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Compare Laos (2007) - Spain (2008)
Compare Laos (2007) z Spain (2008)
| Laos (2007) | Spain (2008) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 15 provinces (khoueng, singular and plural), 1 municipality* (kampheng nakhon, singular and plural); Attapu, Bokeo, Bolikhamxai, Champasak, Houaphan, Khammouan, Louangnamtha, Louangphrabang, Oudomxai, Phongsali, Salavan, Savannakhet, Viangchan (Vientiane)*, Viangchan, Xaignabouli, Xekong, Xiangkhoang | 17 autonomous communities (comunidades autonomas, singular - comunidad autonoma)and 2 autonomous cities* (ciudades autonomas, singular - ciudad autonoma); Andalucia, Aragon, Asturias, Baleares (Balearic Islands), Ceuta*, Canarias (Canary Islands), Cantabria, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y Leon, Cataluna, Comunidad Valenciana, Extremadura, Galicia, La Rioja, Madrid, Melilla*, Murcia, Navarra, Pais Vasco (Basque Country)
note: the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla plus three small islands of Islas Chafarinas, Penon de Alhucemas, and Penon de Velez de la Gomera, administered directly by the Spanish central government, are all along the coast of Morocco and are collectively referred to as Places of Sovereignty (Plazas de Soberania) |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 41.2% (male 1,349,352/female 1,338,252)
15-64 years: 55.7% (male 1,795,029/female 1,835,168) 65 years and over: 3.1% (male 90,188/female 114,009) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 14.4% (male 3,005,818/female 2,826,805)
15-64 years: 67.8% (male 13,758,869/female 13,661,295) 65 years and over: 17.8% (male 3,002,585/female 4,192,819) (2007 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton, tea, peanuts, rice; water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry | grain, vegetables, olives, wine grapes, sugar beets, citrus; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; fish |
| Airports | 42 (2007) | 154 (2007) |
| 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 (2007) |
total: 96
over 3,047 m: 18 2,438 to 3,047 m: 11 1,524 to 2,437 m: 18 914 to 1,523 m: 25 under 914 m: 24 (2007) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 33
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 23 (2007) |
total: 58
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 42 (2007) |
| Area | total: 236,800 sq km
land: 230,800 sq km water: 6,000 sq km |
total: 504,782 sq km
land: 499,542 sq km water: 5,240 sq km note: there are two autonomous cities - Ceuta and Melilla - and 17 autonomous communities including Balearic Islands and Canary Islands, and three small Spanish possessions off the coast of Morocco - Islas Chafarinas, Penon de Alhucemas, and Penon de Velez de la Gomera |
| Area - comparative | slightly larger than Utah | slightly more than twice the size of Oregon |
| 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. | Spain's powerful world empire of the 16th and 17th centuries ultimately yielded command of the seas to England. Subsequent failure to embrace the mercantile and industrial revolutions caused the country to fall behind Britain, France, and Germany in economic and political power. Spain remained neutral in World Wars I and II but suffered through a devastating civil war (1936-39). A peaceful transition to democracy following the death of dictator Francisco FRANCO in 1975, and rapid economic modernization (Spain joined the EU in 1986) have given Spain one of the most dynamic economies in Europe and made it a global champion of freedom. Continuing challenges include Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) terrorism, illegal immigration, and slowing economic growth. |
| Birth rate | 34.98 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 9.98 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $392.3 million
expenditures: $541.3 million (2006 est.) |
revenues: $571.1 billion
expenditures: $544.9 billion (2007 est.) |
| Capital | name: Vientiane
geographic coordinates: 17 58 N, 102 36 E time difference: UTC+7 (12 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
name: Madrid
geographic coordinates: 40 24 N, 3 41 W time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October note: Spain is divided into two time zones including the Canary Islands |
| Climate | tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April) | temperate; clear, hot summers in interior, more moderate and cloudy along coast; cloudy, cold winters in interior, partly cloudy and cool along coast |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 4,964 km |
| Constitution | promulgated 14 August 1991 | approved by legislature 31 October 1978; passed by referendum 6 December 1978, effective 29 December 1978 |
| 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: Kingdom of Spain
conventional short form: Spain local long form: Reino de Espana local short form: Espana |
| Death rate | 11.28 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 9.81 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Debt - external | $3.179 billion (2006) | $2.047 trillion (30 June 2007 est.) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Ravic R. HUSO
embassy: 19 Rue Bartholonie, That Dam Road, Vientiane mailing address: American Embassy Vientiane, APO AP 96546 telephone: [856] 21-26-7000 FAX: [856] 21-26-7190 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Eduardo AGUIRRE, Jr.
