little seasonal temperature variation
Coastline	0 km (landlocked)	32 km
Constitution	promulgated 14 August 1991	Norfolk Island Act of 1979
Country name	conventional long form: Lao People's Democratic Republic conventional short form: Laos PDR or Laos local long form: Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao local short form: none	conventional long form: Territory of Norfolk Island conventional short form: Norfolk Island
Currency	-	Australian dollar (AUD)
Death rate	11.55 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)	NA deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Debt - external	$2.49 billion (2001)	NA
Dependency status	-	territory of Australia; Canberra administers Commonwealth responsibilities on Norfolk Island through the Department of Environment, Sport, and Territories
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Patricia M. HASLACH embassy: 19 Rue Bartholonie, That Dam Road, Vientiane mailing address: American Embassy Vientiane, Box V, APO AP 96546 telephone: [856] 21-26 7000 FAX: [856] 21-26 7074	none (territory of Australia)
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 (territory of Australia)
Disputes - international	Southeast Asian states have enhanced border surveillance to check the spread of avian flu; talks continue on completion of demarcation with Thailand but disputes remain over several areas along Mekong River and Thai squatters; 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.)	NA
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, though the government is sponsoring major improvements in the road system with possible support from Japan. Electricity is available in only a few urban areas. Subsistence agriculture, dominated by rice, accounts for about half of GDP and provides 80% of total employment. The economy will continue to benefit from aid by the IMF and other international sources and from new foreign investment in food processing and mining. Construction will be another strong economic driver, especially as hydroelectric dam and road projects gain steam. In late 2004, Laos gained Normal Trade Relations status with the US, allowing Laos-based producers to face lower tariffs on exports. This new status may help spur growth. In addition, the European Union has agreed to provide $1 million to the Lao Government for technical assistance in preparations for WTO membership. If the avian flu worsens and spreads in the region, however, prospects for tourism could dim.	Tourism, the primary economic activity, has steadily increased over the years and has brought a level of prosperity unusual among inhabitants of the Pacific islands. The agricultural sector has become self-sufficient in the production of beef, poultry, and eggs.
Electricity - consumption	3.298 billion kWh (2003)	NA kWh
Electricity - exports	435 million kWh (2003)	-
Electricity - imports	230 million kWh (2003)	-
Electricity - production	3.767 billion kWh (2003)	NA kWh
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Mekong River 70 m highest point: Phou Bia 2,817 m	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Bates 319 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%	descendants of the Bounty mutineers, Australian, New Zealander, Polynesians
Exchange rates	kips per US dollar - 10,820 (2005), 10,585.5 (2004), 10,569 (2003), 10,056.3 (2002), 8,954.6 (2001)	Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9320 (2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999)
Executive branch	chief of state: President Lt. Gen. CHOUMMALI Saignason (since 8 June 2006) and Vice President BOUN-GNANG Volachit (since 8 June 2006) head of government: Prime Minister BOUASONE Bouphavanh (since 8 June 2006); Deputy Prime Minister Maj. Gen. ASANG Laoli (since May 2002), Deputy Prime Minister Maj. Gen. DOUANGCHAI Phichit [since 8 June 2006], Deputy Prime Minister SOMSAVAT Lengsavat (since 26 February 1998), and Deputy Prime Minister THONGLOUN Sisolit (since 27 March 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president, approved by the National Assembly elections: president and vice president elected by the National Assembly for five-year terms; election last held 8 June 2006 (next to be held in 2011); prime minister nominated by the president and elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term election results: CHOUMMALI Saignason elected president; BOUN-GNANG Volachit elected vice president; percent of National Assembly vote - 100%; BOUASONE Bouphavanh elected prime minister; percent of National Assembly vote - 97%	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and Australia are represented by Administrator Grant TAMBLING (since 1 November 2003) head of government: Assembly President and Chief Minister Geoffrey Robert GARDNER (since 5 December 2001) cabinet: Executive Council is made up of four of the nine members of the Legislative Assembly; the council devises government policy and acts as an advisor to the administrator elections: the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia; chief minister elected by the Legislative Assembly for a term of not more than three years; election last held 29 November 2001 (next to be held by December 2004) election results: Geoffrey Robert GARDNER elected chief minister; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - NA
Exports	NA bbl/day	$1.5 million f.o.b. (FY91/92)
Exports - commodities	garments, wood products, coffee, electricity, tin	postage stamps, seeds of the Norfolk Island pine and Kentia palm, small quantities of avocados
Exports - partners	Thailand 29.6%, Vietnam 12%, France 6.1%, Germany 4.6% (2005)	Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe
Fiscal year	1 October - 30 September	1 July - 30 June
Flag description	three horizontal bands of red (top), blue (double width), and red with a large white disk centered in the blue band	three vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green with a large green Norfolk Island pine tree centered in the slightly wider white band
GDP	-	purchasing power parity - NA
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 45.5% industry: 28.7% services: 25.8% (2005 est.)	agriculture: NA industry: NA services: NA
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - NA
GDP - real growth rate	7.3% (2005 est.)	NA
