Compare Lesotho (2007) - Laos (2005)

Compare Lesotho (2007) z Laos (2005)

	Lesotho (2007)	Laos (2005)

Administrative divisions	10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka	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
Age structure	0-14 years: 35.7% (male 382,308/female 377,303) 15-64 years: 59.3% (male 613,979/female 645,818) 65 years and over: 5% (male 42,621/female 63,233) (2007 est.)	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.)
Agriculture - products	corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock	sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton, tea, peanuts, rice, water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry
Airports	28 (2007)	44 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 3 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007)	total: 9 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 25 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 21 (2007)	total: 35 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 30,355 sq km land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 236,800 sq km land: 230,800 sq km water: 6,000 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Maryland	slightly larger than Utah
Background	Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon independence from the UK in 1966. The Basuto National Party ruled for the first two decades. King MOSHOESHOE was exiled in 1990, but returned to Lesotho in 1992 and reinstated in 1995. Constitutional government was restored in 1993 after 7 years of military rule. In 1998, violent protests and a military mutiny following a contentious election prompted a brief but bloody intervention by South African and Botswanan military forces under the aegis of the Southern African Development Community. Constitutional reforms have since restored political stability; peaceful parliamentary elections were held in 2002.	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.
Birth rate	24.72 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	35.99 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	revenues: $995.8 million expenditures: $763.2 million (2006 est.)	revenues: $284.3 million expenditures: $416.5 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)
Capital	name: Maseru geographic coordinates: 29 19 S, 27 29 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	Vientiane
Climate	temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers	tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April)
Coastline	0 km (landlocked)	0 km (landlocked)
Constitution	2 April 1993	promulgated 14 August 1991
Country name	conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho conventional short form: Lesotho local long form: Kingdom of Lesotho local short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland	conventional long form: Lao People's Democratic Republic conventional short form: Laos local long form: Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao local short form: none
Death rate	22.49 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	11.83 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	$652 million (2006 est.)	$2.49 billion (2001)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador June Carter PERRY embassy: 254 Kingsway, Maseru West (Consular Section) mailing address: P. O. Box 333, Maseru 100, Lesotho telephone: [266] 22 312666 FAX: [266] 22 310116	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
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Molelekeng E. RAPOLAKI chancery: 2511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 797-5533 through 5536 FAX: [1] (202) 234-6815	chief of mission: Ambassador PHANTHONG Phommahaxay chancery: 2222 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-6416 FAX: [1] (202) 332-4923
Disputes - international	none	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
Economic aid - recipient	$68.82 million (2005)	$243 million (2001 est.)
Economy - overview	Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho relies on remittances from miners employed in South Africa and customs duties from the Southern Africa Customs Union for the majority of government revenue. However, the government has recently strengthened its tax system to reduce dependency on customs duties. Completion of a major hydropower facility in January 1998 now permits the sale of water to South Africa and also generates royalties for Lesotho. Lesotho produces about 90% of its own electrical power needs. As the number of mineworkers has declined steadily over the past several years, a small manufacturing base has developed based on farm products that support the milling, canning, leather, and jute industries, as well as a rapidly expanding apparel-assembly sector. The latter has grown significantly mainly due to Lesotho qualifying for the trade benefits contained in the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act. The economy is still primarily based on subsistence agriculture, especially livestock, although drought has decreased agricultural activity. The extreme inequality in the distribution of income remains a major drawback. Lesotho has signed an Interim Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility with the IMF.	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.