embassy: Serrano 75, 28006 Madrid mailing address: PSC 61, APO AE 09642 telephone: [34] (91) 587-2200 FAX: [34] (91) 587-2303 consulate(s) general: Barcelona |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador PHIANE Philakone
chancery: 2222 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-6416 FAX: [1] (202) 332-4923 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Carlos WESTENDORP
chancery: 2375 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 452-0100, 728-2340 FAX: [1] (202) 833-5670 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico) |
| 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 islands in the Mekong River; concern among Mekong Commission members that China's construction of dams on the Mekong River will affect water levels | in 2002, Gibraltar residents voted overwhelmingly by referendum to remain a British colony and against a "total shared sovereignty" arrangement while demanding participation in talks between the UK and Spain; Spain disapproves of UK plans to grant Gibraltar greater autonomy; Morocco protests Spain's control over the coastal enclaves of Ceuta, Melilla, and the islands of Penon de Velez de la Gomera, Penon de Alhucemas and Islas Chafarinas, and surrounding waters; Morocco serves as the primary launching site of illegal migration into Spain from North Africa; Portugal does not recognize Spanish sovereignty over the territory of Olivenza based on a difference of interpretation of the 1815 Congress of Vienna and the 1801 Treaty of Badajoz |
| Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $1.33 billion (1999) |
| Economic aid - recipient | $379 million (2006 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% per year in 1988-2006 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 hydropower and mining. Construction will be another strong economic driver, especially as hydroelectric dam and road projects gain steam. Several policy changes since 2004 may help spur growth. In late 2004, Laos gained Normal Trade Relations status with the US, allowing Laos-based producers to benefit from lower tariffs on exports. Laos is taking steps to join the World Trade Organization in the next few years; the resulting trade policy reforms will improve the business environment. On the fiscal side, a value-added tax (VAT) regime, slated to begin in 2008, will streamline the government's inefficient tax system. | The Spanish economy boomed from 1986 to 1990 averaging 5% annual growth. After a European-wide recession in the early 1990s, the Spanish economy resumed moderate growth starting in 1994. Spain's mixed capitalist economy supports a GDP that on a per capita basis is equal to that of the leading West European economies. The center-right government of former President Jose Maria AZNAR successfully worked to gain admission to the first group of countries launching the European single currency (the euro) on 1 January 1999. The AZNAR administration continued to advocate liberalization, privatization, and deregulation of the economy and introduced some tax reforms to that end. Unemployment fell steadily under the AZNAR administration but remains high at 7.6%. Growth averaging more than 3% annually during 2003-07 was satisfactory given the background of a faltering European economy. The Socialist president, RODRIGUEZ ZAPATERO, has made mixed progress in carrying out key structural reforms, which need to be accelerated and deepened to sustain Spain's economic growth. Despite the economy's relative solid footing significant downside risks remain including Spain's continued loss of competitiveness, the potential for a housing market collapse, the country's changing demographic profile, and a decline in EU structural funds. |
| Electricity - consumption | 1.193 billion kWh (2005) | 243 billion kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - exports | 728 million kWh (2005) | 11.56 billion kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - imports | 326 million kWh (2005) | 10.21 billion kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - production | 1.715 billion kWh (2005) | 270.3 billion kWh (2005) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Mekong River 70 m
highest point: Phou Bia 2,817 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico de Teide (Tenerife) on Canary Islands 3,718 m |
| Environment - current issues | unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; most of the population does not have access to potable water | pollution of the Mediterranean Sea from raw sewage and effluents from the offshore production of oil and gas; water quality and quantity nationwide; air pollution; deforestation; desertification |
| 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: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants |
| Ethnic groups | Lao Loum (lowland) 68%, Lao Theung (upland) 22%, Lao Soung (highland) including the Hmong and the Yao 9%, ethnic Vietnamese/Chinese 1% | composite of Mediterranean and Nordic types |
| Exchange rates | kips per US dollar - 10,235 (2006), 10,820 (2005), 10,585.5 (2004), 10,569 (2003), 10,056.3 (2002) | euros per US dollar - 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003) |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President Lt. Gen. CHOUMMALI Saignason (since 8 June 2006); Vice President BOUN-GNANG Volachit (since 8 June 2006)