Geographic coordinates	18 00 N, 105 00 E	29 02 S, 167 57 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	most of the 32-km coastline consists of almost inaccessible cliffs, but the land slopes down to the sea in one small southern area on Sydney Bay, where the capital of Kingston is situated
Highways	-	total: 80 km paved: 53 km unpaved: 27 km (2001)
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 bbl/day	$17.9 million c.i.f. (FY91/92)
Imports - commodities	machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel, consumer goods	NA
Imports - partners	Thailand 66.1%, China 9%, Vietnam 6.7% (2005)	Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe
Independence	19 July 1949 (from France)	none (territory of Australia)
Industrial production growth rate	13% (2005 est.)	NA
Industries	copper, tin, and gypsum mining; timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism, cement	tourism
Infant mortality rate	total: 83.31 deaths/1,000 live births male: 92.95 deaths/1,000 live births female: 73.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)	total: NA male: NA female: NA
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	7% (2005 est.)	NA
International organization participation	ACCT, APT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CP, EAS, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer)	UPU
Irrigated land	1,750 sq km (2003)	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; Court of Petty Sessions
Labor force	2.8 million (2002 est.)	NA
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 80% industry and services: 20% (1997 est.)	tourism NA, subsistence agriculture 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: 4.01% permanent crops: 0.34% other: 95.65% (2005)	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001)
Languages	Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages	English (official), Norfolk a mixture of 18th century English and ancient Tahitian
Legal system	based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and socialist practice	based on the laws of Australia, local ordinances and acts; English common law applies in matters not covered by either Australian or Norfolk Island law
Legislative branch	unicameral National Assembly (115 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 30 April 2006 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - LPRP 113, independents 2	unicameral Legislative Assembly (9 seats; members elected by electors who have nine equal votes each but only four votes can be given to any one candidate; members serve three-year terms) elections: last held 29 November 2001 (next to be held by December 2004) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - independents 9
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 55.49 years male: 53.45 years female: 57.61 years (2006 est.)	total population: NA years male: NA years female: NA years
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 66.4% male: 77.4% female: 55.5% (2002)	NA
Location	Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam	Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia
Map references	Southeast Asia	Oceania
Maritime claims	none (landlocked)	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
Merchant marine	total: 1 ship (1000 GRT or over) 2,370 GRT/3,110 DWT by type: cargo 1 (2006)	none
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 Australia
Military branches	Lao People's Army (LPA; includes Riverine Force), Air Force	-
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$11.04 million (2005 est.)	-
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	0.4% (2005 est.)	-
National holiday	Republic Day, 2 December (1975)	Bounty Day (commemorates the arrival of Pitcairn Islanders), 8 June (1856)
Nationality	noun: Lao(s) or Laotian(s) adjective: Lao or Laotian	noun: Norfolk Islander(s) adjective: Norfolk Islander(s)
Natural hazards	floods, droughts	typhoons (especially May to July)
Natural resources	timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones	fish
Net migration rate	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)	NA migrant(s)/1,000 population
Pipelines	refined products 540 km (2006)	-
Political parties and leaders	Lao People's Revolutionary Party or LPRP [CHOUMMALY Sayasone]; other parties proscribed	none
Political pressure groups and leaders	noncommunist political groups proscribed; most opposition leaders fled the country in 1975	none
Population	6,368,481 (July 2006 est.)	1,841 (July 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line	34% (2005 est.)	NA
Population growth rate	2.39% (2006 est.)	-0.01% (2004 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	none; loading jetties at Kingston and Cascade
Radio broadcast stations	AM 7, FM 13, shortwave 2 (2006)	AM 0, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998)
Religions	Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% (including various Christian denominations 1.5%)	Anglican 37.4%, Uniting Church in Australia 14.5%, Roman Catholic 11.5%, Seventh-Day Adventist 3.1%, none 12.2%, unknown 17.4%, other 3.9% (1996)
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: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2006 est.)	NA
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: service to general public is poor but improving; 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 domestic: NA international: country code - 672; undersea coaxial cable links with Australia, New Zealand, and Canada; satellite service planned for near future
Telephones - main lines in use	90,067 (2006)	2,532; note: a mix of analog (2500) and digital (32) circuits (2004)
Telephones - mobile cellular	520,546 (2006)	0 (proposed cellular service disallowed in August 2002 island referendum) (2002)
Television broadcast stations	7; note - including one station relaying Vietnam Television from Hanoi (2006)	1 (local programming station plus two repeaters that bring in Australian programs by satellite) (1998)
Terrain	mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus	volcanic formation with mostly rolling plains
Total fertility rate	4.68 children born/woman (2006 est.)	NA children born/woman (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate	2.4% (2005 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 (2005)	-

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