Electricity - consumption	338.5 million kWh (2005)	3.036 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2005)	400 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports	13 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2005)	125 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - production	350 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2005)	3.56 billion kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m	lowest point: Mekong River 70 m highest point: Phou Bia 2,817 m
Environment - current issues	population pressure forcing settlement in marginal areas results in overgrazing, severe soil erosion, and soil exhaustion; desertification; Highlands Water Project controls, stores, and redirects water to South Africa	unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; most of the population does not have access to potable water
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea	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	Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%,	Lao Loum (lowland) 68%, Lao Theung (upland) 22%, Lao Soung (highland) including the Hmong and the Yao 9%, ethnic Vietnamese/Chinese 1%
Exchange rates	maloti per US dollar - 6.85 (2006), 6.3593 (2005), 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003), 10.541 (2002)	kips per US dollar - 10,820 (2004), 10,569 (2003), 10,056.3 (2002), 8,954.6 (2001), 7,887.6 (2000)
Executive branch	chief of state: King LETSIE III (since 7 February 1996); note - King LETSIE III formerly occupied the throne from November 1990 to February 1995 while his father was in exile head of government: Prime Minister Pakalitha MOSISILI (since 23 May 1998) cabinet: Cabinet elections: none - according to the constitution, the leader of the majority party in the Assembly automatically becomes prime minister; the monarch is hereditary, but, under the terms of the constitution, that came into effect after the March 1993 election, the monarch is a "living symbol of national unity" with no executive or legislative powers; under traditional law the college of chiefs has the power to depose the monarch, determine who is next in the line of succession, or who shall serve as regent in the event that the successor is not of mature age	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%
Exports	NA bbl/day	NA
Exports - commodities	manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (2000)	garments, wood products, coffee, electricity, tin
Exports - partners	US 81.9%, Belgium 15%, Canada 1.9% (2006)	Thailand 19.3%, Vietnam 13.4%, France 8%, Germany 5.3%, UK 5% (2004)
Fiscal year	1 April - 31 March	1 October - 30 September
Flag description	three horizontal stripes of blue (top), white, and green in the proportions of 3:4:3; the colors represent rain, peace, and prosperity respectively; centered in the white stripe is a black Basotho hat representing the indigenous people; the flag was unfurled in October 2006 to celebrate 40 years of independence	three horizontal bands of red (top), blue (double width), and red with a large white disk centered in the blue band
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 18.2% industry: 40.8% services: 41% (2006 est.)	agriculture: 49.5% industry: 27.5% services: 23% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $1,900 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	6.2% (2006 est.)	6% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates	29 30 S, 28 30 E	18 00 N, 105 00 E
Geography - note	landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level	landlocked; most of the country is mountainous and thickly forested; the Mekong River forms a large part of the western boundary with Thailand
Highways	-	total: 21,716 km paved: 9,664 km unpaved: 12,052 km (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 0.9% highest 10%: 43.4% (2002 est.)	lowest 10%: 3.2% highest 10%: 30.6% (1997)
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	NA
Imports - commodities	food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products	machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel, consumer goods
Imports - partners	Hong Kong 33.4%, China 31.2%, Germany 7.7%, India 7.3% (2006)	Thailand 60.5%, China 10.3%, Vietnam 7.1%, Singapore 4% (2004)
Independence	4 October 1966 (from UK)	19 July 1949 (from France)
Industrial production growth rate	15.5% (1999)	9.7% (2001 est.)
Industries	food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts, construction, tourism	tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism
Infant mortality rate	total: 79.85 deaths/1,000 live births male: 84.4 deaths/1,000 live births female: 75.17 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)	total: 85.22 deaths/1,000 live births male: 95.04 deaths/1,000 live births female: 75.01 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	6.1% (2006 est.)	12.3% (2004 est.)