head of government: Prime Minister BOUASONE Bouphavanh (since 8 June 2006); Deputy Prime Ministers Maj. Gen. ASANG Laoli (since May 2002), Maj. Gen. DOUANGCHAI Phichit (since 8 June 2006), SOMSAVAT Lengsavat (since 26 February 1998), and THONGLOUN Sisoulit (since 27 March 2001) cabinet: Ministers appointed by president, approved by National Assembly elections: president and vice president elected by National Assembly for five-year terms; election last held 8 June 2006 (next to be held in 2011); prime minister nominated by president and elected by National Assembly for 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: King JUAN CARLOS I (since 22 November 1975); Heir Apparent Prince FELIPE, son of the monarch, born 30 January 1968
head of government: President of the Government (Prime Minister equivalent) Jose Luis RODRIGUEZ ZAPATERO (since 17 April 2004); First Vice President (and Minister of the Presidency) Maria Teresa FERNANDEZ DE LA VEGA (since 18 April 2004) and Second Vice President (and Minister of Economy and Finance) Pedro SOLBES (since 18 April 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers designated by the president note: there is also a Council of State that is the supreme consultative organ of the government, but its recommendations are non-binding elections: the monarchy is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually proposed president by the monarch and elected by the National Assembly; election last held on 14 March 2004 (next to be held in March 2008); vice presidents appointed by the monarch on the proposal of the president election results: Jose Luis RODRIGUEZ ZAPATERO elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - 52.29% |
| Exports | NA bbl/day | 175,200 bbl/day (2004) |
| Exports - commodities | garments, wood products, coffee, electricity, tin | machinery, motor vehicles; foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals, medicines, other consumer goods |
| Exports - partners | Thailand 41%, Vietnam 9.7%, China 4.1%, Malaysia 4% (2006) | France 18.8%, Germany 11%, Portugal 9%, Italy 8.6%, UK 8%, US 4.4% (2006) |
| 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 horizontal bands of red (top), yellow (double width), and red with the national coat of arms on the hoist side of the yellow band; the coat of arms includes the royal seal framed by the Pillars of Hercules, which are the two promontories (Gibraltar and Ceuta) on either side of the eastern end of the Strait of Gibraltar |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 42.7%
industry: 31% services: 26.2% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: 3.8%
industry: 29.4% services: 66.8% (2007 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 8.3% (2006 est.) | 3.8% (2007 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 18 00 N, 105 00 E | 40 00 N, 4 00 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 | strategic location along approaches to Strait of Gibraltar |
| Heliports | - | 8 (2007) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3.4%
highest 10%: 28.5% (2002) |
lowest 10%: 2.6%
highest 10%: 26.6% (2000) |
| Illicit drugs | estimated opium poppy cultivation in 2005 was 5,600 hectares, about a 45% decrease from 2004; estimated potential opium production in 2005 was 28 metric tons, a significant decrease from 200 metric tons in 2003; unsubstantiated reports of domestic methamphetamine production; growing domestic methamphetamine problem | despite rigorous law enforcement efforts, North African, Latin American, Galician, and other European traffickers take advantage of Spain's long coastline to land large shipments of cocaine and hashish for distribution to the European market; consumer for Latin American cocaine and North African hashish; destination and minor transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin; money-laundering site for Colombian narcotics trafficking organizations and organized crime |
| Imports | NA bbl/day | 1.714 million bbl/day (2004) |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel, consumer goods | machinery and equipment, fuels, chemicals, semifinished goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods, measuring and medical control instruments |
| Imports - partners | Thailand 68.8%, China 11.3%, Vietnam 5.5% (2006) | Germany 14.8%, France 13.4%, Italy 8.3%, UK 5.2%, Netherlands 4.9%, China 4.6% (2006) |
| Independence | 19 July 1949 (from France) | the Iberian peninsula was characterized by a variety of independent kingdoms prior to the Muslim occupation that began in the early 8th century A.D. and lasted nearly seven centuries; the small Christian redoubts of the north began the reconquest almost immediately, culminating in the seizure of Granada in 1492; this event completed the unification of several kingdoms and is traditionally considered the forging of present-day Spain |
| Industrial production growth rate | 15.7% (2006 est.) | 3% (2007 est.) |
| Industries | copper, tin, and gypsum mining; timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism, cement | textiles and apparel (including footwear), food and beverages, metals and metal manufactures, chemicals, shipbuilding, automobiles, machine tools, tourism, clay and refractory products, footwear, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 81.44 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 90.91 deaths/1,000 live births female: 71.56 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 4.31 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.7 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6.8% (2006 est.) | 2.4% (2007 est.) |