International organization participation	ACP, AfDB, AU, C, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO	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)
Irrigated land	30 sq km (2003)	1,640 sq km note: rainy season irrigation - 2,169 sq km; dry season irrigation - 750 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch acting on the advice of the Prime Minister); Court of Appeal; Magistrate Courts; customary or traditional court	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)
Labor force	838,000 (2000)	2.6 million (2001 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa industry and services: 14% (2002 est.)	agriculture 80% (1997 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 909 km border countries: South Africa 909 km	total: 5,083 km border countries: Burma 235 km, Cambodia 541 km, China 423 km, Thailand 1,754 km, Vietnam 2,130 km
Land use	arable land: 10.87% permanent crops: 0.13% other: 89% (2005)	arable land: 3.8% permanent crops: 0.35% other: 95.85% (2001)
Languages	Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa	Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages
Legal system	based on English common law and Roman-Dutch law; judicial review of legislative acts in High Court and Court of Appeal; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations	based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and socialist practice
Legislative branch	bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (33 members - 22 principal chiefs and 11 other members appointed by the ruling party) and the Assembly (120 seats, 80 by popular vote and 40 by proportional vote; members elected by popular vote for five-year terms) elections: last held 17 February 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - LCD 61, NIP 21, ABC 17, LWP 10, ACP 4, BNP 3, other 4	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
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 39.97 years male: 40.73 years female: 39.18 years (2007 est.)	total population: 55.08 years male: 53.07 years female: 57.17 years (2005 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 84.8% male: 74.5% female: 94.5% (2003 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 66.4% male: 77.4% female: 55.5% (2002)
Location	Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa	Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam
Map references	Africa	Southeast Asia
Maritime claims	none (landlocked)	none (landlocked)
Merchant marine	-	total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) 2,370 GRT/3,110 DWT by type: cargo 1 (2005)
Military - note	the Lesotho Government in 1999 began an open debate on the future structure, size, and role of the armed forces, especially considering the Lesotho Defense Force's (LDF) history of intervening in political affairs	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	Lesotho Defense Force (LDF): Army and Air Wing	Lao People's Army (LPA; includes Riverine Force), Air Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$10.7 million (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	2.6% (2006)	0.5% (2004)
National holiday	Independence Day, 4 October (1966)	Republic Day, 2 December (1975)
Nationality	noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural) adjective: Basotho	noun: Lao(s) or Laotian(s) adjective: Lao or Laotian
Natural hazards	periodic droughts	floods, droughts
Natural resources	water, agricultural and grazing land, diamonds, sand, clay, building stone	timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones
Net migration rate	-0.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Pipelines	-	refined products 540 km (2004)
Political parties and leaders	Alliance of Congress Parties or ACP; All Basotho Convention or ABC [Thomas THABANE]; Basotholand African Congress or BAC [Khauhelo RALITAPOLE]; Basotho Congress Party or BCP [Ntsukunyane MPHANYA]; Basotho National Party or BNP [Maj. Gen. Justin Metsing LEKHANYA]; Kopanang Basotho Party or KPB [Pheelo MOSALA]; Lesotho Congress for Democracy or LCD (the governing party) [Pakalitha MOSISILI]; Lesotho Education Party or LEP [Thabo PITSO]; Lesotho Workers Party or LWP [Macaefa BILLY]; Marematlou Freedom Party or MFP [Vincent MALEBO]; National Independent Party or NIP [Anthony MANYELI]; New Lesotho Freedom Party or NLFP [Manapo MAJARA]; Popular Front for Democracy or PFD [Lekhetho RAKUOANE]; Sefate Democratic Union or SDU [Bofihla NKUEBE]; Social Democratic Party of SDP [Masitise SELESO]	Lao People's Revolutionary Party or LPRP [KHAMTAI Siphadon, party president]; other parties proscribed
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	noncommunist political groups proscribed; most opposition leaders fled the country in 1975
Population	2,125,262 note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2007 est.)	6,217,141 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	49% (1999)	40% (2002 est.)
Population growth rate	0.144% (2007 est.)	2.42% (2005 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998)	AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 4 (1998)
Religions	Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20%	Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% (including various Christian denominations 1.5%)
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.013 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.951 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.674 male(s)/female total population: 0.956 male(s)/female (2007 est.)	at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: rudimentary system consisting of a modest but growing number of landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a small radiotelephone communication system; mobile-cellular telephone system is expanding domestic: privatized in 2001, Telecom Lesotho tasked with providing an additional 50,000 fixed-line connections within five years, a target not met; mobile-cellular service is expanding with a subscribership approaching 15 per 100 persons; rural services are scant international: country code - 266; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)	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)
Telephones - main lines in use	48,000 (2005)	61,900 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	249,800 (2005)	55,200 (2002)
Television broadcast stations	1 (2000)	4 (1999)
Terrain	mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains	mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus
Total fertility rate	3.21 children born/woman (2007 est.)	4.77 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate	45% (2002)	5.7% (1997 est.)
Waterways	-	4,600 km note: primarily Mekong and tributaries; 2,897 additional km are intermittently navigable by craft drawing less than 0.5 m (2003)

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