| 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, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) | ADB (nonregional members), AfDB, Australia Group, BCIE, BIS, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, Schengen Convention, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, Union Latina, UNMEE, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC |
| Irrigated land | 1,750 sq km (2003) | 37,800 sq km (2003) |
| 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 or Tribunal Supremo |
| Labor force | 2.1 million (2006 est.) | 22.01 million (2007 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 80%
industry and services: 20% (2005 est.) |
agriculture: 5.3%
industry: 30.1% services: 64.6% (2004 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 |
total: 1,917.8 km
border countries: Andorra 63.7 km, France 623 km, Gibraltar 1.2 km, Portugal 1,214 km, Morocco (Ceuta) 6.3 km, Morocco (Melilla) 9.6 km |
| Land use | arable land: 4.01%
permanent crops: 0.34% other: 95.65% (2005) |
arable land: 27.18%
permanent crops: 9.85% other: 62.97% (2005) |
| Languages | Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages | Castilian Spanish (official) 74%, Catalan 17%, Galician 7%, Basque 2%, are official regionally |
| Legal system | based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and socialist practice; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | civil law system, with regional applications; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations |
| 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 |
bicameral; General Courts or National Assembly or Las Cortes Generales consists of the Senate or Senado (259 seats; 208 members directly elected by popular vote and the other 51 appointed by the regional legislatures; to serve four-year terms) and the Congress of Deputies or Congreso de los Diputados (350 seats; each of the 50 electoral provinces fills a minimum of two seats and the North African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla fill one seat each with members serving a four-year term; the other 248 members are determined by proportional representation based on popular vote on block lists who serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held on 14 March 2004 (next to be held in March 2008); Congress of Deputies - last held on 14 March 2004 (next to be held in March 2008) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - PP 49%, PSOE 38%, Entesa Catalona de Progress 5.7%, PNV 2.8%, CC 2.4%, CiU 2%; seats by party - PP 102, PSOE 81, Entesa Catalona de Progress 12, PNV 6, CiU 4, CC 3; Congress of Deputies - percent of vote by party - PSOE 43.3%, PP 37.8%, CiU 3.2%, IU 3.2%, ERC 2.5%, PNV 1.6%, CC 0.9%, other 7.5%; seats by party - PSOE 164, PP 148, CiU 10, ERC 8, PNV 7, IU 5, CC 3, other 5 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 55.89 years
male: 53.82 years female: 58.04 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 79.78 years
male: 76.46 years female: 83.32 years (2007 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 68.7% male: 77% female: 60.9% (2001 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.9% male: 98.7% female: 97.2% (2003 est.) |
| Location | Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam | Southwestern Europe, bordering the Bay of Biscay, Mediterranean Sea, North Atlantic Ocean, and Pyrenees Mountains, southwest of France |
| Map references | Southeast Asia | Europe |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm (applies only to the Atlantic Ocean) |
| Merchant marine | total: 1 ship (1000 GRT or over) 2,370 GRT/3,110 DWT
by type: cargo 1 (2007) |
total: 167 ships (1000 GRT or over) 2,365,450 GRT/2,282,245 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 9, cargo 13, chemical tanker 13, container 25, liquefied gas 10, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 52, petroleum tanker 15, refrigerated cargo 5, roll on/roll off 17, specialized tanker 2, vehicle carrier 5 foreign-owned: 33 (Cuba 1, Denmark 2, Germany 9, Italy 1, Mexico 3, Norway 6, US 9, Uruguay 2) registered in other countries: 106 (Angola 1, Bahamas 11, Belize 2, Brazil 4, Cape Verde 1, Cuba 1, Cyprus 7, Irland 1, Malta 1, Marshall Islands 3, Nigeria 1, Panama 61, Portugal 10, St Kitts and Nevis 1, Venezuela 1) (2007) |
| 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 | Spanish Armed Forces: Army (Ejercito de Tierra), Spanish Navy (Armada Espanola, AE; includes Marine Corps), Spanish Air Force (Ejercito del Aire Espanola, EdA) (2006) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.5% (2006) | 1.2% (2005 est.) |
| National holiday | Republic Day, 2 December (1975) | National Day, 12 October (1492); year when Columbus first set foot in the Americas |
| Nationality | noun: Lao(s) or Laotian(s)
adjective: Lao or Laotian |
noun: Spaniard(s)
adjective: Spanish |
| Natural hazards | floods, droughts | periodic droughts |
| Natural resources | timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones | coal, lignite, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, uranium, tungsten, mercury, pyrites, magnesite, fluorspar, gypsum, sepiolite, kaolin, potash, hydropower, arable land |
| Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0.99 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Pipelines | refined products 540 km (2006) | gas 7,858 km; oil 622 km; refined products 3,445 km (2007) |
| Political parties and leaders | Lao People's Revolutionary Party or LPRP [CHOUMMALI Saignason]; other parties proscribed | Aragonese Party or CHA [Bizen FUSTER]; Basque Nationalist Party or PNV [Inigo URKULLU]; Basque Solidarity or EA [Begona ERRAZTI]; Canarian Coalition or CC [Jose Torres STINGA] (a coalition of five parties); Convergence and Union or CiU [Artur MAS i Gavarro] (a coalition of the Democratic Convergence of Catalonia or CDC [Artur MAS i Gavarro] and the Democratic Union of Catalonia or UDC [Josep Antoni DURAN i LLEIDA]); Entesa Catalonia de Progress (a Senate coalition grouping four Catalan parties - PSC, ERC, ICV, EUA); Galician Nationalist Bloc or BNG [Anxo Manuel QUINTANA Gonzalez]; Initiative for Catalonia Greens or ICV [Joan SAURA i Laporta]; Navarra yes or Na Bai [Uxue BARKOS Berruezo] (a coalition of four Navarran parties); Popular Party or PP [Mariano RAJOY Brey]; Republican Left of Catalonia or ERC [Josep-Lluis CAROD-ROVIRA]; Spanish Socialist Workers Party or PSOE [Jose Luis RODRIGUEZ ZAPATERO]; United Left or IU [Gaspar LLAMAZARES Trigo] (a coalition of parties including the PCE and other small parties) |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | noncommunist political groups proscribed; most opposition leaders fled the country in 1975 | Association for Victims of Terrorism or AVT (grassroots organization devoted primarily to opposing ETA terrorist attacks and supporting its victims); Basta Ya (Spanish for "Enough is Enough"; grassroots organization devoted primarily to opposing ETA terrorist attacks and supporting its victims); business and landowning interests; Catholic Church; free labor unions (authorized in April 1977); Nunca Mais (Galician for "Never Again"; formed in response to the oil Tanker Prestige oil spill); Socialist General Union of Workers or UGT and the smaller independent Workers Syndical Union or USO; university students; Trade Union Confederation of Workers' Commissions or CC.OO. |
| Population | 6,521,998 (July 2007 est.) | 40,448,191 (July 2007 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 30.7% (2005 est.) | 19.8% (2005) |
| Population growth rate | 2.37% (2007 est.) | 0.116% (2007 est.) |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 7, FM 14, shortwave 2 (2006) | AM 208, FM 715, shortwave 1 (1998) |
| Railways | - | total: 14,974 km
broad gauge: 11,919 km 1.668-m gauge (6,950 km electrified) standard gauge: 1,099 km 1.435-m gauge (1,054 km electrified) narrow gauge: 1,928 km 1.000-m gauge (815 km electrified); 28 km 0.914-m gauge (28 km electrified) (2006) |
| Religions | Buddhist 65%, animist 32.9%, Christian 1.3%, other and unspecified 0.8% (1995 census) | Roman Catholic 94%, other 6% |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.008 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.978 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.791 male(s)/female total population: 0.984 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.063 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.007 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.716 male(s)/female total population: 0.956 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; the government relies on a radiotelephone network to communicate with remote areas
domestic: multiple service providers; combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular subscribership about 10 per 100 persons international: country code - 856; satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) |
general assessment: well developed, modern facilities; fixed-line teledensity is 45 connections for each 100 persons
domestic: combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity is 160 telephones per 100 persons international: country code - 34; submarine cables provide connectivity to Europe, Middle East, Asia, and US; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), NA Eutelsat; tropospheric scatter to adjacent countries |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 90,067 (2006) | 18.385 million (2006) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 638,200 (2006) | 46.152 million (2006) |
| Television broadcast stations | 7 (includes 1 station relaying Vietnam Television from Hanoi) (2006) | 224 (plus 2,105 repeaters; includes 11 television broadcast stations and 88 repeaters in the Canary Islands) (1995) |
| Terrain | mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus | large, flat to dissected plateau surrounded by rugged hills; Pyrenees in north |
| Total fertility rate | 4.59 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.29 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 2.4% (2005 est.) | 7.6% (2007 est.) |
| Waterways | 4,600 km
note: primarily Mekong and tributaries; 2,900 additional km are intermittently navigable by craft drawing less than 0.5 m (2007) |
1,000 km (2003) |
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